{"id":26696,"date":"2023-07-18T14:37:53","date_gmt":"2023-07-18T18:37:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/idolchatter\/?p=26696"},"modified":"2023-08-22T15:33:03","modified_gmt":"2023-08-22T19:33:03","slug":"jim-caviezels-sound-of-freedom-stuns-hollywood-with-box-office-success","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/idolchatter\/2023\/07\/jim-caviezels-sound-of-freedom-stuns-hollywood-with-box-office-success.html","title":{"rendered":"Jim Caviezel\u2019s \u201cSound of Freedom\u201d Stuns Hollywood With Box Office Success"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>
Angel Studios<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Angel Studios has stunned Hollywood again with another box office surprise hit. Angel Studios is the distributor of the Christian thriller, \u201cSound of Freedom,\u201d which stars \u201cThe Passion of the Christ\u2019s\u201d Jim Caviezel as Tim Ballard, a former agent for Homeland Security who leaves his job to rescue children from sex trafficking. The film was released on Independence Day and surprised critics by <\/span>beating out \u201cIndiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny\u201d<\/span><\/a>\u00a0over the holiday, bringing in over $14 million, while \u201cIndiana Jones\u201d came second at $11 million. Even more impressive, \u201cSound of Freedom\u201d was released in over 2,000 fewer theaters than its competitor.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The film\u2019s success continued during its first week of release, earning over $40 million during its first full weekend. This figure is even more outstanding given that the film\u2019s budget was around $15 million. The film\u2019s earnings have all been domestic as well, as it is currently only released in the US. Brandon Purdie, Angel Studios\u2019s head of theatrical release, <\/span>expressed his excitement<\/span><\/a>\u00a0over the film\u2019s success. \u201cAs with our July 4th numbers, today\u2019s numbers exceed our expectations, and we\u2019re going to continue this momentum. We\u2019re getting messages from all over the country telling us about packed theaters, sold-out theaters and spontaneous standing ovations for the film in numerous locations. Seeing this film has become a must, thanks to incredible word-of-mouth.\u201d The studio offered a \u201cPay it Forward\u201d option for the film, which has led to more tickets being sold as supporters of the film buy tickets so that others may go for free.<\/span><\/p>\n

The film is not without its detractors. \u201c<\/span>Rolling Stone<\/span><\/a>\u201d issued a review of the film, calling it a \u201csuperhero movie for dads with brain worms.\u201d The movie has been accused of being a \u201cQ-anon\u201d fantasy. Q-anon refers to a conspiracy theory that there is an elite group of people controlling the trafficking of children and that certain agencies are complicit in its proliferation. Speaking to \u201c<\/span>The New York Post<\/span><\/a>,\u201d Ballard said he was surprised at the accusations. \u201c\u2019 Sound of Freedom,\u2019 at its core, is a message about protecting children from child-trafficking cartels. This movie wasn\u2019t designed to be political,\u201d he said. The film was originally helmed by 20th Century Fox. After Disney bought Fox, the movie was then shelved in 2018. Ballard stated he believed the country has grown too divisive since then. \u201cToo much has changed [in our society]\u2026 As I assess it, I\u2019ve never seen a time when the country has been more divided, and somehow the safety and protection of kids is in the balance.\u201d Ballard\u2019s work with his non-profit, Operation Underground Railroad, was lauded in 2015 by\u00a0<\/span>Forbes<\/span><\/a>. There has also been some criticism of the film by anti-trafficking experts, who believe the film sensationalizes the realities of human trafficking while ignoring the real victims and circumstances behind their victimization. In another article by \u201cRolling Stone,\u201d\u00a0<\/span>attorney Erin Albright<\/span><\/a>, who worked in the Department of Justice\u2019s anti-trafficking task force, noted that unlike what is portrayed in the film, most trafficked children know their abductors. She also stated that most victims are older than the very young children the film portrays. She worried that the film might give the public a \u201cfalse perception\u201d of what human trafficking actually looks like.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The film\u2019s detractors, however, have not kept it from being a success. To date, the film has now earned $175 million since its July 4 debut. The film has outpaced blockbuster-style features like Paramount\u2019s \u201cMission: Impossible \u2014 Dead Reckoning Part One\u201d and Warner Bros.\u2032 \u201cThe Flash<\/span>.” Star Jim Caviezel pushed back against the politicization of the film. \u201cThis is just appalling,\u201d <\/span>he said<\/span><\/a>. \u201cThe moral depravity is such now that people are willing to live with this. That\u2019s why we did the film.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Angel Studios has stunned Hollywood again with another box office surprise hit. Angel Studios is the distributor of the Christian thriller, \u201cSound of Freedom,\u201d which stars \u201cThe Passion of the Christ\u2019s\u201d Jim Caviezel as Tim Ballard, a former agent for Homeland Security who leaves his job to rescue children from sex trafficking. The film was…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":664,"featured_media":26699,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fbia_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-26696","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-television"],"yoast_head":"\nJim Caviezel\u2019s \u201cSound of Freedom\u201d Stuns Hollywood With Box Office Success<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\""Sound of Freedom" has an impressive first week in theatres, beating out beating out \u201cIndiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny."\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/idolchatter\/2023\/07\/jim-caviezels-sound-of-freedom-stuns-hollywood-with-box-office-success.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" 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