The hit movie “Sound of Freedom” that Angel Studios released on the Fourth of July weekend in 2023 has debuted around much of the world since its summer release in America. As a result of its massive popularity, global release, and powerful message, it’s now bringing in historic results at the box office and even outpacing some famous, big-budget movies released by huge studios.
As background, the movie, starring Jim Caviezel, follows the attempts of Tim Ballard to take down international sex trafficking rings in Central and South America. It was an instant hit in the United States and its success domestically led to a big box office reception overseas.
In fact, according to Internet Movie Database’s Box Office Mojo, the movie has managed to bring in about a quarter of a billion dollars in global earnings. Of the $250,570,396 which it has so far earned at the box office, about three quarters, or $184,178,046 has been earned at the domestic box office and the remaining quarter, $66,392,350, was earned internationally.
That smashing success at the box office puts it in range of some of the biggest hits in movie history. For example, one of the all-time great films, Francis Ford Coppola’s 1972 classic “The Godfather,” has earned $250,341,816, slightly less than the $250,570,396 earned by “Sound of Freedom.”
Similarly, “Sound of Freedom” ranks above Harrison Ford’s famous “The Fugitive” thriller and crime thriller “Ocoean’s Eleven.” Further, Sound of Freedom smashed more contemporary would-be blockbusters, outgrossing movies like Warner Bros.′ “The Flash” and Paramount’s “Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning Part One.”
The movie did so well that Shwan Robbins, the chief analyst at BoxOffice.com was quoted by CNBC as saying, “Angel Studios deserves a tremendous amount of credit for designing and executing one of the most unexpected indie box office runs in years.”
Robbins went on to add that the sort of people who were huge fans of “Sound of Freedom” shows that that demographic is still underserved by the movie industry, with CNBC quoting him as saying, ″‘Sound of Freedom’s’ sustained success goes to show that grassroots campaigning still has a sizeable impact in this day and age and that the movie’s core audience remains overlooked and underserved.”
Similarly, Comscore senior media analyst Paul Dergarabedian was quoted by CNBC as saying, ″‘Sound of Freedom’ is a summer movie success story that wasn’t even on the radar just a few short weeks ago. [It] has become one of the most talked about movies of the summer a film [and its] box office revenue has surpassed that of titles with much bigger stars, brands, and budgets.”
Making “Sound of Freedom’s” immense success all the more impressive is that it managed to accomplish all that with a budget of about $14 million, an order of magnitude less than what many Hollywood studios spend on their blockbuster attempts and solidifying the sense that the movie did well because of its story and message, not high budget ads or special effects.
Featured image credit: Jim Caviezel in “Sound of Freedom” by Angel Studios
"*" indicates required fields