John Corbett’s Soul on Fire Aims to Ignite the Box Office—Can It Top His $5.9M Christian Drama?
Golden Globe and SAG winner John Corbett returns in Soul on Fire, lighting up theaters since its Oct. 10, 2025 release with $1.3 million at the box office, per The Numbers, stacking up against the $1.5 million opening of his faith-based All Saints.
Soul on Fire just landed in theaters, and yep, John Corbett is back in faith-based mode. It is the kind of earnest, real-life tearjerker that plays to packed Saturday matinees and leaves everyone blotting their eyes in the parking lot. Early read: it is connecting with its audience, even with bigger, louder stuff hogging screens nearby.
How it is doing so far
The film opened October 10, 2025 in the U.S. and Canada and has pulled in $1.3 million to date, according to The Numbers. For context, Corbett’s previous faith-driven true story, All Saints, opened to $1.5 million (per Box Office Mojo). Different marketplace, different moment: streaming is eating attention, and it is launching alongside heavy competition like Tron: Ares and One Battle After Another. Given that, Soul on Fire holding its own is quietly impressive.
There is no international release right now, which makes chasing All Saints’ domestic benchmark trickier. Still, the word-of-mouth is noisy in a good way.
What the movie is
Soul on Fire dramatizes the story of John O'Leary, a St. Louis native who survived catastrophic burns as a child and built a life around what came next. Gregory Poirier adapts O'Leary’s book 'On Fire: The 7 Choices to Ignite a Radically Inspired Life,' and Sean McNamara directs. It is faith-forward, but the emphasis is on resilience and community more than sermonizing.
- Title: Soul on Fire
- Genre: Biographical drama, faith-based
- Release: October 10, 2025 (U.S. & Canada)
- Director: Sean McNamara
- Screenwriter: Gregory Poirier
- Based on: 'On Fire: The 7 Choices to Ignite a Radically Inspired Life' by John O'Leary
- Main cast: Joel Courtney (John O'Leary), John Corbett (Denny O'Leary), William H. Macy (Jack Buck), Stéphanie Szostak, DeVon Franklin, Masey McLain, Natalie Buck, Iyad Hajjaj, James McCracken, Stella Bratcher, Mikey Cestone
- Where it shot: Missouri, including Maplewood and Saint Louis University
- Composer: Mark Isham
- Distributor: Affirm Films / Sony Pictures Releasing
- IMDb rating: 8.1/10 (at press time)
The reaction: bring tissues
Audiences are into it. Soul on Fire currently carries a 99% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes’ Popcornmeter, with comments calling it emotional, uplifting, and rewatchable. Critics are more mixed but not dismissive.
Bad things happen to good people in "Soul on Fire," whose mix of dire calamity and spiritual opportunity manages to be affecting despite the dashes of unabashed schmaltz.
— Sheri Linden, The New York Times
Translation: yes, it leans into the sentiment, but the movie still hits where it matters. Also worth flagging: William H. Macy playing legendary Cardinals broadcaster Jack Buck is one of those casting choices that just makes sense once you see it.
Corbett has done this dance before
If Soul on Fire feels like familiar territory for John Corbett, that is because it is. He headlined 2017’s All Saints, about a Tennessee pastor who tries to save a dying church. That film, directed by Steve Gomer and written by Steve Armour, earned strong reviews, a 95% Rotten Tomatoes score, and praise for not hammering the message at the expense of character.
[It] certainly doesn’t neglect its religious themes. But it mainly stresses the humanity of its characters and the importance of community ties. It does this in a manner that is never heavy-handed, making the true-life tale all the more inspiring.
— Frank Scheck, The Hollywood Reporter
Corbett’s whole thing in these roles is low-key credibility. He grounds the spiritual stuff in a way that plays for both faith audiences and people who just want a solid character drama.
Bottom line
Soul on Fire is a small movie holding its own in a busy fall corridor, powered by a true story that actually earns the lump in your throat. No overseas rollout yet, but if the domestic buzz keeps up, expect a long tail with church groups, community screenings, and eventual streaming life.
Where to watch
Soul on Fire is in U.S. theaters now.
All Saints is available to rent or buy on Prime Video and Apple TV.
Favorite John Corbett performance? Drop it in the comments.