''Journey to Bethlehem'' is a 2023 American

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

musical film Musical film is a film genre in which songs by the characters are interwoven into the narrative, sometimes accompanied by dancing. The songs usually advance the plot or develop the film's characters, but in some cases, they serve merely as breaks ...

directed by Adam Anders in his feature-length directorial debut. Written by Anders and Peter Barsocchini, the film stars

Milo Manheim Milo Manheim (born March 6, 2001) is an American actor. He is known for his starring role as Zed in the 2018 Disney Channel Original Movie ''Zombies'', and its sequels ''Zombies 2'' (2020) and '' Zombies 3'' (2022). In 2018, he finished in seco ...

and Fiona Palomo as Joseph and Mary, with

Antonio Banderas José Antonio Domínguez Bandera (born 10 August 1960), known professionally as Antonio Banderas, is a Spanish actor and singer. Known for his work in films of several genres, he has received List of awards and nominations received by Antonio Ba ...

as King Herod.

Premise

Cast

* as Mary *

as Joseph * Lecrae as Gabriel *

Joel Smallbone Joel David Smallbone (born 5 June 1984) is an Australian singer and actor. He is a member of the Christian pop duo for King & Country along with his brother Luke Smallbone. He played the role of James Stevens in the 2016 film '' Priceless''. E ...

Antipater Antipater (; grc, , translit=Antipatros, lit=like the father; c. 400 BC319 BC) was a Macedonian general and statesman under the subsequent kingships of Philip II of Macedon and his son, Alexander the Great. In the wake of the collaps ...

as Herod the Great * Antonio Cantos as

Joachim Joachim (; ''Yəhōyāqīm'', "he whom Yahweh has set up"; ; ) was, according to Christian tradition, the husband of Saint Anne and the father of Mary, the mother of Jesus. The story of Joachim and Anne first appears in the Biblical apocryphal ...

Moriah Peters Moriah Castillo Peters (born October 2, 1992) is an American contemporary Christian singer and songwriter born in Pomona, California and raised in Chino, California and Ontario, California. In 2012, Peters released the album entitled '' I Choose J ...

as Deborah * as Rebekah * Rizwan Manji as

Caspar Caspar is a masculine given name. It may refer to: People * Caspar (magus), a name traditionally given to one of the Three Magi in the Bible who brought the baby Jesus gifts *Caspar Austa (born 1982), Estonian cyclist *Caspar Badrutt (1848–1904) ...

Geno Segers Lonnie G. "Geno" Segers Jr. is an American actor known for his roles as Chayton Littlestone in the Cinemax original series ''Banshee'', Dwayne in NBC's Perfect Harmony, Mason Makoola in the Disney XD television series ''Pair of Kings'', Kincaid ...

as Balthazar *

Omid Djalili Omid Djalili ( fa, امید جلیلی; born 30 September 1965) is a British actor, comedian and writer. Early life and education Djalili was born on 30 September 1965 in Chelsea, London, to Iranian Baháʼí parents. He attended Holland Park ...

as Melchior

Production

The film and its cast was announced in March 2023, with newcomer Fiona Palomo as Mary, '' Zombies'' star

as Joseph, and

as Herod the Great. Shooting locations included the

Santa Bárbara Castle Santa Bárbara Castle ( ca-valencia, Castell de Santa Bàrbara, es, Castillo de Santa Bárbara) is a fortification in the center of Alicante, Spain. It stands on Mount Benacantil (166 m) bordering the sea, which gave it enormous strategic va ...

Alicante Alicante ( ca-valencia, Alacant) is a city and municipality in the Valencian Community, Spain. It is the capital of the province of Alicante and a historic Mediterranean port. The population of the city was 337,482 , the second-largest in th ...

Music

The following soundtrack was released on Nov 3, 2023. The deluxe version containing the original score was released on November 24, 2023.

Release

''Journey to Bethlehem'' was theatrically released on November 10, 2023, by

Sony Pictures Sony Pictures Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Sony Pictures or SPE, and formerly known as Columbia Pictures Entertainment, Inc.) is an American diversified multinational mass media and entertainment studio Conglomerate (company), conglom ...

and

Affirm Films Affirm Films is an American Christian film studio and label of Sony Pictures Worldwide Acquisitions, which produces, markets, and acquires faith-based films. The studio's highest-grossing faith-based dramas are '' Heaven is for Real'', '' Mir ...

. A teaser trailer premiered in front of Affirm's '' Big George Foreman'', before being released on YouTube. The film was released on digital platforms on December 8, 2023, followed by a Blu-ray and DVD release on January 16, 2024.

Reception

Box office

In 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. 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.

Critical response

Audiences polled by

CinemaScore CinemaScore is a market research firm based in Las Vegas. It surveys film audiences to rate their viewing experiences with letter grades, reports the results, and forecasts box office receipts based on the data. Background Ed Mintz founded Ci ...

gave the film an average grade of "A–" on A+ to F scale, while those surveyed by PostTrak gave it an 81% positive score. In 2024, it was awarded the Epiphany Prize® for Inspiring Movies by Movieguide at the Movieguide Awards.

References

External links

* * {{IMDb title, tt26753154, Journey to Bethlehem 2020s English-language films 2020s American films 2020s musical films 2020s musical drama films 2020s Christmas films American musical drama films American Christmas films Christmas musical films Films about the Nativity of Jesus Films shot in Alicante Affirm Films films Depictions of Herod the Great on film 2023 directorial debut films