Journey to Bethlehem is a 2023 American Christian musical film directed by Adam Anders in his feature-length directorial debut. Written by Anders and Peter Barsocchini, the film stars Milo Manheim and Fiona Palomo as Joseph and Mary, with Antonio Banderas as King Herod.
| Journey to Bethlehem | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Adam Anders |
| Written by |
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| Produced by |
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| Starring | |
| Cinematography | Xavi Giménez |
| Edited by | Sabrina Plisco |
| Music by |
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Production company |
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| Distributed by | Sony Pictures Releasing |
Release date |
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Running time | 98 minutes[1] |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $6 million[2] |
| Box office | $7.8 million[3][4] |
Premise
editA young woman carrying an unimaginable responsibility. A young man torn between love and honor. A jealous king who will stop at nothing to keep his crown. This live-action Christmas musical celebration for the entire family, weaves classic Christmas melodies in to new pop songs in a music-infused retelling of the timeless story of Mary and Joseph and the birth of Jesus.[5]
Cast
edit- Fiona Palomo as Mary
- Milo Manheim as Joseph
- Lecrae as Gabriel
- Joel Smallbone as Antipater
- Antonio Banderas as Herod the Great
- Antonio Cantos as Joachim
- Moriah Peters as Deborah
- Stephanie Gil as Rebekah
- Rizwan Manji as Caspar
- Geno Segers as Balthazar
- Omid Djalili as Melchior
Production
editThe film and its cast was announced in March 2023, with newcomer Fiona Palomo as Mary, Zombies star Milo Manheim as Joseph, and Antonio Banderas as Herod the Great.[5][6] Shooting locations included the Santa Bárbara Castle in Alicante.[7]
Music
editThe following soundtrack was released on Nov 3, 2023.[8] The deluxe version containing the original score was released on November 24, 2023.
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "O Come, O Come, Emmanuel" | 0:18 |
| 2. | "Journey to Bethehem" | 1:47 |
| 3. | "Mary's Getting Married" | 3:34 |
| 4. | "Good to be King" | 2:57 |
| 5. | "Can We Make This Work" | 2:46 |
| 6. | "Mother To A Savior and King" | 3:54 |
| 7. | "The Ultimate Deception" | 2:55 |
| 8. | "Three Wise Guys" | 2:34 |
| 9. | "We Become We" | 2:08 |
| 10. | "In My Blood" | 2:54 |
| 11. | "The Nativity Song" | 4:04 |
| 12. | "Brand New Life" | 3:27 |
| Total length: | 33:24 | |
Release
editJourney to Bethlehem was theatrically released on November 10, 2023, by Sony Pictures and Affirm Films. A teaser trailer premiered in front of Affirm's Big George Foreman, before being released on YouTube.[9]
The film was released on digital platforms on December 8, 2023, followed by a Blu-ray and DVD release on January 16, 2024.[10]
Reception
editBox office
editIn the United States and Canada, Journey to Bethlehem was released alongside The Marvels, and was projected to gross $1–3 million from 1,823 theaters in its opening weekend.[11] The film made $1 million on its first day, including $250,000 from Thursday night previews. It went on to debut to $2.4 million, finishing in seventh.[2]
Critical response
editOn the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 75% of 24 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 6.3/10. The website's consensus reads: "Journey to Bethlehem adds a solidly traditional and surprisingly fun – albeit occasionally treacly – entry to the lengthy list of Nativity films."[12] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A–" on A+ to F scale, while those surveyed by PostTrak gave it an 81% positive score.[2] In 2024, it was awarded the Epiphany Prize® for Inspiring Movies by Movieguide at the Movieguide Awards.[13]
References
edit- ^ "Journey to Bethlehem (PG)". Irish Film Classification Office. October 6, 2023. Retrieved October 7, 2023.
- ^ a b c D'Alessandro, Anthony (November 12, 2023). "'The Marvels' Meltdown: Disney MCU Seeing Lowest B.O. Opening Ever At $47M+ — What Went Wrong". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved November 12, 2023.
- ^ "Journey to Bethlehem (2023)". The Numbers. Nash Information Services, LLC. Retrieved December 22, 2023.
- ^ "Journey to Bethlehem (2023)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved December 25, 2023.
- ^ a b "SONY AFFIRM ANNOUNCES CAST FOR UPCOMING NATIVITY MUSICAL". Movieguide. March 1, 2023. Retrieved June 15, 2023.
- ^ "Milo Manheim Plays Joseph In 'Journey to Bethlehem': Everything We Know About the Movie Musical". J-14. May 1, 2023. Retrieved June 15, 2023.
- ^ Martínez, Cristina (May 19, 2023). "Trailer de "Journey to Bethlehem": el musical que rodó Antonio Banderas en Alicante se estrena en noviembre en EE UU". Información. Prensa Ibérica.
- ^ "Journey to Bethlehem Soundtrack (2023)". www.soundtrack.net. Retrieved November 13, 2023.
- ^ "Journey To Bethlehem - Teaser Trailer". YouTube. April 28, 2023. Retrieved June 15, 2023.
- ^ "Journey to Bethlehem (2023)". www.dvdsreleasedates.com. Retrieved January 10, 2024.
- ^ D'Alessandro, Anthony; Tartaglione, Nancy (November 7, 2023). "'The Marvels' With $140M Global Opening, Not Expected To Be Marvelous At Weekend Box Office – Preview". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved November 8, 2023.
- ^ "Journey to Bethlehem". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved December 1, 2023.
- ^ "The Movieguide® Awards". Movieguide® Awards. Retrieved August 30, 2024.