Hitmakers Behind Courageous and Fireproof Go Independent

The production team behind the hit movies, Courageous, Fireproof and Facing the Giants have launched a new production company.

With the support and blessing of their pastor, Alex and Stephen have expanded their movie making endeavors beyond Sherwood Baptist Church's walls.  Kendrick Brothers Productions has launched an independent movie production company designed to partner with believers across the nation and help train the next generation of Christian filmmakers. The Kendrick brothers plan to make their next movie under this new paradigm.

Pastor Catt said, “Jim and I are blessed to call Alex and Stephen our friends and co-laborers for the Gospel. They will continue to live in Albany and be an active part of the ministry of Sherwood Baptist Church. We love these guys and are grateful for God sending them to our staff over a decade ago. It will be exciting for us to take the steps of faith required to see where God will take us. No matter what lies ahead, this has been an incredible ride for all of us. Our prayers are with them as they pursue future endeavors.”

In a recent update on their site, Stephen posted that filming will begin next week:

Over the last five months we set up a production office, conducted online and live casting sessions, locked in our crew, and scouted the needed locations for the story. Every location is visually rich and completely fresh to us. God has provided an amazing cast of strong believers. Some are new faces to us, others you will recognize from our previous films, and there are a few surprises that many will recognize from the Christian ministry world. The Lord has also provided an excellent crew of Christian filmmakers and film-school interns. Many of them have been praying for God to open the door for them to work on a movie project that honors Him. Our production office is humming along. Lots of buzz. Tons of progress every day. We are very grateful that multiple pastors and churches are working together and surrounding this effort in prayer.

Courageous Remains in Top 10

For the fifth straight week, Courageous remains in the Top 10 grossing over $1.8 million and cuming over almost $28 million.

Dolphin Tale brought in another $1.6 million to bring its total to $67 million.

Courageous and Dolphin Tales Still Heard at the Box Office

Dolphin Tale dropped from first to third with an estimated $9.2M, off 34%, for a $49.1M cume. It looks to end up grossing around $70M. Fatherhood pic Courageous lost 49% of its crowd and took in an estimated $4.6M for a total of $15.9M. The low-budget $2M drama is headed for an estimated $25M.  Courageous continued to have one of the highest averages per theater - this time coming in third.

Courageous Opens in Fourth Place

"Courageous" was the only one of this week's new movie releases to improve from estimates to actuals, and it passed "50/50" in the process to take fourth place. The movie debuted to $9.1 million from just 1,161 theaters for a strong per-theater average of $7,806. That's up from the studio's last movie Fireproof ($6.8 million), though the average was off just a bit. The opening ranks fifth all-time for a Christian movie, and only trails "The Passion of the Christ" and the three "Narnia" movies. "Courageous" scored a rare "A+" CinemaScore, and the audience was 53 percent female and 77 percent over the age of 25.

Made outside of Hollywood without any major stars, "Courageous" managed to fly under most radars until very recently. It will be interesting to see if "Courageous" can hold as well as "Fireproof" did when it went on to earn $33.46 million, or nearly five times its opening weekend, in 2008.

Will You Be Courageous this Weekend?

"Protecting the streets is second nature to these men. Raising their children in a God-honoring way? That's courageous." Are you going to see the latest by Sherwood Pictures this weekend?

Tony Dungy: 'Courageous' Movie Will Impact Men

Former NFL coach Tony Dungy has watched the upcoming film "Courageous," and he wants other men to do so as well. "It's a great movie. I think men, especially, are going to look at this and really connect and identify," Dungy said recently. "Every guy who looks at this [movie]," Dungy said, "is going to see themselves in some way and say, 'How can I be better with the hole in my parenting?' I think it's going to be special."

Courageous, which opens Sept. 30, is the latest film from Sherwood Pictures which also made "Fireproof" and "Facing the Giants." With a police force as the film's backdrop, the story follows five men as they seek to become better fathers. Most reviewers who have seen Courageous are calling it the best film yet from Sherwood.

The Auburn Tigers football team took a break from practice and team meetings this summer for a screening and it was received quite well by the team. Head coach Gene Chizik called Courageous a "tremendous movie with a great message." "I want this to hit you because it's got nothing to do with football," Chizik told the team. "It's about you being a man. That, long after all this is over, is the most important thing, and it's not even close." Ken Bevel, who plays officer Nathan Hayes in Courageous, said he was honored to watch the screening with the defending national champions.