<P> The film was announced in December 2016 . Dennis Quaid joined the cast in January 2017 . Broadway actor J. Michael Finley makes his film debut as Bart Millard . The same month, it was announced that the film was slated for release in the spring of 2018 . In August 2017, Lionsgate and Roadside Attractions signed on as distributors for the film for a nationwide release in the United States . </P> <P> As of June 24, 2018, I Can Only Imagine has grossed $83.4 million in the United States, and Canada and $1.8 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $85.2 million, against a production budget of $7 million . It is the third - highest grossing music biopic of all - time in the United States, behind Straight Outta Compton and Walk the Line . It is also the highest - grossing independent film of 2018 . </P> <P> I Can Only Imagine was released on March 16, 2018, alongside Tomb Raider and Love, Simon, and was originally projected to gross $2--4 million from 1,620 theaters in its opening weekend . However, after making $6.2 million on its first day (including $1.3 million from Thursday night previews), weekend estimates were increased to $14 million . It ended up grossing $17.1 million, exceeding expectations and finishing third at the box office behind Black Panther and Tomb Raider. 67% of the opening weekend audience was female while 80% was over the age of 35 . It was the fourth best - ever opening for a faith - based film, following The Passion of the Christ ($83.8 million), Son of God ($25.6 million) and Heaven Is for Real ($22.5 million). In its second weekend the film was added to 624 additional theaters and dropped just 19% to $13.8 million, again finishing third . It was added to another 395 venues and finished fourth in its third weekend, making $10.4 million (including $3 million on Easter Sunday). </P> <P> On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 68% based on 25 reviews, and an average rating of 6 / 10 . The site's critical consensus reads, "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 ." On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 29 out of 100, based on 7 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A +" on an A+ to F scale, one of fewer than 80 films in the history of the service to earn such a score . </P>

Who sang for the movie i can only imagine