Enter a Rotten Tomatoes movie slug to inspect the stored movie, batches, snapshots, and reviews.
Movie ID: 822
RT slug: i_can_only_imagine_2018
RT URL: https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/i_can_only_imagine_2018
Release year: 2018
Runtime: 110 mins
Wide release date: 2018-03-16
Limited release date: —
Festival premiere date: —
Streaming release date: 2018-06-05
Tomatometer final: 69%
Audience score final: 91%
Genres: Biography, Drama, Music
Directors: Andrew Erwin, Jon Erwin
Writers: Brent McCorkle, Jon Erwin
Producers: Cindy Bond, Daryl C. Lefever, Kevin Downes, Mickey Liddell, Pete Shilaimon
MPAA rating: PG
Executive Producers: —
Created: 2026-06-18 18:55:09
Updated: 2026-06-18 18:55:09
Growing up in Greenville, Texas, Bart Millard suffers physical and emotional abuse at the hands of his father, Arthur. When Arthur becomes terminally ill, he finds redemption by embracing his faith and rediscovering his love for his son. Years later, Bart's troubled childhood and mended relationship with his dad inspires him to write the hit song I Can Only Imagine as singer of the Christian band MercyMe.
I Can Only Imagine 's message will have the most impact among Christian audiences, but overall, its performances and storytelling represent a notable evolution in faith-based cinema.
Canonical reviews: 32
Canonical fresh: 22
Canonical rotten: 10
Canonical calculated Tomatometer: 69%
Latest snapshot UTC: 2026-06-18 18:46:43
Snapshot Tomatometer: 69%
Snapshot review count: 32
Snapshot fresh count: 22
Snapshot rotten count: 10
Source note: Imported from manual review paste batch #1475 (full_snapshot)
| Company | Role |
|---|---|
| Lionsgate Films | distributor |
| Roadside Attractions | distributor |
| City on a Hill Productions | production |
| Mission Pictures International | production |
| Billing | Name | Character |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | John Michael Finley | Bart |
| 2 | Madeline Carroll | Shannon |
| 3 | Dennis Quaid | Arthur |
| 4 | Trace Adkins | Brickell |
| Batch ID | Status | Mode | Created | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 838 | processed | — | 2026-06-18 18:55:09 | Processed successfully into movie_id=822 using update_mode=merge_non_empty. |
| Batch ID | Local Snapshot | UTC Snapshot | Entered % | Entered Count | Status | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1475 | 2026-06-18 13:46:00 (America/Panama) | 2026-06-18 18:46:43 | 69% | 32 | processed | Mode=full_snapshot. Processed 32 row(s); 0 row error(s). Parsed unique reviews in this batch=32, fresh=22, rotten=10, tomatometer=69%. Net new reviews added=32, fresh=22, rotten=10. Current canonical totals=32 reviews, 22 fresh, 10 rotten, tomatometer=69% (68.750%). Entered review count matched parsed batch count (32). Entered tomatometer matched parsed batch value (69%). |
| ID | Critic | Outlet | Fresh? | Score | RT Time Raw | Approx Published UTC | Quote |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 180736 | Hosea Rupprecht | Pauline Media Studies | Fresh | — | 2021-08-24T21:31:36Z | 2021-08-24 21:31:36 | Fortunately, this trend in faith-based filmmaking seems to be shifting to a more real, lived faith. I Can Only Imagine is a good example of this shift... |
| 180737 | Matt Brunson | Film Frenzy | Fresh | 2.5/4 | 2021-08-10T21:41:03Z | 2021-08-10 21:41:03 | An inspirational drama that, unlike most faith-based endeavors, at least looks like a real movie rather than something even Ed Wood would have rejected. |
| 180738 | Richard Propes | TheIndependentCritic.com | Fresh | 3.5/4.0 | 2020-09-11T14:53:44Z | 2020-09-11 14:53:44 | This is exactly what a faith-based film should be. |
| 180739 | Mattie Lucas | From the Front Row | Rotten | 2/4 | 2019-06-03T20:24:51Z | 2019-06-03 20:24:51 | Thankfully, I Can Only Imagine doesn't feel like a Sunday school lesson, but it never manages to escape its sense of banal familiarity. |
| 180740 | Jason Escamilla | EskimoTV | Fresh | B- | 2019-05-22T20:17:11Z | 2019-05-22 20:17:11 | Accomplishes its goal of informing faith based audiences the journey the protagonist went through before writing the famous Christian song. |
| 180741 | Francis X. Friel | Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC) | Rotten | 1/5 | 2019-03-21T18:31:50Z | 2019-03-21 18:31:50 | The film veers so far off-course that I could barely believe my eyes. |
| 180742 | Rachel Wagner | rachelsreviews.net | Fresh | B | 2019-02-28T00:30:46Z | 2019-02-28 00:30:46 | Overall, it's an enjoyable and moving faith based film. |
| 180743 | Dennis Schwartz | Dennis Schwartz Movie Reviews | Rotten | C | 2018-09-07T07:10:13Z | 2018-09-07 07:10:13 | I can't imagine this Christian-based film reaching much of a secular audience. |
| 180744 | Leslie Felperin | Guardian | Rotten | 2/5 | 2018-08-08T13:50:19Z | 2018-08-08 13:50:19 | [A] slickly assembled tale of redemption and reconciliation. |
| 180745 | Edmund Lee | South China Morning Post | Fresh | 3/5 | 2018-06-10T14:45:11Z | 2018-06-10 14:45:11 | Solid if unapologetically by-the-numbers, this story of perseverance and forgiveness should resonate beyond its targeted Christian audience. |
| 180746 | Laura Hiros | Diario La Estrella (Fort Worth, TX) | Fresh | — | 2018-04-02T20:45:27Z | 2018-04-02 20:45:27 | With excellent performances from [Dennis] Quaid and [J. Michael Finley] Finley the result is decent. [Full Review in Spanish] |
| 180747 | Lucas Wong | The New Paper (Singapore) | Fresh | 3.5/5 | 2018-03-28T22:15:22Z | 2018-03-28 22:15:22 | I Can Only Imagine is a timely release for this Easter, delicately balancing the need to bring out the importance of forgiveness without being too evangelical. |
| 180748 | Simon Foster | Screen-Space (Substack) | Fresh | 3/5 | 2018-03-23T07:00:10Z | 2018-03-23 07:00:10 | Though it will never be championed as an insightful work of either religious art or patriarchal psychology, I Can Only Imagine does manage to be a good film about a great song. |
| 180749 | Diana Saenger | ReviewExpress.com | Fresh | — | 2018-03-22T01:05:11Z | 2018-03-22 01:05:11 | 5 It shattered expectations with $17.1 million opening weekend nation wide, is Roadside Attractions highest theatrical debut with #1 Per-Screen Average (More than $3K above Black Panther, has a lot going for it. |
| 180750 | Mike McGranaghan | Aisle Seat | Fresh | 3/4 | 2018-03-22T00:00:18Z | 2018-03-22 00:00:18 | As entertaining as it is uplifting. Actor J. Michael Finley makes a winning debut . |
| 180751 | Linda Cook | Quad City Times (Davenport, IA) | Fresh | 3/4 | 2018-03-21T23:55:18Z | 2018-03-21 23:55:18 | Over the last few years, the quality of faith-based movies has continued to improve. And here's another good one. I Can Only Imagine...is watchable and uplifting. |
| 180752 | David Ehrlich | IndieWire | Rotten | C- | 2018-03-21T18:55:35Z | 2018-03-21 18:55:35 | Art can be affirmation, but affirmation cannot be art. |
| 180753 | Josh Terry | Deseret News (Salt Lake City) | Rotten | 2.5/4 | 2018-03-20T19:30:34Z | 2018-03-20 19:30:34 | You don't have to be a hardcore Christian music fan to enjoy I Can Only Imagine, but it definitely helps. |
| 180754 | Pete Hammond | Deadline Hollywood Daily | Fresh | 4/5 | 2018-03-20T00:30:18Z | 2018-03-20 00:30:18 | This moving faith-based musical biopic of the smash song hits all the right notes. |
| 180755 | Eric D. Snider | EricDSnider.com | Fresh | B- | 2018-03-19T17:45:22Z | 2018-03-19 17:45:22 | Works best for fans of the song or of Christian music in general, but it has enough relatable, not-too-cheesy drama for some crossover appeal. |
| 180756 | Jackie K. Cooper | jackiekcooper.com | Fresh | 8/10 | 2018-03-18T21:45:08Z | 2018-03-18 21:45:08 | The emotional impact of this film is powerful thanks to its central theme of redemption, plus strong performances by J MIchael Finley and always reliable actor Dennis Quaid, |
| 180757 | Peter Debruge | Variety | Fresh | — | 2018-03-18T12:20:10Z | 2018-03-18 12:20:10 | The movie works for the same reason the song does: It lightens the burden of the pain people are shouldering today, and gives them something to look forward to. |
| 180758 | Jim Judy | Screen It! | Fresh | — | 2018-03-16T21:00:42Z | 2018-03-16 21:00:42 | A solid offering that's given me faith that a faith-based film can deliver something beyond a sermon. (Full Content Review for Parents - Violence, Parental Abuse, etc. - also Available) |
| 180759 | Jesse Hassenger | AV Club | Rotten | D | 2018-03-16T19:50:38Z | 2018-03-16 19:50:38 | This is an interesting idea, executed with a reductive, tin-eared understanding of what constitutes art to go along with a faith-based movie's reductive, tin-eared understanding of what constitutes entertainment. |
| 180760 | Frank Scheck | The Hollywood Reporter | Rotten | — | 2018-03-16T19:50:37Z | 2018-03-16 19:50:37 | Like so many faith-based efforts, I Can Only Imagine suffers from a terminal case of self-importance. |
| 180761 | Robert Abele | TheWrap | Rotten | — | 2018-03-16T19:30:30Z | 2018-03-16 19:30:30 | Why is the movie made from a universally healing single such an earnest, awkward dud? Well, partly because the movie can't settle on what's more important, the family stuff or the ascension of the song as a fame-inducing anthem. |
| 180762 | Sandie Angulo Chen | Common Sense Media | Fresh | 3/5 | 2018-03-16T17:15:17Z | 2018-03-16 17:15:17 | Poignant faith-based drama about hit song's inspiration. |
| 180763 | Christian Toto | HollywoodInToto.com | Fresh | 3/4 | 2018-03-16T14:10:14Z | 2018-03-16 14:10:14 | Need more proof the faith-based film genre continues to mature? Here you go... |
| 180764 | Chris Knight | National Post | Fresh | 3/5 | 2018-03-15T21:55:33Z | 2018-03-15 21:55:33 | The real love stories in this movie are between a father and son; a man and his God; and a singer and his song. |
| 180765 | Megan Basham | WORLD | Fresh | — | 2018-03-15T18:45:25Z | 2018-03-15 18:45:25 | But overall, I Can Only Imagine is an indie that does the song and its sentiments proud. |
| 180766 | Frank Swietek | One Guy's Opinion | Rotten | C- | 2018-03-15T18:00:25Z | 2018-03-15 18:00:25 | A movie that's unquestionably preaching to the choir as directly as Millard's song sings to it. |
| 180767 | Sr. Rose Pacatte | St. Anthony Messenger | Fresh | — | 2018-03-01T16:20:09Z | 2018-03-01 16:20:09 | I Can Only Imagine is probably the best film of the Christian genre that I have seen so far and certainly the best from brothers Jon and Andrew Erwin (October Baby). |
Showing the latest 100 canonical reviews for this movie.