Taglines: The song you know. The story you don’t.
I Can Only Imagine – it’s the song that brings ultimate hope to so many… often in the midst of life’s most challenging moments. Amazingly, the song was written in mere minutes by MercyMe lead singer Bart Millard. In reality, those lyrics took a lifetime to craft. Although he found faith at a young age, life wasn’t easy for Bart. He leaned into an active imagination and his love of music as escapes from a troubled home life.
As he grew older, Bart turned to football in hopes of somehow connecting with his abusive father. But a career-ending injury-combined with the vision of a teacher who saw unlimited potential-set Bart on a musical pathway. Chasing a dream while running from broken relationships with his father and Shannon, his childhood sweetheart, Bart hits the road in an old, decrepit tour bus with his new band MercyMe-named for his grandmother’s favorite expression.
With the guidance of a grizzled music-industry insider, the band begins a journey none of them could ever have imagined. A gripping reminder of the power of forgiveness, I Can Only Imagine beautifully illustrates that no one is ever too far from God’s love-or from an eternal home in Heaven.
I Can Only Imagine is a 2018 American Christian 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 “I Can Only Imagine”, 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 massive 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”.
I Can Only Imagine (2018)
Directed by: Jon Erwin, Andrew Erwin
Starring: Madeline Carroll, Cloris Leachman, Dennis Quaid, Priscilla Shirer, J. Michael Finley, Brody Rose, Trace Adkins, Tanya Clarke, David Norona, Rhoda Griffis, Gianna Simone, Nicole DuPort
Screenplay by: Jon Erwin, Brent McCorkle
Production Design by: Joseph T. Garrity
Cinematography by: Kristopher Kimlin
Film Editing by: Andrew Erwin, Brent McCorkle
Costume Design by: Anna Redmon
Set Decoration by: Clarisa Garcia-Fresco, Jennifer Herbel
MPAA Rating: PG for thematic elements including some violence.
Distributed by: Roadside Attractions, Lionsgate Films
Release Date: March 16, 2018
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