The PS. I Love You star also had her mum Judy Swank on hand for her big return, making sure to pose with her for photographers on the way in.
The actress said her late father inspired her to take on the film – which is based on a true story of a family in need with a sick child – after her own father’s experience as an organ donation recipient.
“My father was a recipient of a lung transplant, so organ donation is a big, big thing for me and talking about it,” she told the US Today show.
“This movie came about three months after my dad had passed, so I got this opportunity,” she continued.
“I feel like it was sent from my dad to tell a story about an extraordinary human being and family and I think it would have been my dad’s favorite movie of mine.”