I Can Only Imagine is a 2018 American Christian biographical drama film directed by the Erwin Brothers and written by Alex Cramer, Jon Erwin, and Brent McCorkle, based on the story behind the group MercyMe s song of the same name, the best-selling Christian single of all time. The film stars J. Michael Finley as Bart Millard, the lead singer who wrote the song about his relationship with his father (Dennis Quaid). Madeline Carroll, Trace Adkins, Priscilla Shirer, and Cloris Leachman also star.

I Can Only Imagine was released in the United States on March 16, 2018. It was a box office success, grossing $86 million worldwide against a production budget of $7 million, earning more than twelve times its budget. It is the fifth highest-grossing music biopic and sixth highest-grossing Christian film of all-time in the United States. Some critics praised it as inspiring and noted it as an improvement compared to other faith-based films, while others called it flat and by-the-numbers. At the 2018 Dove Awards, the film won Inspirational Film of the Year .

Plot

Ten-year-old Bart Millard lives with his mother and abusive father Arthur in Texas. One day, Bart s mother drops him off at a Christian camp, where Bart meets Shannon. Upon his return from camp, Bart finds that his mother has left and movers are removing her belongings. Bart angrily confronts Arthur, who denies that his abusiveness was the reason she left.

Years later, in high school, Bart and Shannon are dating. Bart plays football to please Arthur, but is injured, breaking both ankles and ending his career. The only elective with openings is music class, so he reluctantly signs up. Initially, Bart is assigned to be a sound technician, but after overhearing him singing, the director casts him in the lead role in the school production of Oklahoma!. Bart overcomes his reluctance and gives an impressive performance, but does not tell Arthur, who finds out the night of the show when he happens to see a flyer for the show in a diner. Arthur suddenly collapses in pain, and finds out he has cancer, which he hides from Bart. The following morning, Bart antagonizes Arthur, who smashes a plate over his head. At church, Shannon sees the blood and presses Bart to open up, but he responds by breaking up with her, and leaves town to seek his fortune in the city.

Bart joins a band in need of a singer, and convinces Christian music producer Scott Brickell to manage the band and secure a showcase in Nashville. Bart surprises Shannon and invites her to tour with the band, and is confused when Shannon flatly refuses. In Nashville, Brickell introduces Bart to established artists Amy Grant and Michael W. Smith, but is unable to convince record executives to sign the band, who do not believe the band, now performing as MercyMe , is good enough. Devastated, Bart quits the band, but Brickell thinks that Bart needs to resolve issues in his personal life, so Bart reconciles with the band and asks them to wait for him, and leaves to return home.

Bart returns home late at night, and is confused to find that Arthur has prepared breakfast for him the next morning. Arthur claims to have become a Christian, but Bart is skeptical and refuses to forgive him, and leaves. In anger and despair, Arthur smashes his old Jeep, which he had asked Bart to help him restore. Bart attempts to drive away in Arthur s pickup, but discovers the terminal cancer diagnosis, and returns to Arthur. Bart forgives his father, and the two form a deep bond, but Arthur soon dies of his illness.

After Arthur s funeral, Bart rejoins the band and writes I Can Only Imagine , and also calls Shannon and apologizes to her for the first time since their breakup. Brickell sends the demo tape to several artists, including Grant, who, deeply moved by the song, asks to record it herself as her next single, and Bart, who just wants the song to be heard, accepts. On stage, Grant begins the song, but can t bring herself to sing it, and calls Bart on stage from the audience to sing it himself. Bart s performance earns an enthusiastic ovation, and he reunites with Shannon, who was also in attendance. The band releases the song as their first single, achieving success on both Christian and mainstream radio.

Cast

This list is incomplete; you can help by adding missing items. (March 2018)

• J. Michael Finley as Bart Millard Brody Rose as Young Bart Millard
• Brody Rose as Young Bart Millard
• Tanya Clarke as Adele Millard
• Cloris Leachman as Meemaw Leona Millard, Bart s grandmother
• Madeline Carroll as Shannon Street, Bart s girlfriend Taegan Burns as Young Shannon Street
• Taegan Burns as Young Shannon Street
• Dennis Quaid as Arthur Millard, Bart’s abusive father
• Trace Adkins as Scott Brickell, MercyMe s manager
• Priscilla Shirer as Mrs. Fincher, Bart s teacher
• Nicole DuPort as Amy Grant
• Jake B. Miller as Michael W. Smith
• Jason Burkey as Mike Scheuchzer
• Mark Furze as Nathan Cochran
• Randy McDowell as Jim Bryson
• Cole Marcus as Robbie Shaffer
• Gianna Simone as Dr. Avondale
• Kevin Downes as Singleton
• Delilah as Herself

Production

This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (March 2018)

The film was announced in December 2016. Dennis Quaid joined the cast in January 2017. Broadway actor J. Michael Finley, who sang all the songs in the movie, makes his film debut as Bart Millard. The same month, it was announced that the film was slated for release in the spring of 2018. In August 2017, Lionsgate and Roadside Attractions signed on as distributors for the film for a nationwide release in the United States.

Reception

Box office

I Can Only Imagine grossed $83.4 million in the United States and Canada and $1.8 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $85.2 million, against a production budget of $7 million. It is the fourth-highest grossing music biopic of all-time in the United States, behind Bohemian Rhapsody, Straight Outta Compton and Walk the Line. It is also the highest-grossing independent film of 2018.

I Can Only Imagine was released on March 16, 2018, alongside Tomb Raider and Love, Simon, and was originally projected to gross $2–4 million from 1,620 theaters in its opening weekend. However, after making $6.2 million on its first day (including $1.3 million from Thursday night previews), weekend estimates were increased to $14 million. It ended up grossing $17.1 million, exceeding expectations and finishing third at the box office behind Black Panther and Tomb Raider. 67% of the opening weekend audience was female while 80% was over the age of 35. It was the fourth best-ever opening for a faith-based film, following The Passion of the Christ ($83.8 million), Son of God ($25.6 million) and Heaven Is for Real ($22.5 million). In its second weekend the film was added to 624 additional theaters and dropped just 19% to $13.8 million, again finishing third. It was added to another 395 venues and finished fourth in its third weekend, making $10.4 million (including $3 million on Easter Sunday).

The film has been translated and distributed in several countries, including China, according to co-director Jon Erwin:

I find it very interesting that in the same year that China actually restricted . . . Christianity, they paid for I Can Only Imagine . . . . They paid for the right to translate it and distribute it to their people. That s happened in over 100 countries around the world with our films.

Critical response

On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 67% based on 33 reviews, with an average rating of 5.8/10. The website s critical consensus reads, I Can Only Imagine s message will have the most impact among Christian audiences, but overall, its performances and storytelling represent a notable evolution in faith-based cinema. On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 30 out of 100, based on eight critics, indicating generally unfavorable reviews . Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film a rare average grade of A+ on an A+ to F scale.

The Arizona Republic s James Ward gave the film 4 stars out of 5 and wrote, Too often faith-based films — say anything with Kirk Cameron or the terrible God s Not Dead series — tend to preach to the choir or hector their audience. The Erwins’ films — I Can Only Imagine definitely among them — are more inclusive, charitable of spirit and hopeful, all qualities that are always appreciated, be they rooted in Christian faith or otherwise. David Ehrlich of IndieWire gave the film a C− saying: There’s a reason why all of these movies are so amateurishly made; why they all end with links to religious websites; why they all look like they were shot on an iPhone by a Walmart-brand Janusz Kaminski who lit each interior like the white light of heaven was streaming through every window…Art can be affirmation, but affirmation cannot be art.

Faith-based reviewers mostly gave the movie positive reviews. Megan Basham of World magazine called Quaid the real workhorse and added that he bears the heavy load of convincingly giving us both a monster and a repentant dad longing to connect with his son. Quaid impresses on both counts. Michael Foust of the Southern Baptist Texan gave the film 5 out of 5 stars and wrote, The screenplay is gripping, the soundtrack is perfect, and the performances by Quaid and Finley had me squirming, laughing and crying.

Home media

The film was released on iTunes and Google Play on June 5, 2018, and on DVD and Blu-ray on June 12, 2018. I Can Only Imagine was the no. 1 film in DVD sales and rentals for the weeks ending June 17 and June 24, 2018. As of February 2020, I Can Only Imagine has earned $24 million in home media sales.

Awards and nominations

Award	Date of ceremony	Category	Recipients	Result
K-LOVE Fan Awards	May 27, 2018	Film Impact	I Can Only Imagine	Won
Dove Awards	October 16, 2018	Inspirational Film of the Year	I Can Only Imagine	Won
People s Choice Awards	November 11, 2018	The Family Movie of 2018	I Can Only Imagine	Nominated
27th Annual Movieguide Awards	February 8, 2019	Best Movie For Families	I Can Only Imagine	Nominated
		Epiphany Prize for Most Inspiring Movie	I Can Only Imagine	Won
		Grace Award for Movies	Dennis Quaid and J. Michael Finley, for their roles in I Can Only Imagine	Nominated
9th Annual Guild of Music Supervisors Awards	February 13, 2019	Best Music Supervision for Film Budgeted Under $10 Million	Kevin Edelman and Ben Sokoler – I Can Only Imagine	Nominated
Plugged In Movie Awards 2019	February 22, 2019	Best Christian Movie – Audience s Choice	I Can Only Imagine	Won

Year	2018
ReleaseDate	2018-03-16
RuntimeMins	110
RuntimeStr	1h 50min
Plot	The inspiring and unknown true story behind MercyMe’s beloved, chart topping song that brings ultimate hope to so many is a gripping reminder of the power of true forgiveness.
Awards	Awards, 6 wins & 5 nominations
Directors	Andrew Erwin, Jon Erwin
Writers	Bart Millard, Jon Erwin, Brent McCorkle
Stars	J. Michael Finley, Madeline Carroll, Dennis Quaid
Produced by	Cindy Bond,Scott Brickell,Kevin Downes,Holley Ellis,Scott Ellis,Andrew Erwin,Jon Erwin,Micheal Flaherty,Brent Ryan Green,Noah Hamilton,Raymond Harris,Bill Heavener,Bill Herren,Joe Knopp,Daryl C. Lefever,Mickey Liddell,Travis Mann,Danny McGuffey,Pete Shilaimon,Simon Swart,Josh Walsh,Tony Young
Music by	Brent McCorkle
Cinematography by	Kristopher Kimlin
Film Editing by	Andrew Erwin,Brent McCorkle
Casting By	Beverly Holloway
Production Design by	Joseph T. Garrity
Art Direction by	Clarisa Garcia-Fresco
Set Decoration by	Clarisa Garcia-Fresco,Jennifer Herbel
Costume Design by	Anna Redmon
Makeup Department	Krischelle Blackwell,Laura Casey,Jashona Clark,Alicia Daiss,Alejandra Ford,Alexandra Ford,Jenny Hausam,Teresa Luz,Toni Marlo,Sarah Yacko,Jennifer Kimlin,Alicia Sambrano
Production Management	Dan Atchison,Benjamin M. Bailey,Sean Patrick Eaton
Second Unit Director or Assistant Director	Daniel Cochran,Stephen J. Hanan,Victor Mathews,Brent McCorkle,Jason Stafford,Temple Tucker
Art Department	O Shay Brooks,Ian Bruce,David Bruster,Manuel Bueso,Andrew Cherry,Will E. Drummond,Zackary Steven Graham,Ed Gurney,Justin Haley,Ben Hall,Lucas Cole Hart,Heidi Hoffer,April Hopkins,Alissa Horn,Scott C. Hynes,Craig Kiriokos,James Knowlton,Diane LeCrone,Bezhan Nazari,Matt Norman,Jay Parker,Kevin Sappington,Allen Scales,Kaitlyn Shelby,Valerie L. Sisk,Cassie Kay Smith,Daryl Storey
Sound Department	Onnalee Blank,Terry Boyd Jr.,Benjamin L. Cook,Jacob Falls,Eric Harwood,Aaron Hasson,Bradley C. Katona,Stephen Preston,Grant Provence,Elizabeth Rainey,Brian Smith,Branden Spencer,John St. Denis,Jorge Sánchez,Jody Thomas,Mathew Waters
Special Effects by	Levi Clark
Visual Effects by	Ashley Ledden,Ethan Ledden
Stunts	Paul Bennett,Cole Shannon,Kent Shelton
Camera and Electrical Department	Benjamin M. Bailey,Matt Bauske,Derek Boyd,Alexander Brou,Keith Brown,Zachary Burns,Peter Burton,Phil Byrd,Samuel Calvin,Jon Champion,Sean Collins,Joseph A. Cook,Jeremy D Apolito,Omega Davis,Eric Dickinson,Elizabeth Drew,Mike Falco,Scott Forrester,Titus Fox,Austin Davis Gill,Noah Hamilton,Micah Hart,Kyle Keegan,Kristopher Kimlin,Sean Kirby,Mike Kubeisy,Nathan Lee,Andy Lohrenz,Russell Macway,Alan Markfield,Jeff Marks,Diego Montiel,Kyle Roberts,Dylan Shelby,Jon Shryock,Jeremy Smart,Silas Solid,Ryan Staten,Scott Sunday,Sunrise Tippeconnie,James Wray
Casting Department	Ranjani Brow,Anton Fair,Chris Forbes,Wendy Hoffman,Jack Kelly,David Kloehr,Ashley Lambert,Annmarie McClelland,Regina Moore,Olivia Palmer Nelson,Taye Nelson,Angela Startz,Deana Thompson-Elkington,Josh Walsh
Costume and Wardrobe Department	Jenava Burguiere,Sheena Carpenter,Talaya Champion,Rachel Craig,Amy Higdon,McKenna J. Lefever,Troy Nicely,Jack O Dell
Editorial Department	Parker Adams,Benjamin M. Bailey,Matthew Gardocki,Paul Lauer,John-Luke Solid
Location Management	Brandon J. Clark Sr.,Payton Dunham,Brian Gililland,Sha ree Green,Jason Head,Raymond Morse,Alison Naifeh,Elizabeth Wolfe
Music Department	Quadray Asberry,Bobby Baeho,David Davidson,Kevin J. Edelman,J. Michael Finley,Laura Gilson,John Hammon,Mark Johnson,Jangae Kim,Chris Kuti,Thierry Malet,Blair Masters,Brent McCorkle,Gillian McCorkle,Lauren McCorkle,Chelsea McGough,Jerry McPherson,Paul Mills,Keaton Nye,Nashville Recording Orchestra,Matt Pierson,Taylor Pollert,Aidan Rowe,Ben Sokoler,Garrett Starks,Gunner Stroud,Ron Treat
Script and Continuity Department	Amanda Rainey
Transportation Department	Robert Bray,Terry Bray,Justin Clenard,Cody Cobb,Tom Comstock,Joel Decker,Dan Dolan,Ron Dupree,Grant Funderburg,Michael Goss,Jd Hamersly,Michael Hamersly,Beau Holden,Jimmy Hollingshead,Lew Homme,Jim Long,Hannah Marchant,Rick Mooreman,Steve Raulston,Jack Sander,Doug Tabb
Additional Crew	Nicole Abisinio,Will Allen,Ryan Bartley,Kevin Bennett,Blake Benton,Jilly Blundell,Nate Bobbett,Curtis Bramlett,Hattie Breece,Jacob Brewer,John-Clay Burnett,Alexis Carroll,Eduardo Castillo,Adrian Castro,Jennifer Cobb,Paige Collins,Zaco Cox,Keely Davenport,Stacey Davis,Salvador De Anda,Kylie Esco,Jerilyn Esquibel,Lucas Fairchild,Brandon H. Fields,Michael J. Fox Jr.,David Franzoni,Michael Glassman,Ashley Greyson,Veni Hansen,Marc Harper,Jonathan Allen Hensley,Mehrdod Heydari,Susy Hilterbran,Beau Holden,Scott Holroyd,Diane Howard,Ryan Jones,Jesse Liddell,Mickey Liddell,Delaney Lloyd,Nathan R. Lyle,Michelle Marlette,Ana Karen Mascote,Tiffany Mather,McClain McKinney,Jennifer Monroe,Michelle Murnan,Neil Newby,Ethan Norvell,Michael Onofri,Arthur Ortiz,Jamice Oxley,Wendy A. Parker,Susan Pearce,Jessica Pierson,Megan Porter,Morgan Porter,Trevor Rogers,Jenn Ross,William Ross,Mary Catherine Sansom,Mike Sheldon,Pete Shilaimon,Lisa G. Shillingburg,John-Luke Solid,Wade Starr,Adolph Steele,Nicole Stojkovich,DaVena Sulevan,Joy Thayer,Meagan Thomas,Eric W. Thompson,Devon Totoro,Thomas H. Vidal,Charles Walker,Beau Ward,Brian Woodland,Jacob Yakob,Shelby Young,Guadalupe Zambrano,Miguel Zombrano
Thanks	Marc Harper,McClain McKinney,Jeff Moseley,Mike Snider
Genres	Biography, Drama, Family
Companies	Kevin Downes Productions, Mission Pictures International, City on a Hill Productions
Countries	USA
Languages	English
ContentRating	PG
ImDbRating	7.3
ImDbRatingVotes	16351
MetacriticRating	30
Keywords	abusive father,religion,song,christianity,based on true story