As Lionsgate’s faith-based blockbuster “Jesus Revolution” nears the end of its impressive $51M+ box office and transitions to a home video debut, Producer Kevin Downes is crediting prayer, word of mouth, and God’s timing for its success. The film, starring Kelsey Grammer, Joel Courtney, Anna Grace Barlow, and Jonathan Roumie, opened in February and quickly impressed audiences and critics alike with its engaging story of the early Jesus Movement and strong showing in theaters.
“There was a lot of prayer, first of all, prayer that we were telling the right story that God wanted us to tell,” he said. “When the film came together, we saw how audiences were reacting to it before it came out. When you have a good film, you can’t over screen it enough.”
Beyond that, just as the film was on the verge of releasing, revivals began breaking out at college campuses around the country. Since the film itself is about the beginning of a massive revival, it certainly felt like God’s timing.
“You never know what’s going happen in the atmosphere, but in early February, when we saw these revivals start to break out at college campuses, we were like ‘Wow, look what God is doing in this moment’,” he said. “For me, I just felt a sense of releasing the movie to God at that point, and whatever happened, we would be totally fine with it.”
Downes says the Kingdom Story team, which includes co-director Jon Erwin and Andy Erwin, were most grateful for the millions of lives the numbers represented.
“We were just so excited that people were resonating with it,” he said. “God had really put a vision on our heart and said, ‘This is the story that I want you to make.’ I guess you could say millions because it’s about 5 million people seeing the film if it averages out to 10 bucks, which is just incredible. Praise God for all the all the lives that are being changed.”
In the current age of social media, producers were able to read “countless” stories of people who were affected in a positive way by the story of a young Greg Laurie and his first encounters with Pastor Chuck Smith and evangelist Lonnie Frisbee.
“We saw prayer gatherings inside of theaters, prayer gatherings in the lobbies of theaters, in the parking lot of theaters right after the movie was playing,” he said. “There were so many personal stories of people sharing things that happened to them that radically changed their lives, families being reunited, stuff like that. We know there are that many, but you can only imagine how many more out there that you don’t hear about. So, we give God the glory for all of that, because it’s really cool to witness.”
The film recently premiered on direct to digital “electronic sell through” and the home video release and on demand will arrive on April 25, expanding its reach even further. Extras included in the Blu-Ray and DVD include:
- Audio Commentary with Directors Jon Erwin and Brent McCorkle and Producer Kevin Downes
- When God Has a Plan: Making Jesus Revolution (Blu-ray Exclusive)
- The Heart of the Film
- Inspired by a True Movement
- Behind the Scenes of “Living Water” with Anne Wilson
- Faces of the Jesus Revolution
- Deleted Scenes with Optional Audio Commentary with Directors Jon Erwin and Brent McCorkle
The success of “Jesus Revolution” will propel Kingdom Story Studios to continue its mission to tell true stories “that showcase the power of the gospel.” The next release is “Ordinary Angels” starring Academy Award-winner Hillary Swank and Alan Ritcheson.
“Again, it’s a true-life story that really showcases the power of the gospel, when a church comes together, to rally to save the life of a little girl, the community is united by that,” he said. “Stories like that we’re just so passionate about. And, and so yeah, we look forward to whatever God’s got in store in the future for the stories that we tell.”
“Jesus Revolution,” directed by Jon Erwin and Brent McCorkle, recently released for sale on digital “Electronic Sell Through” and will release on video on demand and DVD and Blu-Ray on April 25.
In this video, directors Erwin and McCorkle and Downes speak about the making of the film and what’s next.
Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In