The Forge is a 2024 American Christian drama film directed by Alex Kendrick and co-written by Stephen Kendrick. A spin-off to War Room, it is the Kendrick brothers' ninth film and the sixth through their subsidiary, Kendrick Brothers Productions. Their initial five films were created under Sherwood Pictures. It stars Cameron Arnett, Priscilla Shirer, Aspen Kennedy, Karen Abercrombie, T.C. Stallings, BJ Arnett, Ken Bevel, Benjamin Watson, Jonathan Evans, Jerry Shirer, and Tommy Woodard. The film was released in the United States on August 23, 2024, receiving positive reviews from critics and audiences and grossing $40 million worldwide against a $5 million budget and garnered Alex Kendrick's 4th "A+" on CinemaScore.

Plot

Isaiah Wright enjoys playing basketball and video games with his friends. One day while playing video games, his mother Cynthia asks her son to help her with carrying the groceries, which he doesn't hear at first until his video game is over. His mother wants him to get a job since he has graduated high school, implying he skipped out on college. Isaiah doesn't want to go look for a job, but Cynthia threatens to kick him out of the house. He starts looking for jobs the next day, eventually landing at Moore Fitness to fill out an application. A man walks in and notices Isaiah sitting and filing out a form, and asks him why he's there. Isaiah doesn't want to talk to him, but the man turns out to be the president of the company, Joshua Moore. Isaiah throws away the application and is ready to storm off, but as he leaves, Joshua stops him and invites Isaiah to lunch. He gives him his business card and asks him three questions, telling him to call when he’s ready to answer them.

Cast

Cameron Arnett as Joshua Moore Priscilla Shirer as: Cynthia Wright, Elizabeth's identical twin sister Elizabeth Jordan, Cynthia's identical twin sister (reprising her role from War Room) Aspen Kennedy as Isaiah Wright, Cynthia's teenage son Karen Abercrombie as Miss Clara Williams (reprising her role from War Room) T.C. Stallings as Tony Jordan, Elizabeth's husband (reprising his role from War Room) BJ Arnett as Janelle Moore, Joshua's wife Ken Bevel as James Benjamin Watson as himself Jonathan Evans as Jonathan Jerry Shirer as Vaughn Tommy Woodard as Bobby Marianne Haaland as Wanda

Production

In November 2023, it was revealed that a Christian drama film directed by Alex Kendrick titled The Forge had completed principal photography from June to July in Albany, Georgia. Cameron Arnett, Priscilla Shirer, Aspen Kennedy, Karen Abercrombie, T.C. Stallings, BJ Arnett, Ken Bevel, Benjamin Watson, Jonathan Evans, Jerry Shirer, and Tommy Woodard round out the cast.

Release

The Forge was distributed by Sony Pictures Releasing on August 23, 2024.

Reception

= Box office

= In the United States and Canada, The Forge was released alongside Blink Twice and The Crow, and played in 1,818 theaters in its opening weekend. The film made $2.4 million on its first day, including $600,000 from Thursday night previews. It went on to debut at $6.7 million, finishing fifth at the box office. The film made $4.6 million in its second weekend.

= Critical response

= On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 67% of 12 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 6.4/10. Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave The Forge a rare average grade of "A+" on an A+ to F scale, while those at PostTrak gave the film an average of five out of five stars, with 88% saying they would definitely recommend it.

References

External links

Official website The Forge at IMDb