The Unbreakable Boy

Last updated
The Unbreakable Boy
TheUnbreakableBoyposter.jpg
Theatrical release poster
Directed by Jon Gunn
Written byJon Gunn
Based onThe Unbreakable Boy: A Father's Fear, a Son's Courage, and a Story of Unconditional Love
by Scott Michael LeRette and Susy Flory
Produced by
Starring
CinematographyKristopher Kimlin
Edited byParker Adams
Music byPancho Burgos-Goizueta
Production
companies
Lionsgate
Kingdom Story Company
The WONDER Project
Distributed byLionsgate
Release date
  • February 21, 2025 (2025-2-21)
Running time
109 minutes [1]
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Box office$6.7 million [2] [3]

The Unbreakable Boy is a 2025 American biographical drama film [4] directed and written by Jon Gunn. It is based on the book The Unbreakable Boy: A Father's Fear, a Son's Courage, and a Story of Unconditional Love, authored by Scott Michael LeRette and Susy Flory, which is based on a true story, [5] and stars Zachary Levi in the lead role alongside Meghann Fahy, Jacob Laval, Drew Powell, Gavin Warren, and Patricia Heaton.

Contents

Lionsgate announced a feature-length film based on the book in November 2020, with Gunn attached as writer and director. Filming began that same month in Oklahoma, and wrapped in December.

Originally scheduled to be released in 2022, The Unbreakable Boy was delayed several times before being released in the United States by Lionsgate [6] [7] [8] on February 21, 2025. [9]

Premise

Austin is a boy on the autism spectrum who has brittle bone disease. His father, Scott, seeks to keep Austin happy. [5] [10] [11]

Cast

Production

The Unbreakable Boy was announced on November 13, 2020, by the Erwin brothers. [12] Four days later, it was announced that Zachary Levi would star in the film. [13] Three days later, it was announced that Jacob Laval, Meghann Fahy, Peter Facinelli, Drew Powell, Pilot Bunch, and Patricia Heaton had joined the cast. [14]

Filming began in Oklahoma during the COVID-19 pandemic in November 2020, and wrapped in late 2020. [6] On November 29, 2021, it was announced that Pancho Burgos-Goizueta would score the film. [8]

Release

The Unbreakable Boy was initially scheduled to be released in the United States on March 18, 2022, [5] [6] [7] [8] but was pulled from Lionsgate's release schedule eight days before its release with no explanation or new release date. [15] On January 24, 2024, after being undated for over two years, the film was given the release date of February 21, 2025. [9]

On the day of its release, Downes revealed that the reason for the film's sudden withdrawal from release in 2022 was that the filmmakers wanted to save it "just for the right time", citing the political division within the United States at the time as a primary factor. [16]

Reception

Box office

In the United States and Canada, The Unbreakable Boy was released alongside The Monkey and was projected to gross $2–3 million from 1,687 theaters in its opening weekend. [17] The film made $850,000 on its first day. It debuted to $2.4 million, finishing eighth at the box office. [18] Women accounted for 60% of the opening weekend audience, with people over the age of 35 comprising 70% and those specifically over 55 making up 42% (at norms for faith-based films). Diversity demos were 70% Caucasian, 20% Latino and Hispanic, 4% Asian, and 2% Black. [19] In its second weekend, the film made $1.3 million. [20] It dropped out of the box office top ten in its third weekend. [21]

Critical response

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes , 44% of 36 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 5.2/10.The website's consensus reads: "The Unbreakable Boy is amiable enough, but it sells its inspirational true story short by taking too many easy routes towards uplift." [22] Metacritic , which uses a weighted average , assigned the film a score of 35 out of 100, based on five critics, indicating "generally unfavorable" reviews. [23] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A" on an A+ to F scale, while those surveyed by PostTrak gave it a 90% overall positive score, with 81% saying they would "definitely recommend" it. [19]

References

  1. ↑ "The Unbreakable Boy". British Board of Film Classification . Retrieved 2025-02-24.
  2. ↑ "The Unbreakable Boy". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved March 16, 2025.
  3. ↑ "The Unbreakable Boy – Financial Information". The Numbers. Retrieved March 16, 2025.
  4. ↑ N'Duka, Amanda (November 17, 2020). "Zachary Levi Joins 'The Unbreakable Boy' Movie From Lionsgate & Kingdom Story Company". Deadline Hollywood . Archived from the original on November 18, 2020. Retrieved July 18, 2022.
  5. 1 2 3 D'Alessandro, Anthony (June 30, 2021). "Lionsgate Dates Nicolas Cage Satire 'Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent' & Kingdom Story Movies". Deadline Hollywood . Archived from the original on June 30, 2021. Retrieved July 18, 2022.
  6. 1 2 3 McDonnell, Bandy (July 3, 2021). "Release dates revealed for 'American Underdog' and 'Unbreakable Boy', more Oklahoma movie news". The Oklahoman. Archived from the original on December 23, 2021. Retrieved July 18, 2022.
  7. 1 2 "'Downtown Abbey 2' Pushed From Holiday Release to March 2022 Debut". MSN . Retrieved July 18, 2022.[ dead link ]
  8. 1 2 3 "Pancho Burgos-Goizueta Scoring Jon Gunn's 'The Unbreakable Boy'". Film Music Reporter. November 29, 2021. Retrieved July 18, 2022.[ permanent dead link ]
  9. 1 2 D'Alessandro, Anthony (January 24, 2024). "Lionsgate Sets Winter 2025 Release For Kingdom Story's 'The Unbreakable Boy'". Deadline. Retrieved January 24, 2024.
  10. ↑ Vlessing, Etan (November 17, 2020). "Zachary Levi to Star in 'The Unbreakable Boy' Drama". The Hollywood Reporter . Archived from the original on July 18, 2022. Retrieved July 18, 2022.
  11. ↑ McNary, Dave (November 17, 2020). "Zachary Levi to Star in 'The Unbreakable Boy' Family Drama for Lionsgate". Variety . Archived from the original on July 18, 2022. Retrieved July 18, 2022.
  12. ↑ "Erwin Brothers Announce New Film 'The Unbreakable Boy' About Inspiring, Optimistic Boy With Autism". BCNN1- Black Christian News Network. November 13, 2020. Archived from the original on December 23, 2021. Retrieved July 18, 2022.
  13. ↑ Welk, Brian (November 17, 2020). "Zachary Levi to Star as Father of Autistic Son in 'The Unbreakable Boy'". TheWrap . Archived from the original on December 23, 2021. Retrieved July 18, 2022.
  14. ↑ D'Nuka, Amanda (November 20, 2020). "Jacob Laval, Meghann Fahy, Peter Facinelli, Patricia Heaton & More Join Zachary Levi in 'The Unbreakable Boy'". Deadline Hollywood . Archived from the original on December 23, 2021. Retrieved July 18, 2022.
  15. ↑ Bonfield, Thomas (March 10, 2022). "Release of 'The Unbreakable Boy' Pushed Back". Christian Film Blog. Archived from the original on July 18, 2022. Retrieved July 18, 2022.
  16. ↑ O'Hare, Kate (February 21, 2025). "'The Unbreakable Boy' Is Sweet, But Not Without Some Salt". Patheos. Retrieved February 25, 2025.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  17. ↑ D'Alessandro, Anthony (February 19, 2025). "'Captain America: Brave New World' To Hold No. 1 With $30M+ As 'The Monkey' Looks To Swing $17M Opening – Box Office Preview". Deadline Hollywood . Retrieved February 19, 2025.
  18. ↑ "Domestic 2025 Weekend 8". Box Office Mojo . Retrieved February 25, 2025.
  19. 1 2 D'Alessandro, Anthony (February 23, 2025). "NEON Sees 2nd Biggest Opening With The Monkey At $14M+ In Midst Of Anora Awards Season Tear – Box Office". Deadline Hollywood . Retrieved February 23, 2025.
  20. ↑ "Domestic 2025 Weekend 9". Box Office Mojo . Retrieved March 3, 2025.
  21. ↑ "Domestic 2025 Weekend 10". Box Office Mojo . Retrieved March 12, 2025.
  22. ↑ "The Unbreakable Boy". Rotten Tomatoes . Fandango Media . Retrieved February 23, 2025.
  23. ↑ "The Unbreakable Boy". Metacritic . Fandom, Inc. Retrieved February 22, 2025.
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