Breakthrough (2019 film)

Breakthrough is a 2019 American Christian drama film directed by Roxann Dawson in her film directorial debut.[3] The film was written by Grant Nieporte, based on the Christian book, The Impossible, an account of true events written by Joyce Smith with Ginger Kolbaba. It stars Chrissy Metz, Josh Lucas, Topher Grace, Mike Colter, Marcel Ruiz, Sam Trammel, and Dennis Haysbert with a cameo by Phil Wickham and Lecrae. Stephen Curry and Samuel Rodriguez are executive producers.[4][5]

Breakthrough
Theatrical release poster
Directed byRoxann Dawson
Produced byDeVon Franklin
Written byGrant Nieporte
Based on
The Impossible
by
  • Joyce Smith
  • Ginger Kolbaba
Starring
Music byMarcelo Zarvos
CinematographyZoran Popovic
Edited byMaysie Hoy
Production
companies
Distributed by20th Century Fox
Release date
  • March 20, 2019 (2019-03-20) (St. Louis)
  • April 17, 2019 (2019-04-17) (United States)
Running time
116 minutes[1]
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$14 million[2]
Box office$50.4 million[2]

The film tells the story of a St. Louis teenager who slipped through an icy lake in January 2015 and was underwater for 15 minutes before resuscitative efforts were started. Although being rescued, he is in a coma, and his family must rely on their faith to get through the ordeal.[6][7]

Breakthrough premiered in St. Louis on March 20, 2019,[8] and was released in the United States on April 17, 2019, by 20th Century Fox, making it the studio's first feature film after the acquisition of 21st Century Fox by Disney.[9] The film received mixed to positive reviews from critics, who praised the performances and inspirational messages but called the plot predictable.[10] The film garnered a nomination at the 92nd Academy Awards for Best Original Song.[11]

Plot

John Smith (Ruiz) is a 14-year-old Guatemalan boy raised in Lake St. Louis, Missouri by his adoptive parents, Brian (Lucas) and Joyce Smith (Metz). Though they are loving and supportive, John struggles with feelings of abandonment from his birth parents, and rebels against his parents and teachers.

In school, John’s class is assigned to give a presentation about their family backgrounds. On his day to present, John admits he did not do the assignment. His basketball coach, who had promised him a starting position, warns John that if he gets a failing grade, he will be benched. John later gives a half-hearted presentation, saying that everyone already knows he is adopted and he does not know much about his true background.

Later, John and his friends Josh and Reiger go out onto a frozen lake, ignoring a neighbor’s warning. The resident calls the police, and all three boys fall through the ice. Josh and Reiger manage to swim to the surface and are rescued by first responders. Two rescuers dive in, but are unable to find John. As they are about to give up, one of the rescuers, Tommy Shine (Colter), hears a voice telling him to go back. Thinking it is his chief, he tries again, and manages to lift John to the surface.

With no pulse or breath, John is taken to the local hospital, where an emergency team works frantically to save his life. After John still fails to register a pulse, the attending physician Dr. Sutterer gives Joyce a chance to say goodbye. A weeping Joyce cradles her son in her arms, pleading with the Holy Spirit to not let John die, at which point a faint pulse registers. Dr. Sutterer recommends transferring John to a better equipped hospital, citing Dr. Garrett (Haysbert) as an expert in cases like John's.

After John is transferred and placed in a medically-induced coma, Garrett warns his parents that he has little hope for John's recovery, and that if he were to pull through, he would likely live in a persistent vegetative state. Jason Noble (Grace), the family’s new liberal pastor with whom Joyce has frequently clashed, visits the hospital, and Joyce slowly warms to him. Like Joyce, he regards John's progress as divine intervention. John shows some signs of consciousness: he is able to hear Joyce and Noble and respond with squeezes to the hand, and a tear trickles from his eye as a crowd gathers to sing and pray for his recovery.

Joyce turns John's possible recovery into an obsession, harassing his health care professionals and alienating those around her, including her husband. In a heated moment, Joyce tells Brian that if not for her, John would be dead. After a brief and hurtful rebuttal, Brian storms off. Realizing she cannot control John's outcome, Joyce retreats to the roof of the hospital to pray, asking God for forgiveness and submitting to His will. It begins to snow, which she believes is an answer. She and Brian meet with Garrett, who tells them that the drugs they have been administering are becoming toxic to John’s system and may be doing more harm than good. Joyce, who had been adamant about saving John's life at all costs, suggests stopping treatment and bringing him out of the coma, stating that she is ready for whatever fate brings. Garrett agrees.

John is revived and slowly regains consciousness, reliving his accident. He hears his mother's voice and opens his eyes, with full cognitive ability. A few days later, he is discharged from the hospital and returns to school.

John's return, though welcomed by many, is met with some resentment by others, who question why John was spared while their own loved ones died. This weighs on John's mind, and he returns to the lake, where he sees Tommy Shine, and thanks him for saving his life. Tommy admits that he did not believe in God until after a series of protracted events since John's accident, and all he did was pull John from the water.

John reconciles his survival with a renewed sense of purpose in his life and rebuilds his relationships with those he had been alienating. An epilogue reveals that John is pursuing a career in ministry after graduating from high school.

Cast
  • Chrissy Metz as Joyce Smith, a highly devout Christian woman, Brian's wife and John's adoptive mother.
  • Josh Lucas as Brian Smith, Joyce's husband and John's adoptive father.
  • Topher Grace as Pastor Jason Noble, Paula’s husband, the father of their son and daughter and the local pastor who tries to connect with the youth.
  • Mike Colter as Tommy Shine, a first responder who had a moment with God to save John.
  • Marcel Ruiz as John Smith, Joyce and Brian's Guatemalan 14-year-old adoptive son who makes a miraculous recovery.
  • Sam Trammell as Dr. Kent Sutterer, Abby’s father.
  • Dennis Haysbert as Dr. Garrett
  • Maddy Martin as Abby Sutterer, Dr. Sutterer's daughter and John's love interest.
  • Isaac Kragten as Josh, one of John's friends.
  • Nikolas Dukic as Reiger, one of John's friends.
  • Travis Bryant as Jonah, one of John’s friends.
  • Taylor Mosby as Chayla, one of John's friends.
  • Ali Skovbye as Emma, one of John's friends.
  • Chuck Shamata as Fire Chief
  • Nancy Sorel as Mrs. Abbott, the Family History teacher at the Christian middle school John and his friends attend.
  • Lisa Durupt as Paula Noble, Pastor Jason's wife and mother of his son and daughter.
  • Rebecca Staab as Cindy Rieger.

Production

Producer DeVon Franklin helped the Smith family find a literary agent and then develop the book in a film after it was published.[12] The movie was shot in Manitoba from March to May 2018.[13][14] Locations for the 31-day shoot included Winnipeg, Selkirk, and Portage la Prairie.[15][16]

Marketing

An official trailer for the film was released on December 5, 2018 and received more than 30 million views within two days, becoming the most-viewed trailer for a religious film within that timespan.[17]

Metz performed "I'm Standing With You" from the film's soundtrack at the 54th Academy of Country Music Awards alongside Carrie Underwood, Lauren Alaina, Maddie & Tae and Mickey Guyton.

Release

Breakthrough was released in the United States by 20th Century Fox on April 17, 2019; it is also the first film from Fox under the ownership of The Walt Disney Company after its acquisition of 21st Century Fox a month prior.[9] The Easter weekend it was released on was the lowest in box office since 2005, because studios had generally avoided making a major release during that period in order to avoid competing with Disney's release of Avengers: Endgame the following weekend.[18]

The film was released on DVD, Blu-ray and 4K Blu-ray by 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment which became the label of Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment on July 16, 2019.[19]

Reception

Box office

Breakthrough grossed $40.7 million in the United States and Canada, and $9.7 million in other territories (including $5.9 million in Brazil),[20] for a worldwide total of $50.4 million.[2][21]

In the United States and Canada, the film was released alongside Penguins, and was projected to gross $13–17 million from 2,300 theaters in its five-day opening weekend.[22] The film made $1.9 million on its first day and $1.5 million on its second.[23] It went on to debut to $11.3 million (a five-day total of $14.6 million), finishing third behind The Curse of La Llorona and Shazam!.[18] In its second weekend the film fell 39% to $6.8 million, finishing fourth.[24]

Critical response

According to the review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, 62% of critics have given the film a positive review based on 63 reviews; the average rating is 5.53/10. The website's critics consensus reads, "Like its lead character, Breakthrough is fiercely focused on faith – but its less subtle elements are balanced by strong performances and an uplifting story."[25] At Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 46 out of 100, based on 17 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[26] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A" on an A+ to F scale, while those at PostTrak gave it 4.5 out of 5 stars and a "definite recommend" of 69%.[18]

Accolades
Awards Ceremony Category Recipient(s) Result References
Academy Awards Best Original Song "I'm Standing with You" written by Diane Warren and performed by Metz Nominated [27]
Critics' Choice Movie Awards Best Song Nominated [11]
GMA Dove Awards Inspirational Film of the Year Breakthrough Won [28]
Movieguide Awards Best Movie For Families Nominated [11]
Epiphany Prize for Inspiring Movies Nominated
Grace Prize Chrissy Metz, for her role as Joyce Smith Nominated
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References
  1. "Breakthrough". AMC Theatres. Retrieved March 5, 2019.
  2. "Breakthrough (2019)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved July 5, 2019.
  3. Alysse, Bianca (April 18, 2019). "Catching Up With Roxann Dawson On Her Feature-Film Directing Debut, 'Breakthrough'work=BlackFilm". Retrieved 12 August 2020.
  4. Borys Kit; Scott Feinberg (2018-10-18). "Stephen Curry to Executive Produce Faith-Based Drama 'Breakthrough' (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2018-12-09.
  5. Robinson, Heather (2019-05-18). "Why religious movies like 'Breakthrough' are attracting non-believers". New York Post. Retrieved 2019-05-20.
  6. "Missouri Teen Submerged in Icy Lake for 15 Minutes Makes 'Miracle' Recovery". NBC News. 2015-02-05. Retrieved 2018-12-10.
  7. Kay Quinn (2017-10-30). "Miracle on ice becomes a book, movie". KSDK. Retrieved 2018-12-10.
  8. Sharee Silerio (April 4, 2019). "'Breakthrough' brings story of St. Louis miracle to the big screen". St. Louis American. Retrieved April 23, 2019.
  9. McClintock, Pamela (2019-04-17). "Box Office Preview: Disney-Fox Era Begins With 'Breakthrough'". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2020-05-07.
  10. Ryan Fujitani (April 18, 2019). "The Curse of La Llorona is a Crying Shame". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved April 19, 2019.
  11. Tess Farrand. "Faith-Based Movie BREAKTHROUGH Nominated For Oscar For Achievement In Original Song". Movieguide. Retrieved January 20, 2020.
  12. Fleming, Jr., Mike (2017-01-19). "Fox & DeVon Franklin Set Miracle Tale 'The Impossible'". Deadline. Retrieved 2019-03-21.
  13. Roxann Dawson [@roxdaws] (2018-05-09). "I am heading home after 4 months in Winnipeg shooting my first feature. Could not be more proud and grateful for the incredible cast and crew" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  14. "Major Movie Shoot (…And Luke Cage) In Winnipeg This Week". Hot 100.5. 2018-04-19. Archived from the original on 2019-04-18. Retrieved 2019-01-12.
  15. "Portage is Again Playing Host to Hollywood Cameras". The Portage Citizen. 2018-03-13.
  16. Mickey Dumont (2018-05-06). "Fox Film Crews Return". The Portage Citizen.
  17. Jeannie Law (December 11, 2018). "'Breakthrough' movie trailer breaks record with 30 million views in 48 hours". The Christian Post. Retrieved March 5, 2019.
  18. Anthony D'Alessandro (April 21, 2019). "Lowest Easter Weekend At The B.O. Since 2005 Despite $26M Purse Of 'La Llorona' – Saturday AM Update". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved April 21, 2019.
  19. Breakthrough; at Amazon online;
  20. "Breakthrough - Box Office Mojo (Brazilian gross)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved December 20, 2019.
  21. "Breakthrough (2019)". The Numbers. Retrieved July 3, 2019.
  22. Anthony D'Alessandro (April 16, 2019). "Will 'Shazam!' Be Cursed By 'Llorona' Over Easter Weekend? – Box Office Preview". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved April 16, 2019.
  23. Anthony D'Alessandro (April 18, 2019). "'Shazam!' Smashes $100M; Disney-Fox's Faith-Based 'Breakthrough' Mints $1.7M Opening Day; 'Penguins' Near $500K – Wednesday B.O." Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved April 18, 2019.
  24. D'Alessandro, Anthony (April 28, 2019). "Avengers: Endgame' Rests At $357M+ Opening Record; Eyes $33M+ Monday & Record $180M 2nd Frame; Weekend Biz Hits $401M+ High". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved April 28, 2019.
  25. "Breakthrough (2019)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved August 12, 2020.
  26. "Breakthrough Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved August 21, 2019.
  27. Monroe, Jazz. "Oscar Nominations 2020: Elton John and Randy Newman Up for Best Original Song, Beyoncé and Thom Yorke Shut Out". Pitchfork. Retrieved 13 January 2020.
  28. "'To God Be the Glory': 'Breakthrough' and These Faith-Inspired Films Received Oscar Nods". Christian Broadcasting Network. January 14, 2020. Retrieved January 20, 2020.
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