I Can Only Imagine (2018)
12-month trend
12-month trend
Monthly article views
2025-09 to 2026-08
A young man struggles to reconcile his relationship with his abusive father while pursuing a career in Christian music.
The story
Ten-year-old Bart Millard lives with his mother Adele and abusive father Arthur in Texas. After his mother leaves, Bart faces the consequences of his father's behavior. Years later, after a career-ending football injury, Bart reluctantly joins a music class and discovers a talent for singing. He eventually forms a band called MercyMe and seeks a career in Nashville. However, personal conflicts with his father and his girlfriend Shannon create significant obstacles. Bart must navigate his internal struggles and external pressures as he attempts to find his place in the music industry while dealing with his complicated family history.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
Ten-year-old Bart Millard lives with his mother Adele and abusive father Arthur in Texas. After his mother leaves, Bart confronts Arthur, who denies his abusiveness. Years later, a football injury leads Bart to a music class where he is cast in a school production of Oklahoma!. After a successful performance, Arthur discovers the news and collapses, later revealing he has cancer. Following a fight with his father, Bart breaks up with his girlfriend Shannon and moves to Nashville to join a band called MercyMe. Despite initial success and introductions to Amy Grant and Michael W. Smith, the band fails to secure a record deal, leading Bart to quit. He returns home to find Arthur has become a Christian. Though skeptical, Bart eventually discovers Arthur's terminal diagnosis and forgives him before Arthur dies. After the funeral, Bart writes 'I Can Only Imagine.' Amy Grant initially refuses to record it but eventually performs it on stage, calling Bart out to sing it himself. The song becomes a hit, and Bart reunites with Shannon.
- First release year
- 2018
- Runtime (minutes)
- 110
- Production countries
- United States
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- Erwin Brothers
- Writers
- Alex Cramer · story; Jon Erwin · screenplay; Brent McCorkle · screenplay
- Cast and characters
- J. Michael Finley · Bart Millard; Madeline Carroll · Shannon Street; Trace Adkins · Scott Brickell; Priscilla Shirer · Mrs. Fincher; Cloris Leachman · Meemaw Leona Millard; Dennis Quaid · Arthur Millard; Tanya Clarke · Adele Millard; Jason Burkey · Mike Scheuchzer
- Genres
- Christian; biographical; drama
- Themes
- Father-son relationships; Forgiveness; Faith; Music; Child abuse
- Tone and mood
- Inspirational; Dramatic
- Premise and plot tags
- Biographical; Faith-based; Music Biopic
- Source material / true-story basis
- The story behind the group MercyMe's song 'I Can Only Imagine'
- Content notes
- Child abuse
- Reception
- The film was a box office success, grossing $86 million worldwide against a $7 million budget. It received mixed critical reviews but was well-received by faith-based reviewers and audiences, earning an A+ on CinemaScore.
- Awards and nominations
- Dove Awards · Inspirational Film of the Year · 2018 · Won
- Production trivia
- The film was the highest-grossing independent film of 2018.; J. Michael Finley made his film debut in this movie.; The film was projected to gross $2–4 million in its opening weekend but exceeded expectations.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
Your lists
Loading your lists…