Andrew Erwin | |
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Born | Birmingham, Alabama, U.S. | September 1, 1978
Occupation(s) | Film director, screenwriter, film producer |
Jon Erwin | |
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Born | Birmingham, Alabama, U.S. | May 19, 1982
Occupation(s) | Film director, screenwriter, film producer |
Andrew and Jon Erwin, known as the Erwin Brothers, are American Christian film directors, screenwriters and film producers known for such films as Woodlawn , [1] October Baby , [2] Moms' Night Out [3] [4] and I Can Only Imagine which have collectively grossed more than $150 million worldwide. They are the leaders and co-founders of the production company Kingdom Story Company.
The Erwin brothers were born in Birmingham, Alabama. [5] They are the children of former state senator Hank Erwin and grandsons of Henry Eugene "Red" Erwin Sr., a Medal of Honor recipient and World War II veteran.
After stopping their studies at a film school, the Erwin brothers produced The Cross and the Towers, a documentary about the steel cross found in the debris of the World Trade Center towers after September 11 attacks. [6]
Jon Erwin served as second unit director for Alex and Stephen Kendrick's 2011 film Courageous . [7] When asked by Alex in reference to his career, "[w]hat is your purpose?", Jon and Andrew conceived the idea for their first feature film, October Baby , a Christian anti-abortion drama which was released in 2011. [8] [9] The brothers went on to produce and direct several other faith-based films, including comedy Moms' Night Out (2014), and sports drama Woodlawn (2015).
Their 2018 music biopic I Can Only Imagine , became a surprise box-office hit with $17.1 million from 1,629 theaters during its debut weekend, and went on to become the most successful independent film of the year of 2018, as well as the third-highest grossing music biopic at the time of its release. Distributed by Lionsgate, made more in box office receipts than all of their previous films combined and is their most successful film to date, with $86 million in worldwide box office against a production budget of $7 million. [10] [11]
The success of I Can Only Imagine led to the founding of Kingdom Story Company, a subsidiary of Lionsgate founded by the Erwin brothers and frequent filmmaking collaborator Kevin Downes, specializing in Christian films. [12] Some will be directed by the Erwins, while other movies will use newcomers and other veteran directors. [13] Jon Erwin compared it to a "Christian Pixar" or "Christian Marvel". As Baptist Press put it, the company will specialize "in a specific area"—the faith-based genre—and be able to "work on multiple films at one time." [13]
In early 2019, the Erwins revealed that their fifth film, I Still Believe , would be focusing on the life story of Christian musician Jeremy Camp. [14] It was released on March 13, 2020.
In February 2020, Andrew Erwin related the Erwins' goal in filmmaking:
Our focus is still firmly rooted within the church, but it's focused out[.] ... And so our goal is to reach out beyond the church walls to engage a generation that's walking away from the church – as an introduction to Christianity.
— Andrew Erwin, in an interview with Christian Headlines [15]
In 2021, they released The Jesus Music , a documentary about contemporary Christian music. They also released American Underdog , a biopic about NFL quarterback Kurt Warner. The film drew $27 million at the box office and was positively reviewed by critics.
In 2023, the brothers released Jesus Revolution , a drama about the life of the Christian men who sparked a countercultural movement in Southern California in the 1960s. Though it received mixed reviews, the film grossed $54 million on a budget of $15 million.
In 2024, they released Ordinary Angels , based on a true story during the 1994 North American cold wave. It received overwhelmingly positive reviews from critics and grossed $20 million on a $12 million budget.
In 2023, Jon Erwin founded a new studio called The Wonder Project with former Netflix executive Kelly Hoogstraten "to create a trusted brand that serves the faith and values audience globally with movies and TV shows they didn’t know were possible." [16] The new company received $100 million in seed funding from companies including Lionsgate and filmmaker Dallas Jenkins, who is a shareholder in the company. [17] Their first project is House of David, a historical drama series scheduled to be released on Amazon Prime Video in 2025.
Year | Title | Director | Writer | Producer | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
2006 | The Cross and the Towers | Yes | No | Yes | Documentary film Also cinematographer and editor |
2011 | October Baby | Yes | Yes | Yes | Also executive producer and cinematographer |
2012 | Fully Alive | Yes | No | No | |
2014 | Moms' Night Out | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
2015 | Woodlawn | Yes | Yes | Executive | |
2017 | Steve McQueen: American Icon | Yes | No | Yes | Documentary film |
2018 | I Can Only Imagine | Yes | Yes | Executive | |
2020 | I Still Believe | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
2021 | The Jesus Music | Yes | Yes | Executive | Documentary film |
American Underdog | Yes | Yes | Yes | ||
2023 | Jesus Revolution | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
2024 | Ordinary Angels | No | No | Yes | |
The Best Christmas Pageant Ever | No | No | Yes | Post-production | |
2025 | The Unbreakable Boy | No | No | Yes | Post-production |
Sarah's Oil | No | No | Yes | Post-production |
Year | Title | Director | Producer | Editor | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
2006 | The Cross and the Towers | Yes | No | Yes | Documentary film |
2008 | Hearing Everett: The Rancho Sordo Mudo Story | No | No | Yes | |
2011 | October Baby | Yes | Yes | Yes | Also story writer and executive producer |
2012 | Fully Alive | No | No | Yes | |
2014 | Moms' Night Out | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
2015 | Woodlawn | Yes | Executive | Yes | |
2017 | Steve McQueen: American Icon | No | Yes | No | Documentary film |
2018 | I Can Only Imagine | Yes | Executive | Yes | |
2020 | I Still Believe | Yes | Yes | No | |
2021 | The Jesus Music | Yes | Executive | No | Documentary film |
American Underdog | Yes | Yes | Yes | ||
2023 | Jesus Revolution | No | Yes | No | |
2024 | Ordinary Angels | No | Yes | No | |
The Best Christmas Pageant Ever | No | No | Yes | Filming | |
2025 | The Unbreakable Boy | No | No | Yes | Post-production |
The Case for Christ is a 2017 American Christian drama film directed by Jon Gunn and written by Brian Bird, based on a true story and inspired by the 1998 book of the same name by Lee Strobel. The film stars Mike Vogel, Erika Christensen, Faye Dunaway and Robert Forster, and follows an atheist journalist who looks to disprove his wife's Christian faith. The film was released on April 7, 2017, by Pure Flix Entertainment. It received mixed reviews from critics and grossed $17.6 million against a $3 million budget.
Lionsgate Films is a Canadian-American film production and distribution studio founded in Canada in 1962. It is now a division of Lionsgate Studios and headquartered in Santa Monica.
Madeline Carroll is an American actress known for starring as Juli Baker in Flipped, as Molly Johnson in Swing Vote, as Farren in The Spy Next Door, and as Willow O'Neil in The Magic of Belle Isle.
Kevin Downes is an American actor, writer, producer, director, and co-founder and Chief of Production and Distribution of Kingdom Story Company. Downes grew up in Visalia, three hours north of Los Angeles. Many of the Christian films he participated in were shot there.
The Christian film industry is an aspect of Christian media for films containing a Christian-themed message or moral. They are often interdenominational films, but can also be films targeting a specific denomination of Christianity.
Courageous is a 2011 American independent Christian drama film directed by Alex Kendrick and written by Kendrick with his brother Stephen Kendrick. It is the fourth film by Sherwood Pictures, the creators of Flywheel, Facing the Giants, and Fireproof. Filming in Albany, Georgia concluded in June 2010. The film was marketed by Sony's Provident Films, which also marketed their previous films.
October Baby is a 2011 American Christian-themed drama film directed by Andrew Erwin and Jon Erwin and starring Rachel Hendrix in her film debut. It is the story of a woman named Hannah, who learns as a young adult that she survived a failed abortion attempt. She then embarks upon a road trip to understand the circumstances of her birth. October Baby was inspired by a YouTube video chronicling the life experiences of Gianna Jessen, who was born after a failed abortion attempt.
God's Not Dead is a 2014 American Christian drama film directed by Harold Cronk and starring Kevin Sorbo, Shane Harper, David A. R. White, and Dean Cain. Written by Cary Solomon and Chuck Konzelman from a story they co-wrote with Hunter Dennis, and inspired by Rice Broocks' book God's Not Dead: Evidence for God in an Age of Uncertainty, the film follows a Christian college student (Harper) whose faith is challenged by an atheist philosophy professor (Sorbo), who declares God a pre-scientific fiction. The film was produced by Pure Flix Entertainment in association with Check the Gate Productions, Red Entertainment Group, and Faith Family Films, and released theatrically on March 21, 2014, by Freestyle Releasing.
Moms' Night Out is a 2014 American faith-based comedy film directed by the Erwin Brothers, and written by Jon Erwin and Andrea Gyertson Nasfell. The film stars Sarah Drew, Sean Astin, Patricia Heaton, and Trace Adkins. The film was released on May 9, 2014, in 1,044 theaters. The movie centers on three moms attempting to get away and have a nice night out together and the pandemonium that ensues as everyone's plans go awry. The film was shot in Birmingham, Alabama, and, though it experienced an overall negative reception, grossed $10.5 million.
Woodlawn is a 2015 American Christian sports drama film directed by the Erwin Brothers. Based on the true story of Tandy Gerelds and Tony Nathan, it stars Sean Astin, Nic Bishop, Caleb Castille, Sherri Shepherd, Jon Voight, and C. Thomas Howell. It was produced by Kevin Downes and Daryl Lefever with Crescent City Pictures and Red Sky Studios and was released on October 16, 2015, by Pure Flix Entertainment.
Notorious is a 2009 American biographical drama film directed by George Tillman Jr. and written by Reggie Rock Bythewood and Cheo Hodari Coker. It is based on the life of Brooklyn-based hip-hop artist The Notorious B.I.G. Much of the film dramatizes key events in Biggie's life: his criminal lifestyle, arrest and release from prison, his relationships with Sean Combs, Tupac Shakur, Lil' Kim and Faith Evans, his involvement in the East Coast–West Coast hip hop rivalry and his drive-by-shooting murder on March 9, 1997. The film stars Jamal Woolard as Wallace, with Angela Bassett, Derek Luke, and Anthony Mackie in supporting roles. Biggie's mother, Voletta, served as a producer for the film, alongside his former managers Wayne Barrow and Mark Pitts.
All Eyez on Me is a 2017 American biographical drama film directed by Benny Boom. Titled after the 1996 studio album, as well as the song of the same name, it is based on the life and death of the American rapper Tupac Shakur. The film stars Demetrius Shipp Jr. as Tupac, with Kat Graham, Lauren Cohan, Hill Harper, and Danai Gurira. Jamal Woolard reprises his role as Christopher "Biggie Smalls" Wallace / The Notorious B.I.G. from Notorious (2009).
Jigsaw is a 2017 American horror film directed by the Spierig Brothers and written by Josh Stolberg and Peter Goldfinger. It is the eighth installment in the Saw film series and stars Matt Passmore, Callum Keith Rennie, Clé Bennett, and Hannah Emily Anderson, with Tobin Bell returning to his role as John Kramer / Jigsaw. The plot follows a group of people who find themselves forced to participate in a series of deadly "games" inside a barn. Meanwhile, the police investigate a new series of murders that fit the modus operandi of the eponymous Jigsaw Killer (Bell), who has been dead for almost a decade.
Pinnacle Peak Pictures is an American independent evangelical Christian film production and distribution studio founded by David A. R. White and Russell Wolfe. Pinnacle Peak produces Christian films, including God's Not Dead (2014), Do You Believe? (2015), Woodlawn (2015), The Case for Christ (2017), and Unplanned (2019). Since 2014, films produced and distributed by Pure Flix have collectively grossed over $195 million at the worldwide box office. The company has headquarters in Scottsdale, Arizona.
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. Madeline Carroll, Trace Adkins, Priscilla Shirer, and Cloris Leachman also star.
I Still Believe is a 2020 American Christian romantic drama film directed by the Erwin brothers and starring KJ Apa, Britt Robertson, Shania Twain, Melissa Roxburgh, and Gary Sinise. It is based on the life of American contemporary Christian music singer-songwriter Jeremy Camp and his first wife, Melissa Lynn Henning-Camp, who was diagnosed with ovarian cancer shortly before they married. Camp's song "I Still Believe" is the film's namesake.
Kingdom Story Company, is an American film and television studio in partnership with Lionsgate specializing in the production of Christian films. It was founded in 2019 by the Erwin Brothers, Kevin Downes, and Tony Young and has operations in Nashville, Tennessee and Los Angeles, California.
American Underdog is a 2021 American biographical sports film about National Football League (NFL) quarterback Kurt Warner. Directed by Andrew and Jon Erwin, the film follows Warner's journey as an undrafted player who ascended to winning Super Bowl XXXIV. It stars Zachary Levi as Warner, alongside Anna Paquin as his wife Brenda and Dennis Quaid as his head coach Dick Vermeil.
Ordinary Angels is a 2024 American drama film. Directed by Jon Gunn and written by Meg Tilly and Kelly Fremon Craig, it is based on true events that transpired during the 1994 North American cold wave. It stars Hilary Swank, Alan Ritchson, Nancy Travis, and Tamala Jones.
Jesus Revolution is a 2023 American Christian drama film directed by Jon Erwin and Brent McCorkle. Based on the autobiographical book of the same name co-written by Greg Laurie, the film follows the teenage Laurie, Christian hippie Lonnie Frisbee, and pastor Chuck Smith as they take part in the Jesus movement in California during the late 1960s. Anna Grace Barlow and Kimberly Williams-Paisley also star.