Erwin Brothers

Andrew and Jon Erwin, known as the Erwin Brothers, are American Christian film directors, screenwriters and film producers known for such films as '' Woodlawn'', '' October Baby'', '' Moms' Night Out'' 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.

Early life

The Erwin brothers were born in Birmingham, Alabama. They are the children of Shelia Joyce and former state senator Hank Erwin and grandsons of Henry Eugene "Red" Erwin Sr., a Medal of Honor recipient and World War II veteran.

Career

Early projects

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.

Jon Erwin served as second unit director for Alex and Stephen Kendrick's 2011 film '' Courageous''. When asked by Alex in reference to his career, " at is your purpose?", Jon and Andrew conceived the idea for their first feature film, '' October Baby'', a Christian pro-life drama which was released in 2011. The brothers went on to produce and direct several other faith-based films, including comedy '' Moms' Night Out'' (2014), and sports drama '' Woodlawn'' (2015).

Commercial breakthrough and Kingdom Story Company

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.

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. Some will be directed by the Erwins, while other movies will use newcomers and other veteran directors. 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."

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. It was released on March 13, 2020.

In February 2020, Andrew Erwin related the Erwins' goal in filmmaking:

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.

The Wonder Project

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." The new company received $100 million in seed funding from companies including Lionsgate and filmmaker Dallas Jenkins, who is a shareholder in the company.Religious Movies Are Sweeping Hollywood. Rich Investors Are Pouring In Millions.
/ref> Their first project is House of David, a historical drama series which was released on Amazon Prime Video in 2025.

Filmography

Jon Erwin

Andrew Erwin

References

External links

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Film directors from Alabama
Living people
American male screenwriters
Christian artists
Screenwriting duos
Film producers from Alabama
Sibling filmmakers
American Christians
1978 births
1982 births
People from Birmingham, Alabama