''Ordinary Angels'' is a 2024 American faith-based

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-g ...

. Directed by

Jon Gunn Jonathan Michael Gunn is an American independent film director and screenwriter A screenplay writer (also called screenwriter, scriptwriter, scribe or scenarist) is a writer who practices the craft of screenwriting, writing screenplays ...

and written by

Meg Tilly Meg Tilly (born Margaret Elizabeth Chan on February 14, 1960) is an American-Canadian actress and writer. For her role in the 1985 film '' Agnes of God'', she won a Golden Globe Award and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting ...

and

Kelly Fremon Craig Kelly Fremon Craig (born January 1, 1981) is an American screenwriter, producer, and film director. She is known for directing, writing, and co-producing the 2016 coming-of-age dramedy ''The Edge of Seventeen.'' Early life Fremon Craig was bo ...

, it is based on true events that transpired during the 1994 North American cold wave. It stars

Hilary Swank Hilary Ann Swank (born July 30, 1974) is an American actress and film producer. She first became known in 1992 for her role on the television series '' Camp Wilder'' and made her film debut with a minor role in ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer'' (1992 ...

Alan Ritchson Alan Michael Ritchson (born November 28, 1982) is an American actor, model, singer and songwriter. He made his acting debut as Aquaman / Arthur Curry on The CW superhero series ''Smallville'' (2005–2010), where he appeared as a guest star betw ...

Nancy Travis Nancy Ann Travis (born September 21, 1961) is an American actress. She began her career on Off-Broadway theater, before her first leading screen role in the American Broadcasting Company, ABC television miniseries ''Harem'' opposite Omar Sharif. ...

, and

Tamala Jones Tamala Reneé Jones (born November 12, 1974) is an American actress. She is known for her roles in films such as ''Booty Call'', ''The Wood'', '' Kingdom Come'', '' The Brothers'', and ''What Men Want''. Her prominent television roles include T ...

. The film was released by

Lionsgate Lions Gate Entertainment Corporation, doing business as Lionsgate, is a Canadian-American entertainment company. It was formed by Frank Giustra on July 10, 1997, domiciled in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada and is currently headquartered ...

on February 23, 2024. It received generally positive reviews from critics and has grossed $19 million.

Premise

Inspired by a true story, in 1994

Louisville, Kentucky Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border ...

, a hairdresser rallies the community to help a widowed father save the life of his critically ill young daughter after Louisville is hit by a major snowstorm from the 1994 North American cold wave.

Cast

Production

Dave Matthews pitched the story to Jon Berg who brought the story to Lionsgate who brought it to Kevin Downes and the team at Kingdom Story Company. In March 2022, the film was officially announced with Swank and Ritchson starring, with Jon Gunn directing and writing the most recent draft of the script with Jon Erwin.

and

contributed an earlier draft and received writing credit. Filming occurred in

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the province of Manitoba in Canada. It is centred on the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, near the longitudinal centre of North America. , Winnipeg had a city population of 749,6 ...

in April 2022 and

Albany, New York Albany ( ) is the capital of the U.S. state of New York, also the seat and largest city of Albany County. Albany is on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River, and about north of New York City ...

, in June 2022.

Release

''Ordinary Angels'' was released theatrically by

on February 23, 2024. The film was originally scheduled to be released on October 13, 2023, before the date was delayed to avoid competition with the

concert film A concert film, or concert movie, is a film that showcases a live performance from the perspective of a concert goer, the subject of which is an extended live performance or concert by either a musician or a stand-up comedian. Early history The ...

, '' Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour''. It is scheduled to be released in the United Kingdom by

Columbia Pictures Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. is an American film production studio that is a member of the Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group, a division of Sony Pictures Entertainment, which is one of the Big Five studios and a subsidiary of the mu ...

on April 26, 2024.

Reception

Box office

In the United States and Canada, ''Ordinary Angels'' was released alongside '' Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – To the Hashira Training'' and '' Drive-Away Dolls'', and was projected to gross $5–7 million from 2,800 theaters in its opening weekend. It ended up debuting to $6.5 million, finishing third at the box office. The film made $3.9 million in its second weekend (a drop of just 38%), finishing third.

Critical response

Audiences surveyed 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 a rare grade of "A+" on an A+ to F scale. Courtney Howard of ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' wrote, "In Swank's capable hands, the character's predictable arc is made formidable, conjuring sympathy and strength in spades. Plus, she brings a naturalism to the scenes shared with Mitchell and Hughes, rising stars in their own right, who efficiently deliver precociousness with the right amount of potency".

References

External links

* * {{Jon Gunn 2024 drama films 2020s American films 2020s English-language films American drama films American films based on actual events Drama films based on actual events Films about weather hazards Films directed by Jon Gunn Films produced by Roy Lee Films set in 1994 Films set in Louisville, Kentucky Films shot in New York (state) Films shot in Winnipeg Films with screenplays by Kelly Fremon Craig Lionsgate films Vertigo Entertainment films