Justin Bieber's Believe

For the album, see Believe (Justin Bieber album).

Justin Bieber's Believe
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Jon M. Chu
Produced by	Justin Bieber Scooter Braun Bill O'Dowd Usher Raymond IV
Starring	Justin Bieber
Cinematography	Karsten "Crash" Gopinath
Edited by	Avi Youabian Jillian Moul
Production companies	Open Road Films Dolphin Films Bieber Time Films Scooter Braun Films Island Def Jam Music Group
Distributed by	Open Road Films
Release date	December 25, 2013 (2013-12-25)
Running time	93 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$4 million–5 million
Box office	$6,021,552

Justin Bieber's Believe is a 2013 concert film biopic and the sequel to Never Say Never, both centering on Canadian singer Justin Bieber. It was released through Open Road Films in the United States and Canada on December 25, 2013.

Plot

The sequel to Never Say Never continues to focus on Bieber's rise to international fame as he embarks on his Believe Tour. In new interviews with Bieber, the movie reveals long-awaited answers to questions about his passion to make music, relationships and coming of age in the spotlight as well as never-before-seen concert footage, and behind-the-scenes access. The film also features interviews with Justin's mother Pattie Mallette, mentor Usher Raymond IV, manager Scooter Braun, recording artist Ludacris, as well as others.

Background

Rumors of a sequel to Never Say Never began surfacing in the media around May 2012, when Bieber himself hinted a possible sequel for some time. It wasn't until January 2013 when the project was confirmed by Bieber himself tweeting about it. Concert footage was filmed during Justin's Believe Tour on January 26–27, 2013 at Miami's American Airlines Arena. Two months later, in March 2013, a $4–5 million budget was appointed for the production of the sequel. On October 11, 2013, it was confirmed that Jon M. Chu reprised his role as director for the biopic. Meanwhile, Justin Bieber released a teaser trailer on his kidrauhl YouTube channel for the sequel to Never Say Never with the tagline "There's more to his story" and the hashtag #BelieveMovie confirming the sequel title as "Believe", to be released on Christmas Day in 3D. The official trailer was released on Yahoo! Movies on November 15, 2013. The day after the trailer was released, director Jon Chu posted a photo on his Instagram account, noting on the caption that Believe would not be released in 3D as the teaser trailer and rumors previously suggested. The film's premiere was held in Los Angeles, California on December 18, 2013.

Cast

• Justin Bieber
• Scooter Braun
• Ryan Good
• Usher Raymond IV
• Pattie Mallette
• Jeremy Bieber
• Ludacris
• Ryan Seacrest
• Ellen DeGeneres
• will.i.am
• Jon M. Chu
• Zach Galifianakis

Reception

The film was met with negative reviews from audiences and professional critics alike and flopped at the box office, grossing only $3.1 million in its first three days. It currently holds a 55% "rotten" rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Mark Hirsh of The Boston Globe stated the film "...amounts to damage control by way of distraction". David Edelstein of Vulture said, "My 15-year-old daughter beliebes with all her heart that Justin is everything he appears to be: an angel from on high (he descends to the stage on giant wings fashioned from guitars, drums, and other implements of his magic) but also humble, a guy in a room writing songs from the heart, songs he needs so bad just to get out. Most of those songs are about how much he wants to be your boyfriend. The work is hard, given that there are a limited number of words that rhyme with 'girl.' Squirrel. Hurl. In one number, he tells his fans that he needs a safety belt and lifts his shirt to put it on, revealing his well-defined abs. The roar shook the movie theater. Later, someone's home video shows a little girl opening a Christmas gift containing tickets to a Bieber concert. When she is finished shrieking and then weeping she begins to speak in tongues."

Todd Gilchrist of The Wrap says, "Ultimately, it’s hard to look at the film from any sort of non-fan perspective and not see it as less than hagiography – a tribute to Bieber’s success, and a complimentary portrait of how well he’s supposedly dealt with it." Matt Joseph of We Got This Covered concluded that, "Even if it doesn't ask all the right questions or provide the answers we're looking for, the film is a perfectly harmless piece of work that will send fangirls the world over into a tizzy and entertain those who still haven't fully hopped onto the Belieber train." Pamela McClintock of The Hollywood Reporter writes Believe was a box office bomb, adding "Still, there's no denying that many of Bieber's fans are staying away. Rivals question why Open Road—owned by giant exhibitors Regal and AMC—decided to open Believe on Christmas, the most crowded time of the year."

External links

• Justin Bieber's Believe at IMDb
• Justin Bieber's Believe at Box Office Mojo
• Justin Bieber's Believe at Metacritic
• Justin Bieber's Believe at Rotten Tomatoes