Jon Erwin
Birthdate: May 19, 1982
Birthplace: Birmingham, Alabama
Jon Erwin has been an Evangelical Christian-based filmmaker since 2006 when he made (as director/producer/cinematographer/editor with brother Andrew) the documentary feature, The Cross and the Towers (2006). Erwin’s narrative feature debut as writer-director-producer was the anti-abortion drama, October Baby (2011), with Rachel Hendrix and Jasmine Guy, earning $5.3 million on a $1 million budget, followed by Fully Alive (2012), and then the Sony-released comedy, Moms’ Night Out (2014), with Sarah Drew, Sean Astin, Patricia Heaton, and Trace Adkins, which doubled its $5 million budget with a $10.5 million box office.
Erwin’s first commercial failure was the Christian football-themed Woodlawn (2015), starring Sean Astin, Jon Voight, and C. Thomas Howell earned a poor $14.4 million gross. Jon Erwin’s second documentary (with Andrew) as director-producer was the little-seen Steve McQueen: American Icon (2017), followed by one of the Erwin Brothers’ most successful features, the Christian-themed biopic I Can Only Imagine (2018), with J. Michael Finley, Adkins, Cloris Leachman, and Dennis Quaid, returning over ten times the $7 million cost with $86 million box office.
Director-writer-producer Erwin didn’t have the same commercial returns with I Still Believe (2020), with KJ Apa, Britt Robertson, Shania Twain, and Gary Sinise, which returned only $16.4 million in a Lionsgate release. Erwin co-directed (with Andrew) and wrote the documentary, The Jesus Music (2021), featuring Christian musicians including Amy Grant, Michael W. Smith, and Michael Tait, which returned a small $1 million box office, and then resumed his narrative projects with American Underdog (2021), a movie dramatizing Los Angeles Rams quarterback, Kurt Warner, starring Zachary Levi, Anna Paquin, and Dennis Quaid, and returning a disappointing $26.5 million box office.
Erwin’s next Christian drama (with co-director Brent McCorkle) was Jesus Revolution (2023), with Joel Courtney, Jonathan Roumie, and Kelsey Grammer, followed by Ordinary Angels (2023), starring Hilary Swank and Alan Richson, for which Erwin was co-writer and co-producer.
Personal Details
Jon Erwin was born and raised in Birmingham, Alabama. His father is former Republican State Senator Hank Erwin, and his brother is his filmmaking partner Andrew Erwin (who together are known as The Erwin Brothers).
Filmography
producer
Upcoming (1)
- 2025 | The Unbreakable Boy
The Unbreakable Boy
A young boy with both a rare brittle-bone disease and autism. But what makes him truly unique is his joyous, funny, life-affirming world view that transforms and unites everyone around him.
director
Previous (4)
- 2023 | Jesus Revolution
Jesus Revolution
The true story of a national spiritual awakening in the early 1970s and its origins within a community of teenage hippies in Southern California.
- 2021 | American Underdog
American Underdog
The story of NFL MVP and Hall of Fame quarterback Kurt Warner, who went from stocking shelves at a supermarket to becoming an American Football star.
- 2021 | The Jesus Music
The Jesus Music
This documentary reveals Jesus Music's untold story - from its humble beginnings at the Calvary Chapel in Costa Mesa, California through its transformation into the multi-billion-dollar industry of Christian Contemporary Music today.
- 2017 | Steve McQueen: American Icon
Steve McQueen: American Icon
Steve McQueen truly is an American Icon. One of America's most endearing and intriguing movie stars, he "is still the King of Cool" according to Esquire Magazine-50 years after the zenith of his career. The strangest thing about h...
actor
Previous (11)
- 2020 | I Still BelieveasProducer
I Still Believe
The true-life story of Christian music star Jeremy Camp and his journey of love and loss that looks to prove there is always hope.
- 2019 | Apostles: Resurrection of Christ
- 2018 | I Can Only ImagineasProducer
I Can Only Imagine
The inspiring and unknown true story behind MercyMe's beloved, chart topping song that brings ultimate hope to so many is a gripping reminder of the power of true forgiveness.
- 2016 | Fearless: The Adam Brown Story
- 2015 | The Drummer Boy
- 2015 | Woodlawn
- 2014 | Coffee Shop
- 2014 | Moms' Night Outas Producer(as Jonathan Erwin)
- 2012 | Fully Alive
- 2011 | October Babyas Producer(as Jonathan Erwin)
- 2006 | The Cross and the Towers
Some Facts About Jon Erwin
Mini-Mogul: With brother Andrew, Jon Erwin formed Kingdom Story Company, packing with distributor Lionsgate to produce Christian movies, which Erwin described as “Christian Pixar” or “Christian Marvel.”
