12 Mighty Orphans (Exclusive Series) (Hulu/Amazon Prime via Starz add-on)

Initial release date: June 11, 2021

Studios: Sony Pictures Classics/ Michael Deluca Productions/Greenbelt Films

Tagline: Based on the true story of the team that inspired a nation

Plot: During the Great Depression, Rusty Russell gives up a privileged position to coach football at an orphanage in Fort Worth, TX; whipping his young players into shape, they soon become an inspiration to their city, state and an entire nation.

Cast

Luke Wilson - Rusty Russell

Vinessa Shaw - Juanita Russell

Wayne Knight - Frank Wynn

Martin Sheen - Doc Hall

Jake Austin Walker - Hardy Brown

Scott Haze - Rodney Kidd

Levi Dylan - Fairbanks

Jacob Lofland - Snoggs

King Orba - Remmert

Treat Williams - Amon Carter

Larry Pine - President Roosevelt

Ron White - Sheriff Red Wright

Woodrow Luttrell - Leon Pickett

Robert Duvall - Mason Hawk

Writer(s): Ty Roberts/ Lane Garrison/Kevin Meyer

Jim Dent (based on the book by)

Director: Ty Roberts

Rated PG-13 for violence, language, some suggestive references, smoking and brief teen drinking (118 minutes)

‘12 Mighty Orphans’ is an inspiring, and often, compelling film that is a must watch! During the film, it shows that the game of football not only helped bond some of the boys at a Texas orphanage, it also helped get a nation and some small towns get through the Great Depression.

Yea, there are quite a few underdog films out there and they’re generally similar. ‘12 Mighty Orphans’ can feel like that at times. Yet it is still powerful and very moving. Definitely recommended!

The 2021 feature film is available on Hulu and Amazon Prime through the Starz add-on and on some PVOD services to rent/buy.

Here are a few interesting tidbits for ‘12 Mighty Orphans’:

• Based upon the non-fiction book ‘Twelve Mighty Orphans: The Inspiring True Story of the Mighty Mites Who Rules Texas Football’ by Jim Dent.

• The novel is based on the Masonic School for Orphans in Fort Worth, TX at which the inventor and civil rights advocate Blake R. Van Leer (1893 - 1956) had been an orphan.

• Sony Pictures Classics acquired worldwide distribution rights to the film in January 2021. It was released in a limited release on June 11, 2021, which was followed by a wide expansion one week later on June 18.

• In its opening weekend, the film made “251,569 from 132 theaters. It expanded to 1,047 theaters the following weekend, making an estimated $870,000 and finishing in 8th place at the box office.