War Room (film)

Principal photography took place over a three-month period during the summer of 2014 in several North Carolina locations, including Charlotte, Kannapolis, Concord, Hickory and Birkdale Village in Huntersville.[15][16] At Oakwood Cemetery in Concord, two different scenes set 40 years apart were filmed. Through special effects, the Charlotte skyline, larger trees and some additional headstones were added.[17]

Initial plans had the main characters being white; however, Alex began having dreams about a predominantly African-American cast and, believing that God was trying to tell him something, the brothers switched the characters to make it more in line with Alex's dream.[14] Early on, Sony expressed some concerns over a film with a mostly African-American cast produced by a white-led production company, but the brothers stuck to the premise.[13]

Several characters in the film are African-American and being released only months after the Charleston church shooting, those involved with the film say they don't believe that the timing of the film's release is a coincidence. According to director Kendrick, when Affirm Films first saw the film, they said, "If this had been told with a different race, it would be a different movie."[18]

Stallings, who plays a major role in the film, says, "There are many people out there—white and black—who stay with their families and work through their problems. They aren’t thugs or gang leaders. War Room tells the truth about society by showing the reverse of that stereotype. Racial tension is dangerous and people are dying and a lot of us want to see that stopped. We protest and speak out and tweet out, but this problem is much bigger than human beings. This movie will give people a way to take these problems to the Lord and show them that prayer is the best weapon to fight back."[18]

War Room grossed $67.8 million in the United States and Canada and $6.2 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $74 million, against a production budget of $3 million.[3]

War Room made an estimated $600,000 from Thursday night shows, which began at 7 p.m. in 1,017 theaters.[22][23] On its opening day, the film grossed $4 million.[24] In its opening weekend, the film grossed $11.4 million, more than double initial projections, finishing second at the box office behind third-week number one holder Straight Outta Compton ($13.1 million) with only 1/3 the number of theaters and twice the gross revenue per theater.[23][25]

In its second weekend, the film finished first at the box office with $9.5 million,[26] and became the first film to reach the number 1 spot at the North American box office with a gross of less than $10 million since The Possession reached number 1 in its second weekend with $9.31 million during the same weekend in 2012.[27] Over its four-day Labor Day weekend, the film posted an 18% increase with a weekend total of $13.4 million from 1,526 screens.[28] Regarding War Room's box office performance, CNN said "some might call it a faith-based David versus the secular Goliaths in the entertainment industry".[29] It still ranked number 3 in its third week, increasing its screen count to 1,647 with revenue of $7.8 million (18% drop). It increased its screen count by 295, but dropped to sixth place to $6.2 million.[26]

On Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 34% based on 35 reviews, with an average rating of 4.70/10.[30] Metacritic gives the film a weighted average score of 26 out of 100, based on 11 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews".[31] On CinemaScore, audiences gave the film a rare average grade of "A+" on an A+ to F scale,[32] while PostTrak-surveyed filmgoers gave the film a 73% "definite recommend".[33]

The Los Angeles Times called the film "more of a Bible study than anything else" and "so heavy on broad pulpit pounding that it’s challenging to get swept away by the story’s message."[16] The A.V. Club called it "structurally listless and unimaginative", and said that it was "creepy to encourage women to believe the true source of their husbandly woes is Satan rather than an issue that probably needs to be discussed."[34]

Christian-focused publications gave it positive reviews, however. The Christian Post praised the film, calling it better than Courageous and Fireproof.[35] According to Crosswalk.com, "it comes as good news that War Room is a step up for the Kendricks, who continue to develop as filmmakers."[36]

War Room was released on Blu-ray, DVD, and Digital HD by Sony Pictures Home Entertainment on December 22, 2015.[37] The film debuted in second place on the home video chart behind Minions.[38] The following week, War Room reached the top spot of the home video sales chart.[39] As of June 2019, the film has made $48 million from home media sales.[3]