Jim Caviezel, the main lead of Sound of Freedom, has thanked supporters for making the movie a big hit as the film exceeded $150 million in the United States.
The movie, based on a true story, has Mr. Caviezel playing the role of former government agent Tim Ballard who quit his job to rescue a young girl from sex traffickers in the Colombian jungle.
Released in 2,634 theaters on July 4, Sound of Freedom is now playing in 3,411 theaters, an increase of almost 30 percent.
“Throughout our fourth weekend, audiences have continued to show up and support SOUND OF FREEDOM, and our theatrical partners have given us ample real estate to meet that continued demand,” said Brandon Purdie, Head of Theatrical Distribution at Angel Studios, which made the movie, according to a July 30 press release.
“We now know that this incredible film is going to surpass the $150 million mark domestically, and we’re strongly positioned to go well past that.”
Sound of Freedom has been a resounding success compared to other recent blockbuster movies.
Looking at domestic collections, Sound of Freedom has made more money than Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One ($144 million), The Flash ($107 million), and Insidious: The Red Door ($79 million) as of Aug. 3.
The film’s domestic collection is also close to other big movies like Transformers: Rise of the Beasts ($156.81 million) and Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny ($169 million).
Angel Studios now plans on releasing Sound of Freedom worldwide. The international rollout will begin on Aug. 18 when the film is released in South Africa, followed by other countries like Australia, New Zealand, and several Latin American nations later in the month.
It is scheduled to be released in the United Kingdom and Ireland on Sept. 1, and in Spain on Oct. 1. More countries are being considered for the release.
Lack of Media Coverage About Trafficking
Speaking to Fox News last month, Mr. Caviezel raised the issue of a lack of media coverage about sex trafficking.On April 26, a whistleblower gave testimony to Homeland Security about the human trafficking situation across the globe. “The next day in the media, nothing … It’s as if they didn’t want this story to get out there,” he said.
“300,000 children under the age of 18 were lured into the sex trafficking business in the United States. We are the biggest consumers of child trafficking and pornography in the world. The United States—the home of the free, land of the brave. This is ridiculous. And so the film is a threat.”
He also criticized people who see bad things but choose to do nothing. “You have good, and you have evil. It’s always been this way. But then you have the group in the middle that are riding the fence. The devil owns the fence.”
“I am so proud to be a part of this impactful film,” Caviezel said. “In fact, I‘d say this is the second most important film I’ve done after ‘The Passion of the Christ.’”
Action Against Child Sex Traffickers
Former President Donald Trump has lent his support for Sound of Freedom in a campaign video and promised to subject human traffickers to the death penalty if he is reelected in 2024.“I will urge Congress to ensure that anyone caught trafficking children across our border receives the death penalty immediately.”
In a July 29 interview with Breitbart, Lynne Patton, a senior adviser to Mr. Trump, revealed that the former president has pledged to reinstate Title 42 “on day one” when he gets back to office in 2024.
The ending of Title 42 “forces migrant children to be released into the interior of the United States, where they are at the mercy of these predators, and so it’s extremely dangerous,” Ms. Patton explained.
“It wasn’t just kind of to prevent people from having COVID into this country, it was basically, you know, to prevent unaccompanied minors, all these types of unsafe conditions from transpiring, and the fact that this current administration let that expire is inexplicable.”
