Angel Studios (VidAngel) Scores Big Box Office Win: "Sound of Freedom"

[smac97]

VidAngel:

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Angel Studios, Inc. is an American media company and film distribution studio based in Provo, Utah.^[1] It operates the over-the-top video on-demand service Angel Studios.^[2] The streaming service is available worldwide and can be accessed via web browsers or via application software installed on smartphones, tablet computers, and smart TVs.^[3]

 

The studio uses equity crowdfunding to finance its original productions by offering individual investors the opportunity to purchase shares in the company and its titles.^[4] Content produced by Angel Studios is distributed for free on their own streaming service.^[2] Some titles are also available in other third-party streaming services as distribution deals.^[5]

Notable titles that Angel Studios has produced through crowdfunding include The Chosen,^[6] Dry Bar Comedy, The Wingfeather Saga, and Tuttle Twins.^[7] The Chosen raised $10.3 million for its production^[8] and was the largest crowdfunded entertainment project in history^[9] until March 2023 when it was surpassed by David which has raised $49.7 million in crowdfunded investments through Angel Studios.^[10]

Angel Studios emerged as the result of a bankruptcy reorganization from VidAngel after a four-year lawsuit by major entertainment studios.^[11] A year after bankruptcy, in May 2022, Angel Studios reports that it has $123 million in revenue and that 50,000 people have invested over $100 million for production of new original content on its platform.^[7]

The Chosen was, I think, their first big success.  Recently, though, they've had another:

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Sound of Freedom is a 2023 American action film directed and co-written by Alejandro Monteverde, and stars Jim Caviezel, Mira Sorvino, and Bill Camp. Caviezel plays Tim Ballard, a former government agent who embarks on a mission to rescue children from sex traffickers in Colombia.^[3] It is produced by Eduardo Verastegui, who also plays a role in the film.

The film was released on July 4, 2023, by Angel Studios. It received generally positive reviews from critics and was a surprise box office success,^[4] grossing $40 million worldwide.

A few interesting things about Sound of Freedom:

First, its distribution rights have an interesting pedigree:

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The film was completed in 2018 and a distribution deal was made with 20th Century Fox. However, that studio was purchased by the Walt Disney Company, which shelved the film. The filmmakers reportedly spent years trying to get the distribution rights back from Disney and take it to theaters.^[14]

Verástegui approached Angel Studios with the release rights. Angel presented the film to an online group of 100,000 investors in its past projects called the Angel Guild, which gave it a "yes" vote within days.^[1] In March 30, 2023, Variety reported that Angel Studios had acquired the worldwide distribution rights, with a planned release during the second half of 2023.^[3] On May 12, it received a release date of July 4, 2023.^[15]

Angel used equity crowdfunding to raise the funds needed to distribute and market the film. 7,000 people invested, allowing Angel to meet its $5 million goal in two weeks.^[1] They also encouraged patrons to "pay it forward" to allow people who might not otherwise see the movie to watch it in theaters for free.^[16] Goya Cares, an anti-human trafficking foundation established by Goya Foods, announced its support as executive producer for the release.^[17] Actor and director Mel Gibson endorsed the film in a video.^[1]

Second, the role of Disney came up again when the film had its theatrical release.  See, e.g., here: How the faith-based thriller 'Sound of Freedom' knocked out Indiana Jones at the box office

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Indiana Jones successfully found the Dial of Destiny, but another action hero may have stolen his box office treasure. In a closely-watched Independence Day box office battle, the faith-based thriller, Sound of Freedom — starring The Passion of the Christ star and outspoken conservative, Jim Caviezel, as well as Oscar winner Mira Sorvino — went toe-to-toe with the Walt Disney-backed Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, Harrison Ford's farewell to his signature fedora-wearing adventurer.

While Deadline initially declared Indy the winner of that July 4th face off, revised estimates reportedly put Sound of Freedom ahead of Harrison Ford's adventurer with a one-day gross of $14 million to $11.7 million. The film's upstart distributor, Angel Studios, is certainly claiming the crown, labeling Sound of Freedom "America's #1 Movie" on its official website.

Of course, even if he lost this particular battle, Indy still won the overall box office war. Dial of Destiny has a domestic gross of $83 million, and another $70 million overseas, numbers that Sound of Freedom almost certainly won't reach in theaters. On the other hand, the Alejandro Monteverde-directed action film only cost a reported $14.5 million to make — a mere fraction of Destiny's nearly $300 million budget — which means it stands the better chance of reaping the fortune and glory that comes with profitability.

Third, the origins of the film are also noteworthy.  From the above article:

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Sound of Freedom is produced by Mexican actor and filmmaker, Eduardo Verastegui, who has openly discussed how his Catholic faith played a role in his desire to see the film made. "I promise to God, I want to dedicate my entire life to save children," Verastegui recently told The Christian Post. (In 2020, former President Donald Trump named Verastegui an advisor to the White House Hispanic Prosperity Initiative, and the producer has reportedly been weighing a run for higher office in Mexico.)

Rod Barr and Alejandro Monteverde co-wrote the script, with Monteverde taking on directing duties. As for casting, Ballard told the Deseret News in 2018 that Caviezel was his first choice to play his onscreen alter ego, even though they didn't closely resemble each other. "There was something special about Jim," Ballard said, specifically citing the actor's star turn in the 2002 version of The Count of Monte Cristo. "It was important to us that whoever played this role had to be someone that willfully did it with God and knew that that light has to come out because we don’t want this to just be a movie, we want this to be a movement."

For his part, Caviezel called the project "the second most important film I have ever done since The Passion of the Christ." Sorvino, who has spoke out against human trafficking in her role as a United Nations Goodwill Ambassador, expressed a similar calling when talking to the Washington Examiner about the film recently. "We just can’t accept it anymore," she said. "We can’t let sweet children of the world be exploited in this way and hurt in this way."

Fourth, "Operation Underground Railroad" and Tim Ballard are not without some real controversy:

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Accuracy[edit]

While the film is purportedly based on real events involving Ballard's O.U.R., the accounts of those events have been questioned by researchers and reporters. In a 2020 article on Vice News, Anna Merlan states that Ballard embellished O.U.R.'s role in the rescue of a trafficked woman.^[18] In a 2021 follow-up article, Melan and Tim Marchman criticized O.U.R.'s practices, including using inexperienced donors and celebrities as part of its jump team, a lack of meaningful surveillance or identification of targets, failing to validate whether the people they intended to rescue were in fact actual trafficking victims, and conflating consensual sex work with sex trafficking.^[19] A 2021 article in Slate criticized a 2014 raid conducted by O.U.R. in the Dominican Republic, saying that it was likely to have traumatized the trafficked children. Anne Gallagher, an authority on human trafficking, wrote in 2015 that O.U.R. had an "alarming lack of understanding about how sophisticated criminal trafficking networks must be approached and dismantled" and called the work of O.U.R "arrogant, unethical and illegal".^[20]

Investigative journalists Lynn Packer and Damion Moore of American Crime Journal reported that Tim Ballard lied about his involvement in the case portrayed in the film and fabricated details about his child sex trafficking activities.^[21]

QAnon[edit]

Both Ballard and star Caviezel subscribe to several conspiracy theories of the QAnon movement.^[22][23] Caviezel spoke at two QAnon conventions in 2021, endorsing the belief that child traffickers drain children’s blood to obtain adrenochrome.^[22]

See also here and here and here.

Fifth, the founder of O.U.R., Tim Ballard, attended BYU and is apparently a Latter-day Saint (see also here).

Sixth, the Babylon Bee has humorously weighed in: Disney Tries To Appeal To Angel Studios' Mormon Audience With 'Indiana Jones And The Plates of Nephi'

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BURBANK, CA — After losing the box office battle to AngelStudios, Disney has announced a new movie project: Indiana Jones and the Plates of Nephi.

"Indiana Jones is about to go full Mormon," said Disney CEO Bob Iger. "If you can't beat them, join them."

According to sources at Disney, the film will follow Indiana Jones' spiritual awakening after a visit from LDS missionaries. "Indiana Jones is going to trade in his signature hat for a bicycle helmet," said Disney producer Lance McMillan. "After guiding a few teenagers through their Eagle Scout projects, Mr. Jones will set out on a daring quest to find the plates of Nephi - or the copies of the plates of Nephi - or whatever it is those Mormons are looking for."

Disney announced the new installment in the wake of yet another disappointing box office return from a strong franchise. "We got roasted by blonde Jesus," said Mr. Iger, staring at a picture of Jim Caviezel's glorious hair. "Maybe we can get Caviezel to play Indiana Jones! It would be kind of nice to have an action hero under the age of seventy, to be honest. Plus, look at that hair. Man, he's dreamy."

I have an unsettled opinion about O.U.R.  I hope their efforts are legit and above board.

Thanks,

-Smac

[LoudmouthMormon]

I'm always glad to see awareness being raised for this issue.

You don't have to go to a foreign country to find humans being trafficked.  This is a good primer for anyone who thinks they might be able to handle the burden of knowing exactly how close this stuff is to home:

https://www.5280.com/girls-next-door/

IMO, being aware that such things are happening within 5-15 miles of where you're sitting right this exact moment, is part of what being an informed human looks like.  If you ain't gonna watch the movie because of all the "q-annon-adjacent" flak it's receiving, at least please consider investing the time it takes to read this link.

[Emily]

1 hour ago, smac97 said:

"Indiana Jones is about to go full Mormon," said Disney CEO Bob Iger. "If you can't beat them, join them."

Boy, talk about sour grapes. But why does he think Mormons are looking for the plates? That's just weird. 😄

Edit: So that CEO "quote" is, my husband informed me, from a satire website and not real. That's good to point out. I was starting to wonder if the Disney CEO was slipping into dementia there for a minute. 

Edited July 10, 2023 by Emily

[The Nehor]

59 minutes ago, LoudmouthMormon said:

I'm always glad to see awareness being raised for this issue.

You don't have to go to a foreign country to find humans being trafficked.  This is a good primer for anyone who thinks they might be able to handle the burden of knowing exactly how close this stuff is to home:

https://www.5280.com/girls-next-door/

IMO, being aware that such things are happening within 5-15 miles of where you're sitting right this exact moment, is part of what being an informed human looks like.  If you ain't gonna watch the movie because of all the "q-annon-adjacent" flak it's receiving, at least please consider investing the time it takes to read this link.

More importantly SCREAM at politicians to fund anti-trafficking. It should be one of the most no-brainer allocations of resources but they are (like most agencies that protect children) almost always chronically underfunded.

[smac97]

44 minutes ago, Emily said:

Boy, talk about sour grapes. But why does he think Mormons are looking for the plates? That's just weird. 😄

Edit: So that CEO "quote" is, my husband informed me, from a satire website and not real. That's good to point out. I was starting to wonder if the Disney CEO was slipping into dementia there for a minute. 

Yes, sorry.  I thought "Babylon Bee" being a satirical website was common knowledge.  My bad.

Thanks,

-Smac

[Pyreaux]

21 hours ago, smac97 said:

Yes, sorry.  I thought "Babylon Bee" being a satirical website was common knowledge.  My bad.

Thanks,

-Smac

Is it wrong that I think it could almost be a good idea? If I had Lucas Film licensing, we could do a homage film.

Dr. Jack Young, a BYU Idaho professor of Archology, is poked at by everyone from his obsession with Mormon archeology and following up on fruitless leads on the whereabouts of LDS relics, they nicknamed him "Idaho Jack". He hopes to find the remnants of a Jaredite barge in an ancient cave in Tonga, then finds two stones of light in the debris. They turn out to be dangerous, things can be seen in the stone, but Jack knows that no one unless they are called of God should peer too deeply into them, least they see what they should see not and be destroyed. But right on his tail are deranged secular archeologists who seem to want to these relics taken from him or even destroyed than to be recovered by Jack and give Mormonism any credence, and may incidentally get the stone away from him, only to look at them closely and blow up. And after a hard-won victory, Jack does what he thinks is the noble thing and gives it to the Church, but only for it to get put in a box and locked in a secret vault, aside many other boxes (possibly containing other relics), a small homage to the government warehouse scene in Raiders. Ultimately nothing changes, the world ever knows, the church may have plenty of relics to prove itself and only wants people to have faith, despite Jack's mild annoyance.

Edited July 11, 2023 by Pyreaux

[smac97]

25 minutes ago, Pyreaux said:

Is it wrong that I think it could almost be a good idea? If I had Lucas Film licensing, we could do a homage film.

Dr. Jack Young, a BYU Idaho professor of Archology, is poked at by everyone from his obsession with Mormon archeology and following up on fruitless leads on the whereabouts of LDS relics, they nicknamed him "Idaho Jack". He hopes to find the remnants of a Jaredite barge in an ancient cave in Tonga, then finds two stones of light in the debris. They turn out to be dangerous, things can be seen in the stone, but Jack knows that no one unless they are called of God should peer too deeply into them, least they see what they should see not and be destroyed. But right on his tail are deranged secular archeologists who seem to want to these relics taken from him or even destroyed than to be recovered by Jack and give Mormonism any credence, and may incidentally get the stone away from him, only to look at them closely and blow up. And after a hard-won victory, Jack does what he thinks is the noble thing and gives it to the Church, but only for it to get put in a box and locked in a secret vault, aside many other boxes (possibly containing other relics), a small homage to the government warehouse scene in Raiders. Ultimately nothing changes, the world ever knows, the church may have plenty of relics to prove itself and only wants people to have faith, despite Jack's mild annoyance.

I think it's not a good idea.  A few thoughts:

1. An Indiana Jones-style adventure only works if there is a MacGuffin to pursue.  I would prefer to not fictionalize the Jaredite stones, or the Plates, or some other tangible artifact.  "Trifle not with sacred things" and all that.  (D&C 6:12, 8:10.)

2. I can't imagine a viable target audience for such a fictionalized tale.  Latter-day Saints?  Way too small.  Others?  They would likely scoff at it.

3. In 1993, William Hamblin published an important article: "Basic Methodological Problems with the Anti-Mormon Approach to the Geography and Archaeology of the Book of Mormon."  In it he posits that critics of the Church (and, I think, some members) harbor unrealistic expectations about what things like "geography and archaeology" can tell us.  From the abstract:

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Anti-Mormon criticisms of the Book of Mormon are frequently based on a questionable set of assumptions concerning the nature of historical and archaeological evidence, the role of governing presuppositions, and the nature of historical proof. Using arguments found in a recent anti-Mormon critique by Luke Wilson as a foundation, this article analyzes difficulties of reconstructing ancient geographies, problems with the discontinuity of Mesoamerican toponyms, the historical development of the idea of a limited geography model, and challenges of textual and artifactual interpretation when trying to relate the Book of Mormon to archaeological remains.

Thomas Stuart Ferguson is a good example of how such unrealistic expectations can lead neophytes - which would be pretty much all Latter-day Saints - into unnecessary challenges.  As good old Indy himself put it:

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So forget any ideas you’ve got about lost cities, exotic travel, and digging up the world.  You do not follow maps to buried treasure, and "X" never, ever, marks the spot.  Seventy percent of all archaeology is done in the library.  Research. Reading.

4. I don't like the idea of vilifying "deranged secular archeologists" (the equivalent to Nazis in the Indiana Jones franchise).

5. I suppose some fictionalized stories can work.  Chris Heimerdinger's Tennis Shoes series seem to be fun (I've never read them).  Gerald Lund's Work and the Glory series was pretty good.  But novels are quite different from movies.

Thanks,

-Smac

[Grug the Neanderthal]

9 hours ago, smac97 said:

4. I don't like the idea of vilifying "deranged secular archeologists" (the equivalent to Nazis in the Indiana Jones franchise).

What if the film vilified the Tanners instead? 

I can see it now, Jack Young racing against a young Jerald and Sandra Tanner, who want the artifacts in order to destroy them or replace them with forgeries. 

[Calm]

3 minutes ago, Grug the Neanderthal said:

young Jerald and Sandra Tanner, who want the artifacts in order to destroy them or replace them with forgeries. 

That would be out of their character, imo, and would be defaming them, though I think they would be delighted to find actual artifacts that could be used to discredit the Church.

Edited July 12, 2023 by Calm

[Grug the Neanderthal]

4 minutes ago, Calm said:

That would be out of their character, imo, and would be defaming them

It was a joke. 

[smac97]

19 minutes ago, Grug the Neanderthal said:

What if the film vilified the Tanners instead? 

I can see it now, Jack Young racing against a young Jerald and Sandra Tanner, who want the artifacts in order to destroy them or replace them with forgeries. 

Jerald died, and Sandra is in her 80s.  An octogenarian as a villain?  I mean, Indy can pull that off, but Sandra?

[Calm]

44 minutes ago, Grug the Neanderthal said:

It was a joke. 

Of course it was, but I suspect Smac wouldn’t want to vilify them, real people, even more than generic or fictional secular archaeologists, so a poor joke imo.

[Grug the Neanderthal]

8 hours ago, Calm said:

Of course it was, but I suspect Smac wouldn’t want to vilify them, real people, even more than generic or fictional secular archaeologists, so a poor joke imo.

You’ve now taken your open disagreement and attacks on virtually everything I say to a whole new level. Now you’re criticizing obvious jokes I make to other people that have absolutely nothing to do with you. Bravo!

 

[Grug the Neanderthal]

9 hours ago, smac97 said:

Jerald died, and Sandra is in her 80s.  An octogenarian as a villain?  I mean, Indy can pull that off, but Sandra?

Indiana Jones is set in the past. I think the most recent one is set about 50 years ago. That would make the villains 30 or 40 year old, which would work beautifully. 🙂

[LoudmouthMormon]

Took the family to see Sound of Freedom last night.  Can recommend, especially for anyone out there who doesn't know child sex trafficking is a thing.  It's incredibly heavy and dark, and sometimes a tad overmelodramatic IMO, but it helps raise awareness for a real thing, so I'm a fan despite it's shortcomings. 

The movie should be as uncontroversial as any movie about how actual Nazis are bad (Like Schindler's List).  To the folks who find themselves pulled in to the criticisms about Sound of Freedom, I'd invite you to do some reflection.  If a movie about the rise of the 3rd Reich came out, and you saw a bunch of people attacking the movie for various reasons, what would you think their motivations might be?

[Dario_M]

11 hours ago, Grug the Neanderthal said:

It was a joke. 

Well.. that wasn't really a funny joke i find. It isn't okay. 

[bluebell]

9 minutes ago, LoudmouthMormon said:

Took the family to see Sound of Freedom last night.  Can recommend, especially for anyone out there who doesn't know child sex trafficking is a thing.  It's incredibly heavy and dark, and sometimes a tad overmelodramatic IMO, but it helps raise awareness for a real thing, so I'm a fan despite it's shortcomings. 

The movie should be as uncontroversial as any movie about how actual Nazis are bad (Like Schindler's List).  To the folks who find themselves pulled in to the criticisms about Sound of Freedom, I'd invite you to do some reflection.  If a movie about the rise of the 3rd Reich came out, and you saw a bunch of people attacking the movie for various reasons, what would you think their motivations might be?

I'm out of rep points but good point.

[rodheadlee]

The sound of freedom is a F-22 on afterburner. Not to make light of this subject. I think trafficing in  children is Despicable. I'll have to go see the movie I love that actor Jim Caviezel. Wasn't he in Frequency?

[Tacenda]

23 minutes ago, LoudmouthMormon said:

Took the family to see Sound of Freedom last night.  Can recommend, especially for anyone out there who doesn't know child sex trafficking is a thing.  It's incredibly heavy and dark, and sometimes a tad overmelodramatic IMO, but it helps raise awareness for a real thing, so I'm a fan despite it's shortcomings. 

The movie should be as uncontroversial as any movie about how actual Nazis are bad (Like Schindler's List).  To the folks who find themselves pulled in to the criticisms about Sound of Freedom, I'd invite you to do some reflection.  If a movie about the rise of the 3rd Reich came out, and you saw a bunch of people attacking the movie for various reasons, what would you think their motivations might be?

That's how I accepted the movie, since it wasn't as factual as I'd like it to be. It was melodramatic as far as making Ballard such a hero. But understand that it's like most movies that have to take liberties with the story line for people to really hold on to it for the excitement factor. I went to the documentary several years ago and donated to the cause. Ballard was being investigated by a local Davis County attorney that I know, but it's been dropped I believe. 

[bluebell]

25 minutes ago, rodheadlee said:

The sound of freedom is a F-22 on afterburner. Not to make light of this subject. I think trafficing in  children is Despicable. I'll have to go see the movie I love that actor Jim Caviezel. Wasn't he in Frequency?

He was.  And he also played Christ in that movie that Mel Gibson made.   Was it called the Passion of the Christ?  I think something like that.  He's a devout Catholic from what I understand.  Very religious.

(I live a block from the runway of an airforce where they test F-35s.  As part of their training they frequently do low altitude high speed turns directly off of the runway over my house with their afterburners on.  The sounds of freedom are painfully loud over here and sometimes make you want to punch people when it's the 5th take off in a row and you need to talk to someone on the phone).

[Tacenda]

1 hour ago, bluebell said:

He was.  And he also played Christ in that movie that Mel Gibson made.   Was it called the Passion of the Christ?  I think something like that.  He's a devout Catholic from what I understand.  Very religious.

(I live a block from the runway of an airforce where they test F-35s.  As part of their training they frequently do low altitude high speed turns directly off of the runway over my house with their afterburners on.  The sounds of freedom are painfully loud over here and sometimes make you want to punch people when it's the 5th take off in a row and you need to talk to someone on the phone).

I hear you! I try to be patriotic and not complain. But wow, since moving here from Kaysville where they don't get the jets, I was a little bit of a complainer while tending my granddaughter and she started nodding for a nap, only for the jets to come overhead, and it's practically every day. I do love their air shows from my porch. 

[bluebell]

1 minute ago, Tacenda said:

I hear you! I try to be patriotic and not complain. But wow, since moving here from Kaysville where they don't get the jets, I was a little bit of a complainer while tending my granddaughter and she started nodding for a nap, only for the jets to come overhead, and it's practically every day. I do love their air shows from my porch. 

It can be really cool!  My neighbor is actually a fighter pilot and he and his wife are the nicest couple. 

But I guess the noise level has increased dramatically once they changed out the F-22s for the F-35s.  To the point that in our neighborhood at least the decimal readings are in the "hazardous to your health" area now.  There have been some citizens trying to get the base to move their really noising training stuff out to wendover but the base (which commissioned the study that found the noise levels are too high) is not being cooperative.

[Tacenda]

5 minutes ago, bluebell said:

It can be really cool!  My neighbor is actually a fighter pilot and he and his wife are the nicest couple. 

But I guess the noise level has increased dramatically once they changed out the F-22s for the F-35s.  To the point that in our neighborhood at least the decimal readings are in the "hazardous to your health" area now.  There have been some citizens trying to get the base to move their really noising training stuff out to wendover but the base (which commissioned the study that found the noise levels are too high) is not being cooperative.

I like when I hear people say it's "the sound of freedom" to complainers in disgust. I might have a good come back now.  It is piercing to the ears for sure. 

[Calm]

8 hours ago, Grug the Neanderthal said:

You’ve now taken your open disagreement and attacks on virtually everything I say to a whole new level. Now you’re criticizing obvious jokes I make to other people that have absolutely nothing to do with you. Bravo!

 

I hope I would have said the same thing to anyone who made that joke. I don’t think that it is appropriate no matter who says it.

[Calm]

5 hours ago, rodheadlee said:

. I'll have to go see the movie I love that actor Jim Caviezel. Wasn't he in Frequency?

Also Person of Interest on TV, now Freevee iirc. 

Edited July 12, 2023 by Calm