The third-biggest movie in America this weekend was I Can Only Imagine

The third-biggest movie in America this weekend was I Can Only Imagine, a movie that shares a title with a Christian song that first charted 17 years ago. It’s a retelling of the story of MercyMe's Bart Millard (played by newcomer J. Michael Finley) and his journey to forgive his abusive, alcoholic father (Dennis Quaid), as well as his father’s movement toward faith before his death.

Directed by brothers Andrew and Jon Erwin, whose previous movies like Mom’s Night Out, Woodlawn, and October Baby were modest box office successes, I Can Only Imagine startled many by hauling in over $17 million, making more than $10,000 per screen and beating A Wrinkle in Time in its second weekend. That means it’s the seventh-biggest faith-based film opening ever (the fourth if the Narnia films don’t count), and the biggest since Heaven Is For Real in 2014.

There are a few reasons that I Can Only Imagine did well, and the biggest is the song that inspired the movie. It tells the story behind the most successful  contemporary faith song that was ubiquitous on Christian radio — and eventually crossed over to mainstream radio.

There might be two other faith-based movies that might be a breakout hit this month.

Vox argues that movies for the faith-based audience can be broken into three main categories. One is the inspirational category, more uplifting than specifically evangelistic, to which I Can Only Imagine belongs, along with high-performing movies like Heaven Is For Real, War Room, and The Shack.

Another is stories based on the Bible, with movies like The Passion of the Christ and Son of God. And the third is movies that are essentially political in nature, like the God’s Not Dead movies.

On the Friday before Palm Sunday, Paul, Apostle of Christ will open in theaters and start competing with I Can Only Imagine for the faith-based audience. The film stars Jim Caviezel, who is best known among the faith-based audience for playing Jesus in The Passion of the Christ (and reportedly will reprise his role in an upcoming sequel).

And on Good Friday, God’s Not Dead: A Light in the Darkness, the third installment in the God’s Not Dead series, opens in theaters. In this one, a pastor discovers that his church has burned down and that the university on which it was housed is using this as a reason to move the church off campus.

The God’s Not Dead series is hugely popular — and, like I Can Only Imagine, takes its title from a song, this time from the Christian rock band the Newsboys — and will pose stiff competition to the other two films.

Bethany Hamilton Joins "Dolphin Tale 2"

Inspirational professional surfer Bethany Hamilton (“Soul Surfer”) will join the cast of “Dolphin Tale 2.”

Hamilton will join the original film’s returning cast, including Harry Connick, Jr., Morgan Freeman, Kris Kristofferson, Ashley Judd, Nathan Gamble and Cozi Zuehlsdorff, among others. Charles Martin Smith, who wrote “Dolphin Tale,” has written the screenplay for the sequel and is again directing.

“Dolphin Tale 2” tells another true story inspired by the life of the rescued bottle nose dolphin, Winter – the star of “Dolphin Tale” – this time involving the real-life, new baby dolphin Hope, who was also saved and rehabilitated by the Clearwater Marine Aquarium.

Hamilton, who will play herself in “Dolphin Tale 2,” has become a source of inspiration to millions through her story of faith, determination and hope. At age 13, Hamilton was bitten by a 14-foot tiger shark while surfing off Kauai’s North Shore, leaving her with a severed left arm. Miraculously, just one month after the attack, Hamilton returned to the water. She went on to win a national title, and eventually realized her dream of becoming a professional surfer.

Hamilton’s autobiography, Soul Surfer, was made into a major motion picture starring AnnaSophia Robb, Helen Hunt and Dennis Quaid. She has written eight additional books (with another coming soon) and continues to surf professionally today.

“Dolphin Tale 2” is currently filming in Clearwater, Florida. Warner Bros. Pictures will distribute the film and has slated the film for a September 19, 2014 release.

Soul Surfer Riding High in Its Second Week

Soul Surfer rode the wave into fourth at the box office this weekend, falling a slim 30% from last weekend to finish with $7.4M, according to estimates, bringing its total to $20M. A final gross in the area of $40M is possible.

Soul Surfer Makes a Splash at the Box Office

The inspirational drama "Soul Surfer" exceeded expectations and debuted in fourth with an estimated $11.1M. Posting the best screen average among the new films, the PG-rated true story of a teen surfer who gets her life back on track after a shark bites off her arm averaged a good $5,014 from 2,214 screens. Overall, “Soul Surfer” came in fourth, but lost the #2 spot only by a nose to “Hanna,” which banked $12.3m on 300+ more screens, and the “Arthur” remake, which played on 1,000+ more screens but took in only $12.6m. Per screen, “Soul Surfer” beat “Arther” by $1,200. No small thing, especially since surfing movies tend to wipe out.

Nikki Finke reports that Sony was hoping for $10 million and is obviously very happy with the results: “If we do 10 million this weekend (or close to it), it would be a home run for Sony and Film District.”

The movie earned mixed reviews from critics, but "Soul Surfer" earned an A+ grade from CinemaScore which is rare these days so word-of-mouth should help the pic to play well for the rest of the spring season especially with the Easter holiday still to come. So the $15 million production should prove to be quite profitable.

Exit polls showed that a whopping 80% of the crowd was female and 56% was under 25. Moms and daughters made up a big portion of the audience.

“Soul Surfer,” which is based on the true story of Bethany Hamilton, a young surfer whose Christian faith and family help her to overcome a shark attack that cost her an arm, stars AnnaSophia Robb, Dennis Quaid and Helen Hunt. Thanks to some very good marketing to the teenage crowd in general and to the Christian market specifically, what Hollywood has here is one less excuse to keep ‘em coming.

Surfer’s Tale of Strength and Faith Portrayed in ‘Soul Surfer’

Bethany Hamilton was little known outside the competitive surfing community until a tiger shark took her arm off along the coast of Kauai when she was 13 years old.

That moment and that loss do not define Bethany Hamilton. They merely galvanize who she already was. And she doesn’t want anyone to feel sorry for her, because she certainly doesn’t.

“Ultimately, I hope that my struggles and what I went though can hopefully be encouraging,” says Hamilton, now 21. She’s out promoting the film Soul Surfer, based on her autobiography and starring Dennis Quaid, Helen Hunt and AnnaSophia Robb as Bethany.

The movie, which opens today, captures not only that fateful shark encounter, but also her return to the ocean and the family and faith that ground her.

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