Sound of Freedom Beats Dial of Destiny on Independence Day
Alex Gherzo | Jul 6, 2023 |
Disney’s embarrassments are seemingly endless right now, but this one comes with a garnish of poetic justice. A movie called Sound of Freedom, about a former Homeland Security agent who goes rogue to rescue child trafficking victims in Latin America (based on actual events), opened this past Tuesday, July 4, after a long battle to get into theaters. The film, produced by Angel Studios and starring Jim Caviezel and Mira Sorvino, was shot and completed in 2018 with 20th Century Fox set to distribute. But before it could see the light of day, Disney bought 20th Century Fox and decided not to release it. Producer Eduardo Verastegui fought for over a year before he finally got the rights back from Disney, but the COVID lockdowns and restrictions prevented Angel Studios from getting it into theaters. So, they went directly to the audience and started a crowd-funding campaign to get it released. And, this Independence Day, it was… and it made more money than Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, a (would-be) blockbuster movie from Disney.
According to Box Office Mojo, Sound of Freedom raked in $14,242,063 on the Fourth of July, while Dial of Destiny scraped up $11,698,989. To put this into perspective, Sound of Freedom is playing in 2,634 theaters nationwide and has a budget of $14.5 million, while Dial of Destiny is playing in 4,600 theaters and has a budget of whatever it takes to run NASA (officially between $250 million and $300 million; in reality, likely somewhere well north of that). Now, there’s an asterisk next to this; Sound of Freedom initiated what the producers call a “Pay if Forward” program, where people buy tickets for others who may not have been able to get their own, which accounts for $2,679,000 of its July 4 gross, putting it slightly behind Dial of Destiny with $11,563,200. According to IndieWire, “Under normal industry practice, that revenue should be counted as [the tickets] are used.” But even if you don’t count it and give Dial of Destiny the win, the fact that a crowd-funded movie that struggled to get distribution came within spitting distance of an Indiana Jones movie (that’s still in its first week of release) on the Fourth of July is a massive win for Sound of Freedom and a mark of shame for Disney (or it would be, if these people had an ounce of shame left).
And it couldn’t have happened to a nicer bunch of creeps. Disney tried to bury Sound of Freedom, and while I can’t find an official reason, it’s hard to look at their stance on forcing sexuality on children in schools and not draw a conclusion or two. Now, it got a release mostly on its own steam, and it humiliated one of Disney’s tent pole summer movies. This should bring a smile to the face of anyone who wants to see more movies like Sound of Freedom, smaller films that the studios try to crush, especially with soulless garbage like Dial of Destiny. And it happened on Independence Day; if that doesn’t scream “America,” I don’t know what does.
Comments (4)
Thank you. It’s funny, there’s always been an audience for these films, and it’s been proven many times throughout film history with epics like The Ten Commandments or Ben-Hur, which are still staples today. In more recent decades, the major studios simply don’t want to release them, even when something like The Passion of the Christ becomes the biggest R-rated film in history (at that point). People flocked to see a movie where all the dialogue was in a dead language, and the response from Hollywood was “Whatevs.” That’s part of why I don’t have much faith that they’ll change course from their recent hyper-politicization; they’re not as concerned about money as they are about their message. *Insert Joker money-burning clip here*
Could you review the movie? Unless maybe someone like Blabs already did (she is also a fantastic choice for review!)
Certainly. It’s not playing across the street so I’ll probably go to the city, and I had Mission: Impossible today, but I want to see it very much.
I appreciate you covering this because no one else will. Too many are terrified to branch outside of comic content. The thing about Angel Studios is that now, they have become the outlier. They are the different thing, as opposed to the novelty act that has become standard. It is very interesting that, just for a short moment, a faith film beats a massive Spielberg/Lucas/Disney IP. It’s like a chance was given to the public to send a message and they American people delivered on the 4th of July. Supporting faith films is one way people can say no to grooming and no to perversion that now permeates what has become a subculture in the USA. They might not be the best movies, but they are the only alternative.