But for our latest Rewind, we dipped a little deeper into the cinematic archives and pulled out O Brother, Where Art Thou?, an oddly jaunty gem from the Coen Brothers (Joel and Ethan, perhaps best known for bleak Oscar Best Picture winners Fargo and No Country for Old Men).

Bret Eckelberry and I sit down to talk about this deep South homage to Homer’s Odyssey, its super rich spiritual themes and why it’s just a little bit like The Wizard of Oz. Really. Take a look:

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That’s why you’ll find the bleak Mickey 17 standing bruised but triumphant as box office winner this week. In its first weekend, the film duplicated up $19 million. It’s not a particularly impressive number for a box office winner, but at just over one million per Mickey clone, it’s not a terrible paycheck, either.

Captain America: Brave New World, meanwhile, may want to get those wings checked. It continued its nearly 50% plummet in box office earnings—a trend it’s followed every week since its premiere. Still, it managed a safe second place with $8.5 million, which brings its total domestic earnings to $176.5 million.

Third place went to Last Breath, which likewise fell one spot thanks to Mickey 17, earning just $4.2 million this weekend. Perhaps most notable was that the film, despite a drop in earnings as compared to last week, grew in the number of theaters showing it.

The Monkey’s supernatural snare-drumming simian earned the film a fourth place finish with $3.9 million in its third weekend. The far-friendlier animal, Paddington the bear, rounded out the top five with Paddington in Peru, taking home $3.85 million on his fourth weekend at the theaters.

And if you’re wondering if the Oscars still have any relevance to audiences, Anora would answer: Yes. The Best Picture winner jumped from 22^nd last week to seventh this week, even though it released all the way back in October 2024. And despite its heavy sexual content, it took home $1.86 million—a nearly 600% increase from its earnings last week.

Looking down the list, Angel Studios’ Rule Breakers, about an all-girl robotics team from Afghanistan, constructed a ninth place finish with $1.59 million. And Night of the Zoopocalypse, which we described as “baby’s first zombie survival horror film,” barely affected (or infected) audiences. It earned tenth place with $1.06 million. Still, it managed to do better than In the Lost Lands. The adaptation of a George R. R. Martin short story debuted in 11^th place with $1.04 million—a tragic number for a movie that reportedly cost $55 million to make.

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But Tomlin’s musical footprint is as big as anyone’s. The singer/songwriter/worship leader has sold millions of albums and been streamed billions of times. Many of us have belted out a Tomlin song or two or 20 at church. By any musical metric you want to use, Tomlin is a megawatt superstar—even if he doesn’t act like it. Rooted in the world of worship music, Tomlin says that he prays for one thing when he goes on stage: That people might have an encounter with God.

But Tomlin has also said that “worship is more about seeing than singing,” and his latest venture is a visual one. He’s serving as an executive producer for The Last Supper, a movie scheduled for release March 14.

When I talked with Tomlin about his involvement with the film, he said it began as you’d expect: with music. “No Greater Love,” a new song by Tomlin, is a part of the movie. He says that the song and the movie dovetail together quite well—even though the song itself was written before he’d seen a frame of the film.

“When those end credits go, and my song starts coming, you would think that I just watched the movie, grabbed my pen and wrote the song from there,” he says. “I didn’t even know the movie when I wrote the song, and that was just another point where God was like, ‘I’m putting this together. I’m connecting you guys.’ And so I was like, ‘How can I get involved [in this film] in a greater way?’” 

So, what does that “greater way” look like? And just how did that song—the song that landed in The Last Supper—come about in the first place? That’s a pretty fascinating story.

But don’t take my word for it. Watch the video and hear for yourself.

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“I can do this all day.”

Watching Captain America: Brave New World keep the box-office title for the third straight week, despite plummeting weekend-over-weekend earnings, is sort of like that. Brave New World is down nearly 47% from last week (a week which had already dropped 68% from its premiere). It raked in $15 million, bringing its domestic earnings to $164 million total—a number that makes up nearly half of its worldwide $342 million. But like a good superhero story, it seems the film hasn’t quite taken its last breath.

And speaking of Last Breath, that’s the new film that hit Cap the hardest. The Woody Harrelson flick dove deep into the fray and earned a respectable second place finish with $7.8 million.

Horror comedy The Monkey sunk a little deeper than Last Breath, falling from last weekend’s second-place finish to secure third with $6.3 million.

If it’s any solace to the simian, it managed to beat out man’s best friend, since Dog Man remained at a static fourth place with $4.2 million. And with all these animals, it’s only fitting that Mufasa: The Lion King revived its kingdom by rounding out the top five—a jump from last weekend’s eighth-place finish. It brought in $1.9 million for its fifth weekend—adding to the $702 million in its worldwide treasury.

Farther down, newcomer Mobile Suit Gundam: GQuuuuuuX: Beginning earned a tough 10^th place with a mere $916,000—coincidentally, the number of digits in that profit match the number of ‘u’s in the film’s title. Riff Raff, landing in 12^th place with $901,000, couldn’t even make enough of a racket to surpass A Complete Unknown, the Bob Dylan biopic from December 2024, which took 11^th place with $904,000.

Finally, My Dead Friend Zoe, a military-focused film dealing with difficult topics like PTSD and suicide, took 14^th place with $755,000.

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And we know you’re all just dying to know who won the 2025 Plugged In Movie Awards. If you listened to Episode 275 of The Plugged In Show yesterday, then you already know the results. (In case you missed it, you can still go back and listen though!) But don’t worry, we’ll recap here as well. And as an added bonus, we’ll announce your picks—the audience’s choices—too!

Best Movie for Kids

The Nominees: The Garfield Movie; Inside Out 2; My Penguin Friend; Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl; Woody Woodpecker Goes to Camp

And the Pluggy Goes to … Inside Out 2

Audience Pick: Inside Out 2

In a year packed with excellent, kid-friendly movies, Inside Out 2 absolutely dominated the box office. It earned nearly $1.7 billion worldwide, making it the highest-grossing film of 2024 and proving that what audiences want the most out of Hollywood are movies they can share with their kids! (So it’s no surprise that this film won the audience award, too.)

Best Movie for Teens

The Nominees: Flow; The Long Game; Transformers One; Ultraman: Rising; Young Woman and the Sea

And the Pluggy Goes to … Young Woman and the Sea

Audience Pick: Young Woman and the Sea

Trudy Ederle may not have swum to victory in the 1924 Paris Olympics. But her harrowing journey to become the first woman to swim the English Channel swam to victory with the Plugged In staff—and she did the same in your votes, too.

Best Movie for Adults

The Nominees: Blitz; Dune: Part Two; Exhibiting Forgiveness; Here; The Wild Robot

And the Pluggy Goes to … The Wild Robot

Audience Pick: The Wild Robot

ROZZUN 7134 had to compete with Tom Hanks, Saoirse Ronan and the Fremen of Arrakis to take home her Pluggy this year. But her victory was well-earned. And you agreed, too! (In fact, I’m not sure we’ve ever had so many staff and audience picks line up before.) And while the parent-focused message and breathtaking lean toward a more grown-up audience, this PG-rated flick can be enjoyed by the whole family.

Best Christian Movie

The Nominees: The Best Christmas Pageant Ever; Cabrini; The Forge; Ordinary Angels; Unsung Hero

And the Plugged Goes to … Unsung Hero

Audience Pick: It’s a tie! The Best Christmas Pageant Ever and Unsung Hero share the honor of the audience pick for Best Christian Movie.

Each year, our Best Christian Movie pick tends to be one of our most hotly debated categories. Like you, the audience, the Plugged In staff was divided between The Best Christmas Pageant Ever and Unsung Hero. But in the end, the incredible origin story of Christian artists Rebecca St. James as well as Joel and Luke Smallbone (from the band For King + Country) tipped the scales and came out victorious.

Well, that’s it for this year. Thanks so much for your participation! You can read reviews for all of these films at pluggedin.com. Listen to our debate at The Plugged In Show. And let us know what you think—on Facebook, Instagram or right here on the blog!

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You might think that would be enough to capsize him emotionally. But not Austin. Instead, we get a portrait of an adolescent whose irrepressible optimism in the face of ongoing suffering—physically, emotionally and relationally—is utterly unsinkable. His dad, Scott (played by Zachary Levi), however, struggles mightily with the challenges his son’s issues present, even turning to the bottle to cope.

That mix of elements makes for a dramatic, funny, poignant and gritty story—one that may very well end up on our Best Christian Movie list for the Plugged In Movie Awardsnext year. I had the chance to talk to some of those involved with the film at the premiere, both in front of the camera and behind it, before the film started. You can see a montage of some of those moments from the black (not red!) carpet before the event below.

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I asked each person I talked to what they appreciated most about this story and what they hoped audiences would take away from it. Here are some of those responses:

Drew Powell, who plays Joe, Scott’s imaginary friend: “I get emotional thinking about this film because it’s so special, because it focuses on a normal family. … Look, superhero movies are great. It’s great to have these incredible movies about these people who did these extraordinary things. But it’s also great to have a movie about folks that are going through the stuff that we’re all going through. And so, my friends that are parents—even the ones that aren’t—will have moments in this movie where they’re going, ‘Yes! Of course! I’ve been there. I know what that’s like.’ So that’s why it’s so special to me. I think about these people in my life, that particularly are parents of special needs kids, and how they will feel when they watch this, and I hope they’ll love it. Because we made it with so much love for them.”

Peter Facinelli, who plays Preacher Rick: “When I read the book—and I’m a dad myself—to me it was about a dad who feels like he’s failing all the time. And I’ve felt that sometimes with my own kids. Like, ‘Am I doing this right?’ And in the book, Scott realizes his son has more to teach him about love and life than anything. In a relationship between parents and kids, you guide them, you teach them. But they also have so much to offer to teach you, too. … And I also love—and I haven’t seen this in a movie before—where the movie [story] is kind of told from an autistic child’s perspective. And I thought that was really interesting. Because what a wonderful gift that Austin has to see the world and see the joy in almost everything. And when you talk to Austin, his superpower is that he cannot lie. He tells you, ‘The one thing about me is that I can’t lie.’ And I love that. I love that he’s so authentic. He’s so real. He’s such a beautiful light. What a joy to be around, and so infectious. So when people go see the movie, I hope they take that with them.”

Patricia Heaton plays Scott’s mom. She said of her involvement with The Unbreakable Boy, “It’s been great to … do a beautiful movie about something that a lot of families are struggling with, having their kid be on the spectrum or just have learning differences, and how parents struggle to cope with that. You know, parenting generally can be very stressful. When you add in these extra issues, it’s tough. So to be able to bring a movie to the screen where parents can see their struggle realistically portrayed, but to have hope and redemption at the end is so important.”

Writer and director John Gunn spoke at length regarding his hopes for the film and its impact on audiences: “I hope first of all that it’s a movie that just fills your heart. It’s funny, and it’s charming; but it looks unflinchingly at the challenges of life, of parenthood, of personal struggles. It’s a movie about gratitude. And to me, that’s one of the greatest messages to share, learning that lesson to be appreciative of the things that we have even when we’re struggling. It’s also just funny and magical … and unafraid to look at the imperfections, the fears that we have as parents that we’re failing. So I loved everything about the message of it, the exploration of it. And it was so much fun to make and such a joy to watch.” He also added, “As a parent, you feel so much like you have to fix your children—all their problems and all their struggles—but the truth is, we heal each other. We learn just as much from our kids as they learn from us. And I think in this particular case, Austin taught his father gratitude.”

Finally, Kingdom Story CEO Kevin Downes said, “I’m always passionate about producing a film and making stories that I wholeheartedly believe in, which is why you see a lot of common emotional threads with films that Kingdom Story puts out. Because if I don’t believe in a film and a story, I don’t really want to do it. I love inspiring underdog stories. You know, we take films that showcase the power of the gospel and then inspire people with a rush of hope. That’s what we’ve been doing for the last eight years that we’ve been in existence. That thread is throughout all of our films. … [The Unbreakable Boy] is a story of selfless love, many relationships exhibiting this attribute of selfless love. And to be able to love one another in a way that might not be expected or deserved, we see that played out in the film in all the relationship dynamics. I hope that people realize, like Austin says, ‘Every day has the potential to be the best day ever.’ It’s true.”

If you’re interested in checking out The Unbreakable Boy, be sure to check out Paul Asay’s excellent review of it first.

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Brave New World earned an estimated $28.2 million in North America to post its newest box-office victory. A win? Sure. But underneath Captain America’s gold-medal performance, you see plenty of zinc. The film lost 68% of its weekend-over-weekend audience—a precipitous drop indeed, especially given the lack of competition. Perhaps it’s because the film is, as our own Bob Hoose said on YouTube, just not that great.

Still, Brave New World has earned $141.2 million domestically and $289.4 million worldwide. Those numbers suggest that the superhero genre still has some muscle in it yet.

A newcomer called The Monkey drummed up a little business of its own. The horror comedy thumped its way to $14.2 million in its first week of action—hardly a killing, but enough to make the toy simian smile a bit.

Paddington in Peru finished third with $6.5 million. The raincoat-wearing bear has earned a mere trickle: $25.3 million in North America. But overseas, the cash is pouring in: It’s garnered $125 million in international markets, pushing Paddington in Peru to $150.3 million worldwide gross. That’ll buy a lot of marmalade.

Dog Man continues to sniff around the top five, earning $5.9 million for fourth place. And the Chinese film Ne Zha 2 landed in the No. 5 slot for the second straight weekend. Looking down the list a bit, The Unbreakable Boy earned $2.5 million to land in a virtual tie for eighth place with Mufasa: The Lion King. Here’s to hoping this nice little movie finds a bigger audience. Meanwhile, Cleaner found its own coffers practically spotless. It earned a mere $426,000 to finish 19^th.

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Captain America: Brave New World flapped its vibranium wings to an estimated $88.5 million in North America—ahead of expert predictions. Add in today’s predicted President’s Day grosses, and most prognosticators think that Brave New World will collect around $100 million over the four-day extended weekend.

And that’s just stateside. Overseas, Captain America is proving to be a solid import, earning about $92.4 million in international markets. Yep, the Hulk we see here may be red, but the movie itself is gathering a lot of green.

Another newbie, Paddington in Peru, paddled into second place domestically with an estimated $13 million over three days, or $16 million if you count what it’s expected to pocket on Presidents’ Day.

But while the ever-so-civil bear’s North American opening might ‘ve been modest, Paddington proved to be more than a match for Captain America overseas. It earned $115.8 million internationally—more than Cap could muster—to push its overall four-day estimate to $131.8 million.

The horror holdover Heart Eyes stared down $10 million at the domestic box office, which was strong enough to scare up a third-place finish. The flick has now banked $21.5 million in North America.

Two-time box-office champ Dog Man slid all the way to fourth place with $9.7 million over three days—a still tail-wagging take for the family flick. And Ne Zha 2, a Chinese animated adventure flick, skittered into fifth place with $7.2 million.

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It’s those sorts of movies that get nominated for the Plugged In Movie Awards in the kids, teens and adults categories. But while those films are certainly nice, we also want to highlight movies that unequivocally declare a belief in God and Jesus Christ. Thus, Best Christian Movies.

Each year, it feels like Christian filmmakers hone their craft more and more. The writing becomes more compelling. The characters become more complex. And pure aesthetics improve. And 2025 was simply a banner year for Christian movies.

The only problem we had with nominees this year was that there were simply too many quality Christian films to choose from. But we believe we’ve picked five nominees that honor both God and the craft of filmmaking in ways that even nonbelievers could give an appreciative nod.

We’ll be selecting the winner during The Plugged In Show on Feb. 27. And, of course, we want to hear what you think, too. Vote for any of these nominees—or write in your own—on Facebook, Instagram or right here on the blog. We’ll tally up your votes and write about your choices (and ours) on Feb. 28, right here.

Now, for the nominees. (Summaries are written by Paul Asay, Adam Holz and Emily Tsiao.)

The Best Christmas Pageant Ever (PG)

The Herdman kids are just the worst. They lie. They cuss. They smoke cigars. And, maybe worst of all for the picturesque hamlet of Emmanuel, they’ve taken over the town’s treasured Christmas pageant. The best Christmas pageant ever? No one expects that. But everyone figures it’ll be, at least, memorable. Based on a classic novella by Barbara Robinson and directed by The Chosen’s Dallas Jenkins, The Best Christmas Pageant Ever offers plenty of laughs and maybe a few tears. It reminds us that Jesus didn’t come for the “pretty good already” crowd (because, let’s face it, that crowd’s just kidding themselves). He came for people like you, and me, and the Herdmans. And that gift can change lives—even the lives of those who set fire to Fred Shoemaker’s toolshed.

Cabrini (PG-13)

The rats have it better than children in Five Points. When Mother Cabrini (the first American saint) tells this to New York Times reporter Theodore Calloway, he doesn’t believe her. So she takes him there. All her life, Cabrini has fought for the downtrodden. She aspires to build an “Empire of Hope,” a worldwide network of orphanages, schools and hospitals to serve the poor. But everywhere she turns, she’s told to give up—because she’s a woman; because she’s an Italian immigrant; because she has a “weak constitution.” However, Cabrini won’t let anyone tell her no, because she knows that God has told her yes. So she certainly won’t allow sexism, racism or anything else stand in her God’s way. Cabrini isn’t the easiest film to watch—and that’s largely why it’s the only PG-13 film to land on this list. The perils we witness onscreen, the hardships people face, the hatred carried out by those bent on preserving their own fabrication of the “American Dream” are all heavy topics. Some light language pops up on occasion, too. But for families looking for a faith-based biographical drama, the story of Francesca Saverio Cabrini is pretty inspiring.

The Forge (PG)

Isaiah Wright doesn’t pretend to have it all figured out. The 19-year-old figures he has plenty of time to become, like, a responsible citizen and good man and stuff. But his mother, Cynthia, has had it up to the rafters with Isaiah’s basketball-playing, video-gaming, no-working shenanigans. She sends him out to find a job, and he finds one with Joshua Moore. But here’s the thing: Joshua’s looking for more than just an employee. He’s looking for an intelligent, principled, Godly man to work for him. And while he knows that Isaiah isn’t anywhere close to that yet, Joshua believes he can be—with a little discipleship. The Forge just may be the best Kendrick Brothers movie yet. And it encourages Christians—especially men—to take up the gauntlet and mentor the teens and young adults in their lives, training them up in the way of the Lord.

Ordinary Angels (PG)

Ed Schmitt’s daughter is sick. Very sick. She has the same disease that killed his wife not so long ago. And because Ed spent most of the family’s money on his wife’s medical care, the bills for his little girl’s treatment are adding up. But Ed has an unlikely good Samaritan on the case: a hairdresser named Sharon who drinks far too much, carouses too much and yet somehow could convince Ebenezer Scrooge himself to donate to a worthy cause. Directed by Jon Gunn and starring two-time Oscar winner Hilary Swank, Ordinary Angels isn’t your typical Christian flick. Its main protagonist believes that, by fixing someone else’s problems, she just might fix her own. That’s a problem itself, of course, but one that sets the table for Ordinary Angels’ hard-earned, uplifting finale.

Unsung Hero (PG)

If you uprooted your family of six and moved to another country in pursuit of work, then found out the job you were promised went to someone else, would you call it an adventure? Or a nightmare? Helen Smallbone, the mother at the heart of the family in Unsung Hero, chooses the former. Along with her husband, David, she and her brood have transplanted from Australia to Nashville to further David’s career as a music promoter. Nothing goes according to plan. But gradually, together, the family learns to trust God in some pretty radical ways—especially David, who’s confronted by both career failure and falling apart emotionally, even as Helen holds things together. And, of course, this story isn’t a fictional one: We see how God worked through it to launch the career of Rebecca St. James in the 1990s and (much later) that of Joel and Luke Smallbone, perhaps better known these days as the Christian band For King + Country. It’s an inspiring story but a surprisingly gritty one, too. And while you might see this as a movie mostly about Christian music, it’s really a story about a Christian marriage—a case study in perseverance amid crushing disappointment.

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Dog Man barked to a second straight box-office victory. Granted, the win was relatively, um, ruff as wins go: Dog Man lost more than 60% of its weekend-over-weekend audience and earned just an estimated $13.7 million in North America. Still, it was enough to stave off a couple of newcomers to dig up another win. Dog Man has now earned a modest $54 million during its domestic run, and $66 million worldwide.

The horror flick Heart Eyes stared down second place with an $8.5 million weekend. Overseas, it added … well, nothing. So that means it’s earned $8.5 million overall. (And who says I can’t do math?)

Speaking of math, if you flip the numbers “8” and “5” from Heart Eyes’ $8.5 million weekend, you’d get Love Hurts’ own weekend take. The widely-panned R-rated action flick collected $5.8 million in North America. Which proves that while love may hurt, nothing hurts more in the cinematic world than hostile indifference.

Mufasa: The Lion King continues to hang around the box office’s top five, clawing up another $3.9 million to add to its already substantial bankroll. Mufasa has now earned $235.2 million stateside and $671.1 million globally. That’s a lot of money, and I ain’t lion.

Companion closed out the top five with a $3 million weekend. I’d add another terrible pun here, but I’m afraid that Plugged In has capped the number of wordplay instances I’m allowed. Have a great week!

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