Alan Ritchson's $20 Million 84% Rotten Tomatoes Drama Is a Sleeper Hit Worldwide

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Is ‘Ordinary Angels’ Worth Seeing?Ordinary Angels

He might be best known for smashing bad guys through walls in Reacher, but Alan Ritchson is flexing a whole different set of muscles in Ordinary Angels — and audiences around the world are eating it up. The inspiring true-story drama has quietly become a sleeper hit on streaming, landing in the Top 10 on ViaPlay in multiple territories and steadily climbing the charts on Starz in the U.S.

Directed by Jon Gunn (House of David on Prime Video) and written by Meg Tilly and Kelly Fremon Craig, Ordinary Angels tells the story of Ed Schmidt (Ritchson), a widower in 1994 Kentucky trying to save his 5-year-old daughter from a rare liver condition during one of the worst snowstorms in state history. The odds are impossible — until Shannon (played by two-time Oscar winner Hilary Swank), a struggling alcoholic hairdresser, decides to step in and rally the community.

While the film only made around $20.5 million at the box office against a $12 million budget, it’s found new life — and a huge audience — online. With an 84% Rotten Tomatoes score, an A+ CinemaScore, and a groundswell of fan support, Ordinary Angels is gaining traction as one of 2024’s most emotional, uplifting films.

Set against the real-life 1994 North American cold wave, the film’s climax turns into a white-knuckle thriller when the town comes together to clear a runway for a helicopter to transport young Michelle for a last-chance transplant. The moment became local legend — and gave Michelle the nickname “snow baby.”

Is ‘Ordinary Angels’ Worth Seeing?

Ritchson, who’s earned praise for his action roles, is being recognized here for something entirely different. As Collider’s Taylor Gates noted in our review:

“Still, it must be said that Ritchson does an admirable job in his role as well. It’s the writing — not the acting — that’s the main issue here. The macho construction worker with a warm heart under all his muscles and a soft side when it comes to his little girls is a trope, but it’s one that undeniably makes you feel all warm and fuzzy inside — even if the delivery is heavy-handed. Ritchson feels like he’s trodding the well-worn trail that David Harbour is blazing in Stranger Things or Pedro Pascal is walking in The Last of Us, except the villain is terminal illness instead of monsters or zombies.”

And he’s not alone in stealing hearts. Swank gives what many are calling her most moving performance in years, capturing Shannon’s chaotic energy and hidden pain with nuance and grit. Her chemistry with Ritchson brings both levity and fire to an otherwise deeply emotional story, especially as the duo battles not just bureaucracy, but blizzards.

Stay tuned to Collider for more updates on Alan Ritchson.