Box office Jesus Is King grossed $973,000 in the US and $109,629 in other territories, making for a worldwide total of $1,082,629. On October 18, 2019, IMAX tickets were made available via cinema homepages and West's website, priced between $10 and $19.75. The film generated a worldwide opening of $1.03 million, reaching the top 10 in its first week and grossing $862,000 in North America, alongside $175,000 across international markets.
Jesus Is King was shown at a per-screen average of $2,317 in 440 IMAX theaters worldwide, 372 of which were in North America and the remaining 68 were in 12 international markets. The screenings sold out in 24 cities worldwide, including US locations like New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago, as well as international capitals such as London, Copenhagen, and Mexico City. At
Metacritic, it received an
average score of 61, based on four reviews. Writing for
TheWrap, Todd Gilchrist viewed the film as "largely and predictably" appealing almost entirely to West's fanbase, asserting the performances are "more staged" and "abbreviated" than the Sunday Service Choir's concerts. He also noted West's musical and spiritual growth while praising the focus on the music. David Ehlrich from
IndieWire graded the film a B−, praising the lack of appearances from West in favor of the Sunday Service Choir, its spiritual immersion, and the diverse production design. He and Gilchrist lamented its short runtime, even though it is his first work for a long time that could have been evocative. Ehlrich noted
Jesus Is Kings contradictoriness due to being equally "reverent and narcissistic, humble and grandiose", calling it "both a tribute to the Lord and a testament to West's unparalleled ability to get in his own damn way". Luke Morgan Britton of
NME gave the film three stars out of five, seeing that West's "sublime but flawed visual journey stops short of enlightenment", declaring it truly represents him with its themes of "a search for the sublime, the striving for a better future, the awe-inspiring power of nature," with "a stripped-back, minimalist approach". He complimented the music, cinematography, Sunday Service Choir's presence, and advantageous lack of appearances from West, though noted that the film did not reach its full potential.
The Atlantics Spencer Kornhaber complimented how the film's religious ethos is established early and the group's performances, while feeling impressed by the minimalism and the mixture of "ancient spiritual signifiers" with the unique tones and shapes of West's
Adidas Yeezy clothing line. He commented that West does not explain his conversion to Christianity and saw it merely as aesthetic atmosphere, saying his attempt to spread his faith is "oddly cold" and also calling the film bland. In a mixed review for
Vulture, Alison Willmore saw its sole audience as West's hardcore fans, noting how the experimental film "feels too ethereal to bear up under much solo scrutiny" and pales in comparison to
Runaway due to the lack of a clear narrative or concept. She assured the authorship of
Jesus Is King is entirely West's through "a mix of ecstatic spirituality and artistic wankery", seeing it as resembling "a frustrated attempt at conveying a concentrated version of its born-again creator's experiences" that culminates in West focusing on himself. Willmore went on to praise the location, with Britton calling it aligned with West's spiritualism", and make lukewarm comments about the Sunday Service Choir's contributions. ==References==