‘Reagan’ Movie Trounces Expectations and Defies Critics as Americans Embrace the Gipper
- Michael Foust Crosswalk Headlines Contributor
- Published Sep 09, 2024
A faith-focused movie about President Ronald Reagan is outperforming expectations and climbing the charts, demonstrating that Americans still have a deep admiration for the Gipper. One week after opening at No. 4 in the United States, Reagan (PG-13) climbed the charts in its second weekend to No. 3 and crossed $18 million in total gross, trailing only No. 1 Beetlejuice Beetlejuice and No. 2 Deadpool & Wolverine.
Just as impressive, Reagan fell only 31.6 percent compared to its previous weekend in an industry where drops of 40 to 60 percent are typical. Deadpool & Wolverine, for example, fell 54 percent in its second weekend. It Ends with Us dropped 52 percent in its second weekend.
Box office experts had expected Reagan to remain in single digits during its Labor Day weekend launch. Instead, Reagan crossed $10 million.
Filmmakers gave it a CinemaScored grade of A. Although Rotten Tomatoes critics mostly hated it -- only 20 percent of them gave it a positive grade -- 98 percent of viewers at the same website liked it.
The biopic follows the story of Reagan’s life from his boyhood in Illinois until his retirement.
Faith is a central theme in the film. “God has a purpose for your life,” his mother tells him.
Dennis Quaid portrays Reagan.
“Faith was just a part of him. It was just who he was,” Quaid told Crosswalk Headlines.
Reagan (1911-2004) was Quaid’s favorite president. Quaid’s father was a fan, too.
“I lived through all these events. He was the president who ended the Cold War,” Quaid said. “... He loomed large in my life. A real tingle of fear went down my spine when I was offered the role.”
Quaid visited Reagan’s home in California in order to prepare for the portrayal.
“He was a humble man. I found out Reagan was not a rich man,” Quaid said. “The house they had there was 1,100 square feet. They had a king-sized bed, but it was two single beds that were zip-tied together.”
Related: 4 Reasons Reagan Will Be Your Family’s New Favorite Biopic
Photo Credit: ©Rawhide Pictures
Michael Foust has covered the intersection of faith and news for 20 years. His stories have appeared in Baptist Press, Christianity Today, The Christian Post, the Leaf-Chronicle, the Toronto Star and the Knoxville News-Sentinel.
