Secular reviewers aren’t exactly fond of the new movie “War Room,” made by the producers of the Christian films “Courageous” and “Fireproof.”
In fact, TV Guide reported it got “nearly universal bad reviews.”
But TV Guide said that despite the reviews, “War Room” earned $11 million and challenged “Straight Outta Compton” for the No. 1 slot, making it “a formidable force at the box office.”
On Friday, “War Room” topped “Compton,” which finished with $13.2 million for the weekend.
Brent Lang at Variety, writing under the headline “‘War Room’ Stuns With $11 Million,” said the box office “underwent a religious conversion this weekend as Christian crowds flocked to ‘War Room,’ lifting the low-budget salute to prayer above the Zac Efron drama ‘We Are Your Friends.’”
He noted it was filmed for a “mere $3 million.”
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Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst with Rentrak, told Variety, “These are the kind of outlier events that happen and wake everyone up to the fact that faith-based audiences are passionate and looking for content.”
WND reported “War Room” co-producers and co-writers Alex and Stephen Kendrick believe this work is their best yet.
“‘War Room’ is filled with heart like our other films,” Stephen told WND. “Like our other films, you’re gonna laugh, you’re gonna cry, be caught up with the story and inspired by messages from Scripture that hopefully will enrich your own life.”
RELATED WND REVIEW OF ‘WAR ROOM’: Christian movie among ‘best ever’?
Alex said he and his brother spent a lot of time praying for guidance regarding the film’s emphasis, and the answer was that it should be about prayer itself.
“[God] pointed us to the power of prayer, and even the weapon that prayer can be, and the fact that we need to go seek Him first and do our battles first in prayer,” Alex told WND.
The concept of prayer as a battle inspired the movie’s title, according to Alex. Just as military commanders plan their strategy in a war room before they hit the battlefield, the Kendricks believe Christians must go into their prayer closets and pray before going outside and living out the gospel.
Alex cited Matthew 6:6, where Jesus instructs his followers on how to pray: “But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.”
Said Alex: “We want to call the church and remind them of the crucial priority that prayer should be in your life for every area. You can pray about anything. But spend that time exclusively with the Lord, undistracted, before we fight our battles in life.”
The Kendricks have both served as Baptist pastors.
Chris Stone of the Faith Driven Consumer, said the film’s makers “have an authenticity with this audience.”
“They have consistently delivered a good product that resonates with the community.”
About the reviewers cataloged on the Rotten Tomatoes website giving the movie a “rotten” rating? The brothers say the critics may not understand the movies, but the audience does.
It’s about a disintegrating marriage saved by intense prayer.
Wrote Lang: “The brothers have transformed themselves into Steven Spielberg of Christian cinema. Their names above the title are enough to open movies that are firmly pitched to the faithful.”
The Kendricks believe now is a great time for Americans to turn to God through prayer, considering all the turmoil in the country.
“We believe that right now, the politics is not getting it done, more money is not getting it done, the fights and the racism, the cultural wars,” Stephen said. “We go back to, what does Scripture say God will do if we repent, if we as a nation will seek his face and humble ourselves and pray? He says he’ll heal our land. He says He’ll work. We see it in history. We see it in the Scripture. We believe He wants to do it now.”
The Kendricks urge everyone to take part in the 9/11 National Day of Prayer and Repentance. Held every year on Sept. 11, the event calls on Americans to heed the words of 2 Chronicles 7:14: “If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves and pray, and seek My face, and turn from their sinful ways, I will hear from heaven, forgive their sin, and heal their land.”
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The event is held on the anniversary of the 9/11 terror attacks because that day was a “national wake-up call” and “epitomized our dependence on God and our helplessness without Him,” according to 911DayofPrayer.org.
The Kendricks agree with the event’s founders that Americans have slipped into a pattern of immorality and need to pray for God’s mercy on them and on the country.
“God has worked miraculously in previous generations when believers united together across racial and denominational lines and began to cry out to Him on behalf of their nations,” Stephen stated. “The second and first Great Awakenings in America happened because believers were praying. We believe the time is now for believers to get desperate before the Lord and begin to cry out to Him based upon what is going on in our country.”
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