Box office In the United States,
Believe grossed $3.1 million during its first three days and was projected to generate $4.5 million in ticket sales during its five-day debut. This is a dismal performance compared to his 2011 film which grossed $12.4 million on its opening day and $29.5 million during its opening weekend. On its third day (a Friday),
Believe grossed just $790,000, putting it in an underwhelming 14th place just two days after its release. Overseas, the film earned $4,773,591, totaling the film's worldwide take to $10,980,157.
Critical reception The film was met with mixed to negative reviews from critics. On
review aggregator website
Rotten Tomatoes, the film has a 53% rating, based on 15 reviews, with an average rating of 5.08/10.
Metacritic reports a 39 out of 100 rating, based on 10 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable" reviews. 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 said, "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 wrote 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." Stephanie Merry of
The Washington Post wrote the film "reveals little about the singer", adding "it offers no insights and few anecdotes about the real Justin Bieber". He gave the movie a rating of one and a half stars out of five, stating that "he's human, after all. If only the documentary would show it." Mikael Wood of the
Los Angeles Times criticized the film writing "talent is perhaps the least interesting thing about him" although stating in favor of fans that "those as hopelessly devoted may get something out of
Believe but they deserve more." Sheila O'Mally of
RogerEbert.com gave the film two and a half out of three stars. O'Mally said the film was "a strangely uneven experience, and you sense that there may be some really interesting questions that could be asked and answered, if everyone could stop being so in awe of the young pop-music god in their midst." ==Home media==