(CP) Angel Studios' film "Sound of Freedom" has now sold over 8.9 million tickets, surpassing $100 million in box office revenue.
Jared Geesey, senior vice president of global distribution at Angel Studios, said in a statement to The Christian Post that the film, which has been buoyed by millions of fans and supporters, continues to grow week after week.
"Sound of Freedom' has become the people's movie. It was chosen by over 100,000 people in the Angel Guild, fuelled by untold tens of thousands through our 'Pay it Forward' programme, and is dominating the box office as the result of a ground-up, grassroots movement of everyday people who are making this a historic success," he said.
"This is the opposite of the top-down system developed by Hollywood gatekeepers. We are empowering people to be part of choosing, funding and sharing stories that amplify light and impact culture."
"Sound of Freedom" reached a third-week total of 3,287 movie theatre screens nationwide. Since the film's July 4 release, it has remained in the top three positions on the charts and has totalled over $100 million in domestic box office profits.
According to Brandon Purdie, head of theatrical distribution for Angel Studios, the independent film also made a remarkable increase of over 35% on its second weekend box office revenues over the opening weekend, a feat only achieved by 10 wide-release movies in box office history, all during Christmas.
Audience scores for "Sound of Freedom" showed a CinemaScore of A+ and a Rotten Tomatoes score of 72/100.
The film's plot is based on the real-life story of Tim Ballard, a former government agent who left his job to rescue a child from sex traffickers in the Colombian jungle. His mission ended with the successful rescue of 123 individuals, including 55 children.
The film was launched in the first week of July, and it has garnered more revenue than Disney/Lucasfilm's "Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny," thanks to the Pay It Forward technology used by Angel Studios, where moviegoers can pay for someone else's ticket who might not otherwise see it.
The narrative of "Sound of Freedom" highlights the fight against child sex trafficking. Alejandro Monteverde directed the film starring Jim Caviezel, Oscar winner Mira Sorvino, Bill Camp and José Zúñiga. Eduardo Verástegui served as producer.
Angel Studios CEO Neal Harmon conveyed his excitement about the film's success and the ensuing movement against child trafficking in a statement. The film was initially rejected by Disney, Netflix and other Hollywood studios, but Angel Studios acquired the distribution rights and has transformed it into a certified success.
The film's lead actor, Jim Caviezel, has made a call to action to raise awareness about child exploitation and trafficking. Caviezel has encouraged audiences to see the film to better understand this global issue and contribute toward alleviating it.
In May, Caviezel called on 2 million people to stand with him and expose the evil of child exploitation and trafficking.
"God's children are not for sale," the actor declares in the trailer. Caviezel then delivered a call to action for anyone willing to buy a ticket to see the film and raise awareness against this prevalent form of slavery.
"We know this is heartbreaking and it hurts to look at, but the first step in helping these children is hearing their story. Not enough people know this problem exists and even fewer people are willing to do anything about it," Caviezel declared. "Our goal is to inspire 2 million people to attend the film's opening weekend to represent the 2 million trafficked children around the world."
The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime defines human trafficking as any situation in which someone experiences "force, coercion, abduction, fraud, deception, abuse of power or vulnerability, or giving payments or benefits to a person in control."
The International Labour Organization reports that human trafficking is a $150 billion per year industry worldwide, and that around 21 million people in the modern world are enslaved.
The actor encouraged families to attend together and even said teenagers should be brought along as well.
Despite industry experts advising against competing with summer releases, Angel Studios released "Sound of Freedom" on July 4. The studio's CEO believes that if 2 million people show up in theatres to support this powerful film, the world will not be able to ignore its message.
