It stars Chrissy Metz, Josh Lucas, Topher Grace, Mike Colter, Marcel Ruiz, Sam Trammel, and Dennis Haysbert.

[4] The film tells the story of a St. Louis teenager who slipped through an icy lake on January 19, 2015, and was underwater for 15 minutes before resuscitative efforts were started.

[8] The film received mixed reviews from critics, who praised the performances and inspirational messages, but called the plot predictable.

[10] 14-year-old Guatemalan boy John Smith is being raised in Lake St. Louis, Missouri by his adoptive parents, Brian and Joyce.

After John still fails to register a pulse, attending physician Dr. Sutterer gives Joyce a chance to say goodbye.

After John is transferred and placed in a medically-induced coma, Garrett warns that he has little hope for a recovery, and that if the boy were to pull through, he would likely live in a persistent vegetative state.

John shows some signs of consciousness: he can hear Joyce and Noble and respond with squeezes to the hand, and a tear trickles from his eye as a crowd gathers outside the hospital to sing and pray for his recovery.

Joyce turns John's possible recovery into an obsession, harassing his healthcare professionals and alienating those around her, including Brian.

Realizing she cannot control John's outcome, Joyce retreats to the roof of the hospital to pray, asking God for forgiveness and submitting to His will.

Producer DeVon Franklin helped the Smith family find a literary agent and then develop the book in a film after it was published.

[16] Metz performed "I'm Standing With You" from the film's soundtrack at the 54th Academy of Country Music Awards alongside Carrie Underwood, Lauren Alaina, Maddie & Tae and Mickey Guyton.

[2][20] In the United States and Canada, the film was released alongside Penguins, and was projected to gross $13–17 million from 2,300 theaters in its five-day opening weekend.

The website's critics consensus reads, "Like its lead character, Breakthrough is fiercely focused on faith – but its less subtle elements are balanced by strong performances and an uplifting story.