Angel Studios said it has raised more than $11 million in just the first 5 days following the launch of a new fundraising campaign to “revolutionize entertainment.”
In a press release from the studio — that brought such hits as the faith-centered movies “<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/sound-of-freedom-beats-taylor-swift-to-finish-in-top-ten-at-2023-domestic-box-office">Sound of Freedom</a>” and “Cabrini” — it said that a new <a href="https://fansinvest.angel.com/">investment campaign</a> called <a href="https://usw2.nyl.as/t1/152/z15bycqxw9bdks98gnqfs3pj/1/a8d795f5db581da7c8f65722cb9905e35ffe90ccf523bac74c8e7a5d08a4e54a">Regulation A+ (Reg A+) </a>offering, has been a very successful way for the company to expand its Angel Guild, the community that drives the investment in projects to “distribute films and tv shows.” 
“In Hollywood, a handful of elites in an LA boardroom decide what the world watches. At Angel Studios, we believe viewers know best,” Jeffrey Harmon, co-founder and Chief Content Officer at Angel Studios, said.
“That’s why we can’t even consider a film unless the Angel Guild first greenlights it,” he added. “With over 360,000 members from 150+ countries, the Guild is already in the driver’s seat.”
“Through this offering, we hope to grow the Guild to over one million members,” Harmon continued. “We believe that reaching that milestone will make Angel Studios a true movement, a driving force in the entertainment landscape.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Angel Studios, Distributor of &#8216;Sound of Freedom,&#8217; Raises Over $10 Million for Crowdfunded Film and TV Projects <a href="https://t.co/9BvCfPSpf4">https://t.co/9BvCfPSpf4</a>
— Variety (@Variety) <a href="https://twitter.com/Variety/status/1831417839258931563?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 4, 2024</a></blockquote>
Some of the successes the Angel Guild is responsible for include the launch of films like “THE SHIFT,” and “AFTER DEATH,”  and TV series such as Tuttle Twins, Wingfeather Saga, Freelancers, and Young David, the press release noted.
Not to mention projects the studio said it’s working on for release later this year like the apocalyptic film/TV “<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/studio-behind-sound-of-freedom-ready-to-release-new-apocalyptic-film-tv-series-homestead">HOMESTEAD</a>,” along with “at least seven movies and seven TV series planned for 2025,” the release noted.
Earlier this year, The DailyWire+ and Angel Studios <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/dailywire-strikes-deal-with-angel-studios-for-sound-of-hope-get-showtimes-now">announced</a> a partnership to release Peacetree Productions’ inspirational film “Sound of Hope: The Story of Possum Trot.” 
“We are thrilled to partner with Angel Studios, a company that not only shares our commitment to creating impactful and meaningful entertainment but also excels in doing so,” Jeremy Boreing, co-founder and co-CEO of The Daily Wire, said. 
“Speaking as the father of an adopted daughter myself, ‘Sound of Hope’ is truly inspirational,” he added. “We know it will resonate deeply with our audience – and far beyond – and has the power to make a true cultural impact for kids and families in crisis. We want millions to see this film.”
In 2023, Angel Studios was one of the top 10 studios at the US domestic box office, surpassing Amazon&#8217;s MGM and A24, with its audience-driven model, the release noted.
More information about becoming a member of the Angel Guild can be found <a href="https://fansinvest.angel.com/">here</a>.

Sound of Hope

Angel Studios Raises More Than $11 Million In New Efforts To ‘Revolutionize Entertainment’

Angel Studios Raises More Than $10 Million In New Efforts To 'Revolutionize Entertainment'

Angel Studios

Celebrities

Hollywood

Movies

Sound of freedom

The Daily Wire

The strongest accusation against King George in the original draft of the Declaration of Independence never made it into the final copy, but this July 4th it is more important than ever. It read:
<blockquote>He has waged cruel war against human nature itself, violating its most sacred rights of life &amp; liberty in the persons of a distant people who never offended him, captivating &amp; carrying them into slavery in another hemisphere, or to incur miserable death in their transportation thither.</blockquote>
Our nation has come a long way since Thomas Jefferson, himself a slaveholder, penned these words. Nearly 250 years later, though, we remain one of the top destinations for modern slavery — human trafficking. As they were then, many of the victims today are innocent children.
To understand how bad things are, recall that just ten years ago, on June 20, 2014, then-Vice President Biden <a href="https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/the-press-office/2014/06/20/remarks-press-qa-vice-president-joe-biden-guatemala" target="_blank" rel="noopener">expressed</a> alarm that 24,000 unaccompanied minors were apprehended at the Southern border in a single year, calling it a “startling number” that was “untenable and unsustainable.” “Between 75 and 80 percent” of these vulnerable children, he estimated, were sold into forced labor or prostitution by smugglers.
Now consider more than <a href="https://www.cbp.gov/newsroom/stats/southwest-land-border-encounters" target="_blank" rel="noopener">130,000 unaccompanied minors</a> have arrived at our Southern border every single year since President Biden took office, more than four times the number of arrivals a decade ago. By the President’s own estimation, nearly 100,000 children are trafficked in the United States every year.
Americans on both the Left and the Right are eager to change this.
Last Fourth of July, when the independent film &#8220;Sound of Freedom&#8221; debuted, its compelling story about the prevalence and horror of child-sex-trafficking resonated with millions of Americans. Soon, the film was <a href="https://www.boxofficemojo.com/year/2023/?grossesOption=calendarGrosses" target="_blank" rel="noopener">outgrossing</a> major productions such as &#8220;Indiana Jones,&#8221; &#8220;Mission: Impossible,&#8221; and &#8220;The Hunger Games&#8221; at the domestic box office.
<div id="attachment_574759" style="width: 873px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-574759" class="size-large wp-image-574759" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/06/S704317-e1687445635961-863x576.jpg" alt="Sound of Freedom" width="863" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/06/S704317-e1687445635961-863x576.jpg 863w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/06/S704317-e1687445635961-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/06/S704317-e1687445635961-768x513.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/06/S704317-e1687445635961.jpg 1200w" sizes=" (max-width: 863px) 100vw, 863px" />Sound of Freedom | Angel Studios</div>
In places like Alabama, the outpouring of public support for the film was so great that it inspired the “Sound of Freedom Act,” making the penalty for first-degree human trafficking mandatory life imprisonment when the victim is a minor.
In Congress, Representative Chris Smith (R-NJ), worked with us to introduce the SECURE Act, which requires the federal government to investigate and report on potential trafficking of the approximately 85,000 unaccompanied migrant children released by DHS into the U.S., but whose whereabouts remain unknown.
But in Hollywood, and in most of Washington, the &#8220;Sound of Freedom&#8221; was met with skepticism and scorn.
Countless pundits and reports attempted to connect the movie to the QAnon conspiracy theory. Biden’s own Department of Defense, despite the president’s expressed concerns about this issue, canceled screenings of the film at U.S. Southern Command Headquarters in Doral, Florida. And, of course, the SECURE Act hasn’t even been passed out of the Republican-controlled House.
It is a shame the film was politicized in this manner. Protecting kids and stopping traffickers shouldn’t be a partisan issue. Among voters, it’s not — only in Washington and Hollywood could it become one.
Child sex trafficking, like any market, relies on supply and demand. In this case, the supply comes from a steady stream of innocent children being bought, sold, and abused. Demand is driven by depraved adults.
The simplest and most effective way the White House could immediately reduce supply would be to secure the Southern border, thus undermining the cartels’ business.
Unfortunately, border security doesn’t fit into today’s liberal priorities. So late last month, the president opted instead to give amnesty to nearly 500,000 illegal aliens to “keep American families together.” This may sound nice, but it only further incentivizes desperate people to send their children into the arms of human traffickers.
Even fewer people in Washington are willing to do what it takes to reduce demand for sex-trafficking: Take on the billion-dollar porn industry.
Porn drastically increases the size and scope of the sex-trafficking industry. According to <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10277752/#:~:text=There%20was%20an%20additional%2019,to%20the%20COVID%2D19%20pandemic." target="_blank" rel="noopener">researchers</a> at the University of Massachusetts at Boston, “teen porn” was the “fastest-growing genre” of pornography between 2005 and 2013. By March of that year, it was the “largest single genre… in terms of search frequency,” accounting for “500,000” searches.
Since then, things have only gotten worse. The National Institutes of Health <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10277752/#:~:text=There%20was%20an%20additional%2019,to%20the%20COVID%2D19%20pandemic." target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a> that COVID-19 brought a 19% increase in pornography consumption, and a drastic increase in the number of URLs confirmed as containing child sex abuse imagery <a href="https://www.statista.com/chart/30964/total-number-of-urls-confirmed-as-containing-child-sexual-abuse-imagery/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">followed</a> thereafter, increasing from 132,676 in 2019 to more than 255,000 in 2022.
Our leaders could address this problem if they wanted to. In 2020, a single story exposing the overt child porn and trafficking videos on Pornhub was enough to force the company to <a href="https://www.kcrw.com/news/shows/press-play-with-madeleine-brand/coronavirus-schools-epa-august-wilson-zodiac-killer/pornhub-users-verification-abuse-money#:~:text=The%20website%20Pornhub%20has%20taken,their%20cards%20on%20the%20site." target="_blank" rel="noopener">delete</a> 10 million videos — 80% of the site’s total content — almost overnight.
Imagine what would happen if Republicans and Democrats in Congress worked together to require porn companies to put warning labels on their sites about porn’s relationship to child trafficking or its negative effects on mental health. Or better still, if Biden encouraged Democrats to support Senator Mike Lee’s SCREEN Act, which requires all commercial porn websites to adopt age verification technology to ensure a child cannot access its pornographic content.
With an election approaching, these issues can no longer be dismissed. The &#8220;Sound of Freedom&#8221; may have come and gone from the headlines, but the scourge of human trafficking has only gotten worse under President Biden, and it could prove to be a serious vulnerability for his campaign come November.
Why? The answer is simple.
Because the millions of Americans that &#8220;Sound of Freedom&#8221; spoke to aren’t QAnon conspiracy theorists. Nor are they enemies of America’s freedom and democracy.
They’re patriotic voters on both sides of the aisle who want to see their country live out its founding ideals, most especially the Declaration of Independence’s insistence that God’s children should never, ever be for sale.
* * *
Kevin Roberts, Ph.D., is the president of The Heritage Foundation and Heritage Action for America. 
Eduardo Verástegui produced and acted in “Sound of Freedom.”
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

Freedom and Love in the USA

This Independence Day, We Should Remember Those Still Enslaved

4th of July

Children

Heritage Foundation

Readers Pass

Sex Trafficking

In a new “Sunday Special” interview, Daily Wire Editor Emeritus Ben Shapiro spoke to Bishop W.C. Martin, the community church pastor who inspired his Texas congregation to adopt dozens of foster children.
Martin and his wife, Donna led 22 families from their congregation at Bennett Chapel in Possum Trot, Texas in coming together to adopt 77 children from the local foster care system.
DailyWire+ is partnering with Angel Studios, which produced The Chosen, in releasing its new movie about the story, Sound of Hope: The Story of Possum Trot.
Sound of Hope is coming to theaters July 4th.
<a href="https://www.angel.com/tickets/sound-of-hope-the-story-of-possum-trot?utm_source=The+Daily+Wire&amp;utm_medium=partner&amp;utm_campaign=dailywire&amp;utm_content=dailywire&amp;codes=DAILYWIRE&amp;oid=35&amp;_ef_transaction_id=dee764931a7745c491a7dab741acd5df&amp;promo=dailywire" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.angel.com/tickets/sound-of-hope-the-story-of-possum-trot?utm_source%3DThe%2BDaily%2BWire%26utm_medium%3Dpartner%26utm_campaign%3Ddailywire%26utm_content%3Ddailywire%26codes%3DDAILYWIRE%26oid%3D35%26_ef_transaction_id%3Ddee764931a7745c491a7dab741acd5df%26promo%3Ddailywire&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1719605622321000&amp;usg=AOvVaw1gybPS8IKRhYqMG7S1zaiw">GET SHOWTIMES HERE FOR ‘SOUND OF HOPE’</a>
Kicking off their in-depth discussion, Shapiro asked Martin about the difficulties of welcoming adopted children who potentially need more attention into his house.
&#8220;You obviously had kids of your own already. That obviously is a massive decision,&#8221; Shapiro said.
Martin agreed, saying his family already had a &#8220;boatload&#8221; of their own problems since his biological son was born with severe brain damage.
&#8220;You don&#8217;t get these Gerber babies,&#8221; he said. &#8220;If you were in the system, they got some problems. They got some trauma.&#8221;
&#8220;It was difficult, very difficult. It was very hard. It wasn&#8217;t easy at all,&#8221; Martin said. &#8220;I had to almost be a policeman in my own household.&#8221;
Martin recalled how one of his adopted sons once lit his bathroom on fire. Thankfully, the house did not burn down because Martin caught the fire in time, he said.
His adopted daughter initially had a stealing problem, Martin said.
&#8220;They had been hungry. And she had to feed her little brother so she had to steal food out of the store, and she developed this habit of stealing,&#8221; he said.
&#8220;I don&#8217;t fault her,&#8221; Martin added. &#8220;When we first got both of them, my wife showed her to the cabinet and showed her, look at the food we got.&#8221;
Martin said he was profoundly affected by seeing and caring for children who had been abused in the foster system.
&#8220;For me to see life and the beauty of life and to look at what I have witnessed in the eyes and the mind, and how the abuse and neglect and the turmoil that have happened,&#8221; he said, &#8220;if anybody has any love of God in their heart at all, this will definitely do something to you inwardly.&#8221;
Martin said adopting foster children is one way to strive to imitate the life of Christ.
&#8220;But you know sometimes I think we&#8217;ve got to look beyond ourselves, look beyond where we are and to reach out into this world,&#8221; Martin said. &#8220;More or less like what Jesus did for us, the suffering that he went through for us that we may have a better life and a greater life.&#8221;

MixCollage-30-Jun-2024-12-15-PM-8551

‘It Wasn’t Easy At All:’ Sound Of Hope Bishop Tells Ben Shapiro About Welcoming Foster Children Into His Home

Sound Of Hope Bishop Tells Ben Shapiro About Welcoming Foster Children Into His Home

Adoption

Christianity

Foster Care

Religion

The Ben Shapiro Show

From the same studio that made the blockbuster hit “<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/sound-of-freedom" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Sound of Freedom</a>” comes the extraordinary new film “Cabrini,” the story of an Italian immigrant woman whose tenacity and faith lead her to overcome every obstacle she faces in order to create her “Empire of Hope.”
Award-winning director of “<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/sound-of-freedom-beats-taylor-swift-to-finish-in-top-ten-at-2023-domestic-box-office" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Sound Of Freedom</a>,” <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/sound-of-freedom-director-talks-possible-sequel-following-films-success" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Alejandro Monteverde</a>, and Angel Studios have brought to life the story of an Italian nun named Francesca Cabrini who set sail on a passenger ship in the late 1800s for New York City with little more than a few personal belongings along with six of her Missionary sisters.
Her dream was to establish a home for orphaned immigrant children along with schools and hospitals, not only in the West but eventually all across the world.
As a <a href="https://www.angel.com/press/release/angel-studios-set-to-release-cabrini-from-sound-of-freedom-director" target="_blank" rel="noopener">description</a> of the movie reads, “Through her willpower, courage, compassion, and business skill, she overcame sexism and violent anti-Italian bigotry while fighting against an establishment seeking to hold her back.”
The film is aided by a star-studded cast of actors such as John Lithgow (“Third Rock from the Sun,” “The Old Man”), David Morse (“The Green Mile,” “The Rock” ), and Giancarlo Giannini (“Quantum of Solace,” “Casino Royale”). 
It’s actress Cristiana Dell’Anna, however, who is the driving force of the film. Her compelling portrayal of Cabrini causes the audience to cheer for her as she fights against the various leaders who don’t want her orphanage or dreams to disturb the status quo. 
<div id="attachment_707633" style="width: 1034px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-707633" class="wp-image-707633 size-large" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/03/Cabrini7-1024x576.jpg" alt="Courtesy: Angel Studios. ‘Cabrini,’ 2024. Cristiana Dell’Anna." width="1024" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/03/Cabrini7-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/03/Cabrini7-300x169.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/03/Cabrini7-768x432.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/03/Cabrini7-1536x863.jpg 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/03/Cabrini7-2048x1151.jpg 2048w" sizes=" (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" />Courtesy: Angel Studios. ‘Cabrini,’ 2024. Cristiana Dell’Anna.</div>
The film takes just a snippet of Cabrini’s life, focusing very little on her early childhood growing up in Northern Italy with poor health and nearly drowning as a child. It starts with the first step to making her dream a reality when she must fight just to get the chance to speak to Pope Leo XIII about her plans to take care of the children in the East and work her way to the West.
Without giving away too much, the Pope ends up supporting her goal and tells her to start in the West first and work her way to the East. So she does.
She sets sail for America in 1889 and arrives in New York City, in the slums called Five Points. The first night there, Cabrini and her fellow sisters are “greeted by disease, crime, and impoverished children,” as <a href="https://www.angel.com/press/cabrini" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Angel Studios</a> noted.
With no place to sleep, the sisters end up meeting a prostitute who sticks out her neck and gives them shelter for one night. That moment creates a bond between Cabrini and the woman that proves instrumental to each of their futures.
While there, Cabrini ends up finding the homeless, abandoned children who are living “no better than the rats,” as a New York Times reporter would later label his piece. It is that article that not only brings the sisters the financial means to finally help the kids and support the orphanage, but it also brings to her doorstep those who want her out of the town and country.
Over and over again the Italian nun must fight to be heard, first with the local archbishop (David Morse) who tries to chase her out of town, and next with Mayor Gould (John Lithgow).
<div id="attachment_707645" style="width: 1034px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-707645" class="wp-image-707645 size-large" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/03/Cabrini2-1024x427.jpg" alt="Courtesy: Angel Studios. ‘Cabrini,’ 2024. Cristiana Dell’Anna and David Morse." width="1024" height="427" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/03/Cabrini2-1024x427.jpg 1024w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/03/Cabrini2-300x125.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/03/Cabrini2-768x321.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/03/Cabrini2-1536x641.jpg 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/03/Cabrini2-2048x855.jpg 2048w" sizes=" (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" />Courtesy: Angel Studios. ‘Cabrini,’ 2024. Cristiana Dell’Anna and David Morse.</div>
Cabrini, who later in life became the Patron Saint of Immigrants, found incredible success after immigrating to America. Over the course of “34 years she [Cabrini] established an astonishing 67 hospitals, orphanages, and schools [around the world]. Her energy was fueled by an intense focus on serving Jesus in whatever he asked of her and her legacy still stands today,” <a href="https://www.angel.com/press/cabrini" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Angel Studios</a> noted in a press release.
Daily Wire spoke to longtime film producer Jonathan Sanger who said that as far back as 2018, he was approached to produce a movie about the Italian immigrant who became the first patron saint.
Although he couldn’t see how a patron saint would fit into the kind of films he makes, the more he learned about Cabrini the more interested he became. As he told The Daily Wire, he came to realize she was an “extraordinary woman,” way ahead of her time.
“First of all, you want the audience to talk about the movie,” Sanger told us. “You also want them to walk away with something to talk about. Something to think about. And to me thinking about what you personally can do. You may not be able to do what Mother Cabrini did, but any little thing that you do is an important step. And I think that’s a good thing to come away with.”
When it came to the script, Sanger said they used quotes and phrases Cabrini actually said during her lifetime. One of the many that stood out to him was, “We can serve our weakness, or we can serve our purpose. We can&#8217;t do both.”
The film’s producer said he hopes the audience comes away with the realization that one person really can make a difference.
<iframe loading="lazy" title="Cabrini | Final Trailer | Angel Studios" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ZaMlUazXvyY?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Movie reviewers have called “Cabrini” an “epic tale,” ”beautiful,” and more.
“Her unwavering faith feels genuine and guides her every action,” one <a href="https://filmthreat.com/reviews/cabrini/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reviewer</a> wrote. “The legendary Giannini does not have a ton of scenes but commands all of them. Morse makes his ambivalent, seeming archbishop relatable. Lithgow is terrific as the corrupt mayor.”
Another <a href="https://aisleseat.com/cabrini.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reviewer</a> added, “Cabrini takes you through the gamut of emotions. Parts of it are intensely dramatic, others unexpectedly humorous.”
“Thinking about what the children go through is scary,” the review added. “Most important of all, realizing what Mother Cabrini accomplishes is downright inspiring, as it reminds us we all have the power to make a difference. This is destined to be one of the biggest feel-good movies of the year.”
While a third <a href="http://nycmovieguru.com/march8th24.html#cabrini" target="_blank" rel="noopener">wrote</a>, “Cabrini is a spellbinding, tender and empowering journey. It will make you stand up and cheer.”
Over on the movie review site <a href="https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/cabrini" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Rotten Tomatoes</a>, “Cabrini” has scored an 89% critics score.
Angel Studio hopes “Cabrini” will be just as successful as “Sound of Freedom,” which became the “16th highest grossing independent film of all time” and “made over $240 million worldwide, “ the studio noted.
“Cabrini” hit theaters nationwide on March 8, 2024.

Screenshot Cabrini

‘Empire Of Hope’: Angel Studios Delivers A Remarkable Story In ‘Cabrini’

Entertainment

Faith

81st Annual Golden Globe Awards – Press Room

Our Favorite Entertainment Stories Of January 2024

Ben Shapiro

Daily Wire

Jason Kelce

Jeremy Renner

Marvel

Music

Ricky Gervais

Taylor Swift

The Chosen

Travis Kelce

The studio behind the sleeper hit of the summer “<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/sound-of-freedom-beats-taylor-swift-to-finish-in-top-ten-at-2023-domestic-box-office" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Sound of Freedom</a>” is ready to shock Hollywood again when it drops its new apocalyptic movie “Homestead” which will later transition into a TV series.
<a href="https://www.angel.com/movies/homestead" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Angel Studios</a> said it has completed production on its faith-centered original movie and TV show based off the best-selling book series, “<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Black-Autumn-Post-Apocalyptic-Saga-READYMAN/dp/1948035170" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Black Autumn</a>,” from Jeff Kirkham and Jason Ross. The film comes from the same studio responsible for the popular faith-based television series “The Chosen.”
&#8220;Homestead, based on the best-selling book series &#8216;Black Autumn,&#8217; is a post-apocalyptic family survival drama,&#8221; a description about the <a href="https://invest.angel.com/homestead" target="_blank" rel="noopener">movie</a> read. &#8220;A string of attacks and collapses drives troubled Green Beret Jeff Kirkham to take a job as head of security for a wealthy doomsday prepper, Ian Ross. Ross has built an elaborate permaculture compound for friends and family. As the fabric of America goes to pieces, a few dozen families scramble to &#8216;The Homestead&#8217; in a last-ditch effort to survive.&#8221;
&#8220;They quickly discover that Ross&#8217; elaborate plans will not protect them,&#8221; the description added. &#8220;Outside the gates, desperate neighbors, criminals, and opportunistic rivals look to The Homestead&#8217;s resources as a treasure trove. Inside, the community divides into factions: military versus civilian, compassionate versus practical, spiritual versus rational. These groups clash over every fatality, every demand of survival, and over the strange prophecies of Jeff&#8217;s adopted daughter.&#8221;
&#8220;Eventually, the gentle rhythms of the land permeate all, and a spirit of unity begins to overtake the community,&#8221; it continued. &#8220;As they cultivate the plants, animals, and the soil, and as they face looming destruction, their modern squabbles give way to ancient, forgotten truths.&#8221;
A teaser <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hf8PYgTk41A" target="_blank" rel="noopener">trailer</a> dropped this week giving viewers a sneak peak of what they could expect. The opening shot showed a burning building with a voice over that said, “Everyone wondered how the world broke…”It was followed by numerous images of people fighting in the streets before a report comes on announcing some kind of nuclear explosion. One person can be overheard saying, “America’s just been attacked.”
Near the end of the one-minute plus long clip, a voice over said, “Everyone Wants To Know How The World Ended….This is the story of how it began again.”
<iframe loading="lazy" title="Homestead | Official Teaser | Angel Studios" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Hf8PYgTk41A?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe>
“I’m always a fan first when it comes to Angel films,” Jeffrey Harmon, Co-Founder of Angel Studios said in a press release obtained by The Daily Wire.
&#8220;I’m excited to see a hope-filled, family apocalypse story hit the screens—because isn’t God always doing something incredible, even during tough times?” he added. “Homestead goes on a wild ride through the crash of civilization, only to reveal that family, community and love are the ultimate survival advantage. I can’t wait to watch the movie and the TV show.”
Set to release sometime in 2024 on the big screen, “Homestead” is lead by a star-studded cast such as Neal McDonough (&#8220;Yellowstone&#8221;, &#8220;Minority Report,&#8221; and &#8220;Band of Brothers&#8221;), Bailey Chase (&#8220;Longmire,&#8221; &#8220;S.W.A.T., 24: Legacy&#8221;), Dawn Olivieri (&#8220;1883,&#8221; &#8220;House of Lies&#8221;), Jesse Hutch (&#8220;Batwoman&#8221;), and Kevin Lawson (&#8220;The Shift&#8221;), the release noted.
Directed by Ben Smallbone (&#8220;I Still Believe,&#8221; &#8220;Steve McQueen: American Icon&#8221;) and produced by Ben Kasica and Andrea Royer, “Homestead” was made after $1.25 million was raised because of nearly 3,000 Angel investors, the release added.
After the film’s theatrical run, it will transition into a TV series, the press release noted. However, it is unclear how long the later will take.
The “Homestead” TV series will be led by showrunners Ben Kasica (&#8220;Miracle,&#8221; &#8220;I Still Believe&#8221;) along with one of the original authors of the “Black Autumn” book series, Ross. The series has sold more than 750,000 books to date.
“Homestead” will follow the huge success of the faith-centered independent film from the studio, “Sound of Freedom.” The movie, which deals with the horrors of human trafficking, made it into the top ten grossing films of 2023 domestically after earning $184,177,725 by the end of the year, <a href="https://www.christianheadlines.com/contributors/michael-foust/sound-of-freedom-edges-taylor-swift-at-box-office-to-finish-in-top-10-for-2023.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Christian Headlines</a> noted.
“Sound of Freedom” is based on a true story of Tim Ballard — played by actor Jim Caviezel — a federal agent who quits his job and embarks on a dangerous mission to rescue a young girl from sex slavery in South America.
The film became the surprise hit of the summer after it opened in select theaters across the country on July 4 and ended up earning $19 million at the box office opening weekend, beating out the highly-anticipated movies like “Indiana Jones and The Dial of Destiny” from Disney.
Despite critics giving it a 57% on <a href="https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/sound_of_freedom" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Rotten Tomatoes</a>, movie goers loved it and gave the film a 99% audience score on the site. One critic wrote that the movie,” is a thought-provoking and emotionally charged film that is both socially relevant and artistically impressive.”
Its success also makes it the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/sound-of-freedom-director-talks-possible-sequel-following-films-success" target="_blank" rel="noopener">highest grossing independent film</a> since 2019’s “Parasite.”

Screenshot 2024-01-11 at 9.06.14 AM copy

Studio Behind ‘Sound Of Freedom’ Ready To Release New Apocalyptic Film/TV Series ‘Homestead’

&#8220;Sound of Freedom&#8221; beat out Taylor Swift&#8217;s &#8220;The Eras Tour&#8221; movie to finish in the top ten of 2023 box office tallies domestically.
The independent film from Angel Studios, which deals with the horrors of human trafficking, made it into the top ten grossing films of the year domestically after earning $184,177,725 by the end of the year, <a href="https://www.christianheadlines.com/contributors/michael-foust/sound-of-freedom-edges-taylor-swift-at-box-office-to-finish-in-top-10-for-2023.html">Christian Headlines</a> reported.
It just edged out Swift&#8217;s concert film which landed in the 11th spot after it scored $179,635,196, per <a href="https://www.boxofficemojo.com/year/2023/">Box Office Mojo</a>.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Sound of Freedom is America’s #1 movie, taking the top spot at the box office on Independence Day.
See it in theaters TODAY, get showtimes at <a href="https://t.co/tUytCofxfr">https://t.co/tUytCofxfr</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/AngelStudios?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#AngelStudios</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/2MillionFor2Million?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#2MillionFor2Million</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/SoundOfFreedomMovie?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#SoundOfFreedomMovie</a> <a href="https://t.co/PZCRQJWATt">pic.twitter.com/PZCRQJWATt</a>
— Angel Studios (@AngelStudiosInc) <a href="https://twitter.com/AngelStudiosInc/status/1676772137791811584?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 6, 2023</a></blockquote>
&#8220;Sound of Freedom&#8221; is based on a true story of Tim Ballard — played by actor Jim Caviezel — a federal agent who quits his job and embarks on a dangerous mission to rescue a young girl from sex slavery in South America.
The movie comes from the same studio responsible for the popular faith-based television series &#8220;The Chosen.&#8221;
The film became the sleeper hit of the summer after it opened in select theaters across the country on July 4 and ended up earning $19 million at the box office opening weekend.
The movie beat out films with much larger budgets like the next installment in the Indiana Jones franchise, &#8220;Indiana Jones and The Dial of Destiny,&#8221; which earned $174 million for Disney — and Tom Cruise’s &#8220;Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning Part One,&#8221; which finished the year earning $172 million domestically, the outlet noted.
Its success also makes it the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/sound-of-freedom-director-talks-possible-sequel-following-films-success">highest grossing independent film</a> since 2019’s &#8220;Parasite.&#8221;
Producer Eduardo Verastegui previously told <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/media/sound-freedom-filmmaker-hit-faith-based-thriller-movie-movement" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Fox and Friends</a> he put his life on hold over the last eight years into making the film.
&#8220;I put my life in this movie because this movie is bigger than ourselves,&#8221; Verastegui said.
&#8220;I was praying to God for an angel to come and rescue this film,&#8221; he added. &#8220;And what are the odds that from all the studios, the one that picked this movie is called Angel Studios?&#8221;
Topping the list of domestic box office winners of 2023 was &#8220;Barbie&#8221; with $636 million, &#8220;The Super Mario Bros Movie&#8221; with $575 million and in third place the animated hit &#8220;Spider-Man: Across the Spiderverse,&#8221; which earned $381 million domestically.
Rounding out the top five highest grossing films domestically was the final conclusion in the &#8220;Guardians of the Galaxy&#8221; franchise, &#8220;Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3,&#8221; which did $358 million and was the most successful superhero film of the year — and in fifth place was the hugely popular &#8220;Oppenheimer,&#8221; which made $326 million at the domestic box office.
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/the-7-best-movies-of-2023" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The 7 Best Movies Of 2023</a>

Sound of Freedom

‘Sound of Freedom’ Beats Taylor Swift To Finish In Top Ten At 2023 Domestic Box Office

'Sound of Freedom' Beats Taylor Swift To Finish In Top Ten At 2023 Domestic Box Office

CM Oppenheimer Picture1

The 7 Best Movies Of 2023

Barbie

Chris Pratt

Lady Ballers

Taylor Swift owned pop music in 2023, but an unknown crooner named <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/oliver-anthony-says-hes-turned-down-offers-worth-millions-after-going-viral-doesnt-want-spotlight" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Oliver Anthony</a> stole her thunder for a few magical weeks.
“Barbie” rocked the box office while an indie film that sat on a shelf for five years, “<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/sound-of-freedom-dominates-in-18-latin-american-countries" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Sound of Freedom</a>,” out-grossed some of Hollywood’s biggest film franchises.
See a pattern? There’s more, too. And what began in 2023 might get even hotter in 2024.
This was the year of the pop culture disruptors.
Anthony’s “<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/oliver-anthony-makes-billboard-history-with-rich-men-north-of-richmond">Rich Men North of Richmond</a>” broke through the media clutter without the benefit of a record label, name recognition, or even a band. Social media paved part of the way, along with Right-leaning influencers who promoted Anthony’s battle cry against the elites.
It was the closest thing to an overnight sensation we’ve seen in music circles, and Anthony responded by eschewing politics and refusing to sign with the first — or second — label that approached him.
They needed him more than he needed them.
<div id="attachment_603051" style="width: 911px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-603051" class="size-large wp-image-603051" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/08/Screenshot-2023-08-11-at-2.27.51-PM-901x576.png" alt="" width="901" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/08/Screenshot-2023-08-11-at-2.27.51-PM-901x576.png 901w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/08/Screenshot-2023-08-11-at-2.27.51-PM-300x192.png 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/08/Screenshot-2023-08-11-at-2.27.51-PM-768x491.png 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/08/Screenshot-2023-08-11-at-2.27.51-PM-1536x982.png 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/08/Screenshot-2023-08-11-at-2.27.51-PM-2048x1310.png 2048w" sizes=" (max-width: 901px) 100vw, 901px" />Screenshot: @RadioWV YouTube Channel</div>
He wasn’t the only singer to rock the music industry on his own terms. Rapper Tom MacDonald continued to rack up music sales by eschewing labels and mainstream radio airplay. Songs like “Your America” and “American Flags” skewered the anti-patriotic Left as well as anyone who’d rather burn down their town than help build it back up.
The media all but ignored his successes, but that didn’t matter. His songs rocketed up the iTunes charts and drew millions of views on YouTube without digital press clippings.
The story behind “Sound of Freedom” could make a heckuva movie. The Disney project sat unclaimed for several years before Angel Studios bought the rights from the Mouse House. The company behind “Dry Bar Comedy” and “The Chosen” decided to expand from TV to theatrical titles, and it felt “Freedom’s” heroic saga would be a snug fit with its adherents.
<div id="attachment_574759" style="width: 873px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-574759" class="size-large wp-image-574759" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/06/S704317-e1687445635961-863x576.jpg" alt="Sound of Freedom" width="863" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/06/S704317-e1687445635961-863x576.jpg 863w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/06/S704317-e1687445635961-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/06/S704317-e1687445635961-768x513.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/06/S704317-e1687445635961.jpg 1200w" sizes=" (max-width: 863px) 100vw, 863px" />Sound of Freedom | Angel Studios</div>
The studio’s second official film release earned $184 million stateside ($247 million worldwide), surpassing “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny,” “Fast X,” “Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part 1” and “The Flash.”
How? Angel Studios embraced a “<a href="https://www.angel.com/pay-it-forward/sound-of-freedom" target="_blank" rel="noopener">pay if forward</a>&#8221; ticket-buying model, along with a keen sense of what its fan base craves in a story.
Total disruption from a studio with just two film titles to its credit.
Even more impressive? Major media outlets savaged “Sound of Freedom” in <a href="https://www.hollywoodintoto.com/media-sound-of-freedom-investor-fabian-marta/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">cartoonish fashion</a>, but the sour press only made the project feel more rebellious and necessary. Old-school word of mouth did the rest.
And let’s not forget the ultimate disruptor.
The Daily Wire’s “<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/videos/what-is-a-woman" target="_blank" rel="noopener">What Is a Woman?</a>” did a birthday victory lap on Elon Musk’s X platform, formerly known as Twitter. Musk <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/every-parent-should-watch-this-elon-musk-retweets-what-is-a-woman-to-his-140m-followers" target="_blank" rel="noopener">personally retweeted</a> the documentary link to his 140 million followers. The result? Millions of social media users sampled the groundbreaking documentary one year after its DailyWire+ debut.
<div id="attachment_390045" style="width: 1034px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-390045" class="size-large wp-image-390045" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2022/06/WIAW_KeyArt_Horizontal-5-1024x576.jpg" alt="DailyWire+. What Is A Woman?" width="1024" height="576" />DailyWire+.</div>
X also allowed former Fox News superstar Tucker Carlson and sitcom queen Roseanne Barr a chance to be heard following their shocking dismissals from Hollywood, Inc.
A host of other <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/three-documentaries-that-shocked-the-mainstream-in-2023" target="_blank" rel="noopener">rebellious documentaries</a> also shook up the system in more ways than one.
“The Fall of Minneapolis” told a shocking story few journalists would ever share. The documentary from Minnesota-based Alpha News shredded key narratives following the death of George Floyd in 2020 in calm, reasonable tones. 
The film would be the toughest pitch possible on Netflix, Hulu, or other streaming giants. So Alpha News dropped it, free of charge, on Rumble. The film racked up north of 2 million views in under two weeks.
Dinesh D’Souza is one of the most successful documentary filmmakers of the modern era. Yet he embraced a hybrid approach to sharing “Police State” with the public. The film earned a brief theatrical release, shifted swiftly to a virtual/online premiere and then transitioned once more to Rumble and Locals.com, two free speech platforms.
Comedians also leaned into the year’s disruptive spirit. More comedians skipped the mainstream entirely, preferring to release comedy specials on YouTube, Rumble, and even OnlyFansTV. The latter let veteran comic Whitney Cummings weigh in on trans issues without fear of being censored.
Comic Shane Gillis enjoyed his biggest year to date, long after NBC’s “Saturday Night Live” hired, and swiftly canned him for a strained comedy routine aimed at Asian-Americans.
Even mainstream media outlets admitted Gillis <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/09/16/arts/television/shane-gillis-beautiful-dogs-netflix-comedy.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">emerged bigger than ever</a> following the “SNL” debacle, proving comedians no longer need the sketch comedy showcase to break out in a big way.
<blockquote>Since <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/16/arts/television/shane-gillis-snl.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">getting fired from “Saturday Night Live”</a> in 2019 after videos surfaced of him using Asian and gay slurs on a podcast, Gillis has built perhaps one of the fastest growing comedy careers in America …He regularly sells out theaters. Don’t be surprised if he becomes an arena act.</blockquote>
No one on the current “SNL” roster comes close.
<div id="attachment_660319" style="width: 816px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-660319" class="size-large wp-image-660319" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/11/GettyImages-1779494358-806x576.jpg" alt="NEW YORK, NEW YORK - NOVEMBER 06: Shane Gillis performs onstage during the 17th Annual Stand Up For Heroes Benefit presented by Bob Woodruff Foundation and NY Comedy Festival at David Geffen Hall on November 06, 2023 in New York City. (Photo by Mike Coppola/Getty Images for Bob Woodruff Foundation)" width="806" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/11/GettyImages-1779494358-806x576.jpg 806w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/11/GettyImages-1779494358-300x214.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/11/GettyImages-1779494358-768x549.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/11/GettyImages-1779494358.jpg 1024w" sizes=" (max-width: 806px) 100vw, 806px" />Mike Coppola/Getty Images for Bob Woodruff Foundation</div>
Celebrated comic Louis CK lost his Hollywood career after he admitted in 2017 to exposing himself to multiple women. Unbowed, CK took a professional break and came back without any of the industry’s support systems to prop him up.
In January, he played to a sold-out Madison Square Garden, all based on working outside the usual gatekeepers and speaking directly to fans willing to look past his deplorable behavior.
We might look back at 2023 and see more than some isolated cases of pop culture rebellion. It might be the dawn of a content revolution.
* * *
Christian Toto is an award-winning journalist, movie critic and editor of <a href="http://www.hollywoodintoto.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">HollywoodInToto.com</a>. He previously served as associate editor with Breitbart News’ Big Hollywood. Follow him at <a href="https://twitter.com/HollywoodInToto?lang=en" target="_blank" rel="noopener">@HollywoodInToto</a>.
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.
<a href="https://onelink.to/dwapp" target="_blank" rel="noopener">CLICK HERE TO GET THE DAILY WIRE APP</a>

2MixCollage-30-Nov-2023-09-44-AM-2946 copy

Renegades: The Pop Culture Disruptors Of 2023

Comedy

Oliver Anthony

What Is A Woman

Superstar <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/mira-sorvino-calls-mass-speaking-out-hollywood-paul-bois" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Mira Sorvino</a> talked about the year she first got to experience motherhood and said that becoming a mom in 2004 changed her life for &#8220;the better forever.&#8221;
The 56-year-old actress spoke to <a href="https://www.etonline.com/mira-sorvino-and-daughter-mattea-on-dancing-together-for-iconic-dwts-routine-exclusive-213524" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Entertainment Tonight</a> ahead of her performance — which she&#8217;ll share with Mattea Backus, her 18-year-old daughter with actor Christopher Backus — on &#8220;Dancing With The Stars.&#8221; Mattea will pay tribute to her mom by dancing to Cyndi Lauper&#8217;s &#8220;Time After Time.&#8221; The song/dance comes from one of Sorvino&#8217;s most famous movie scenes in the 1997 cult classic &#8220;Romy And Michele&#8217;s High School Reunion.&#8221;
&#8220;I am so excited because, this week, I get to live out another dream which is to dance with my daughter,&#8221; Sorvino, gushed, who also shares three other kids with Backus, Lucia and sons Johnny and Holden.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Mira Sorvino — and Her Daughter! — Will Recreate Romy and Michele&#8217;s Iconic &#8216;Time After Time&#8217; Routine on &#8216;DWTS&#8217; <a href="https://t.co/YNlPLTjmXx">https://t.co/YNlPLTjmXx</a>
— People (@people) <a href="https://twitter.com/people/status/1716880828720980294?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 24, 2023</a></blockquote>
&#8220;[Her dancing partner] Gleb [Savchenko] choreographed this incredible dance to &#8216;Time After Time&#8217; about the love between parents and a daughter and, you know, her going away and coming back but love always returns and we always end up together in the end,&#8221; she added. &#8220;And it&#8217;s really beautiful.&#8221;
The &#8220;Mimic&#8221; star said for &#8220;DWTS&#8221; Most Memorable Year Night she picked 2004 because &#8220;it&#8217;s the year I got married [Backus] and that&#8217;s the year we had our first child, Mattea, and my life changed forever, for the better.&#8221;
&#8220;My heart just grew 10 times and I just love my children, my family, so much,&#8221; she added. &#8220;And to have my daughter here today, it&#8217;s just mind-blowing!&#8221;
Sorvino and Backus keep their relationship pretty quiet — and after almost two decades and four children, they are still going strong.
In 2009, Mira spoke to <a href="https://people.com/who-is-christopher-backus-mira-sorvino-husband-7974281" target="_blank" rel="noopener">People magazine</a> about what her dream would be for her young family going forward.
&#8220;That we grow and learn from and love each other more with every day,&#8221; the actress said at the time. &#8220;Because of my husband and my children, I feel like the luckiest woman in the world, and I just want to cherish every minute we have together.&#8221;
The pair secretly wed in a Santa Barbara courthouse in June 2004. In November of that year, the couple welcomed their first child together, daughter Mattea. They celebrated the arrival of their son, Johnny, two years later, followed by son Holden in 2009 and daughter, Lucia in 2012.
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/just-felt-in-my-bones-emily-blunt-on-taking-a-break-from-acting-for-her-kids" target="_blank" rel="noopener">&#8216;Just Felt..In My Bones&#8217;: Emily Blunt On Taking A Break From Acting For Her Kids</a>

Mira Sorvino

Mira Sorvino Says Motherhood Changed Her Life ‘Forever, For The Better’

Mira Sorvino Says Motherhood Changed Her Life ‘Forever For The Better’

Motherhood

&#8220;<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/sound-of-freedom-dominates-box-office-in-florida-texas-and-arizona" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Sound of Freedom</a>&#8221; screenings at the military&#8217;s U.S. Southern Command have been pulled following a prior announcement that military members and their families would be able to watch the film, which deals with the horrors of human trafficking.
The <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/actor-jim-caviezel-sends-message-to-fans-as-sound-of-freedom-surpasses-150-million-mark" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Jim Caviezel</a>-led film was initially going to be shown at its headquarters &#8220;in support of SOUTHCOM&#8217;s mission to promote respect for human rights and combating trafficking in persons in Central and South America and the Caribbean,&#8221; according to material from U.S. Army Garrison-Miami manager Joanne B. Fitzgerald obtained by <a href="https://www.militarytimes.com/flashpoints/extremism-disinformation/2023/09/05/qanon-embraced-film-pulled-from-screening-on-base-at-southcom/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Military Times</a>.
The bottom of the material read, &#8220;the showing of this film does not imply or constitute endorsement by the U.S. Army nor SOUTHCOM,&#8221; the outlet noted. The free screenings were initially to be available on August 28 and then again on October 19.
Military Times noted that after it reached out about the initial screenings, SOUTHCOM canceled them and explained in an email to those on the base that free screenings were canceled until further notice in order to &#8220;prevent the appearance of copyright infringement.&#8221;
https://twitter.com/jimcaviezelfilm/status/1689244034198626304?s=20
The email included a message that said, &#8220;the film is currently available to view at local theaters, and personnel and their families who would like to see the film are encouraged to do so,&#8221; the outlet noted.
&#8220;The movie’s central theme and its connection to SOUTHCOM’s AOR and our Human Rights Office (HRO) Combatting Trafficking in Persons (CTIP) program are inescapable and will serve to raise awareness of the prevalence of trafficking in human persons and sexual abuse and exploitation within our area of responsibility,&#8221; the release added.
SOUTHCOM spokesman Jose Ruiz initially told the outlet that the &#8220;subject of the movie is something that&#8217;s of great concern to the command, in that it follows as part of its mission of countering transnational criminal organizations.&#8221;
&#8220;Because of the way these transnational criminal organizations exploit migrants — the hopes of migrants — in ways that end up being serious violations to their human rights, and unfortunately in some cases lead to the deaths of the migrants,&#8221; he added.
&#8220;<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/sound-of-freedom-adds-more-international-dates-amid-films-success" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Sound of Freedom</a>&#8221; comes from Angel Studios, the same company responsible for the popular faith-based television series, &#8220;The Chosen.&#8221;
In the movie — which is based on a true story — Caviezel portrays Tim Ballard, a federal agent who quits his job and embarks on a dangerous mission to rescue a young girl from sex slavery in South America.

‘Sound Of Freedom’ Screenings At U.S. Southern Command Pulled

Human Trafficking

Jim Caviezel

Military Bases

&#8220;<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/actor-jim-caviezel-sends-message-to-fans-as-sound-of-freedom-surpasses-150-million-mark" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Sound of Freedom</a>&#8221; is dominating in 18 Latin American countries after it took over the number one spot at the box office on its opening weekend following the film&#8217;s release on August 31.
The <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/jim-caviezel-thanks-supporters-for-not-letting-the-media-silence-sound-of-freedom" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Jim Caviezel</a>-led film, which deals with the horrors of human trafficking, attracted nearly two million viewers from Mexico City to Caracas and more during opening weekend, a press release from Angel Studios read. It comes from the same studio responsible for the popular faith-based television series &#8220;The Chosen.&#8221;
&#8220;The domestic box office performance on &#8216;SOUND OF FREEDOM&#8217; has been an incredible success story, but some industry experts have argued our film would not be able to translate this success overseas,&#8221; Jared Geesey, Chief Distribution Officer at Angel Studios, said.
https://twitter.com/jimcaviezelfilm/status/1698338500083634326?s=20
&#8220;We&#8217;re grateful to our fans for proving them wrong, and making us the number one movie in Latin America,&#8221; he added. &#8220;We&#8217;re seeing packed theaters, standing ovations, widespread enthusiasm, and strong word-of-mouth from Buenos Aires to Mexico City to Bogota to Caracas, Lima, and beyond.&#8221;
&#8220;We set a goal of reaching 2 million in advance ticket sales—which took a full week in the US—and reached that goal in just four days in Latin America,&#8221; Geesy continued. &#8220;This film is fast-becoming a global movement for change.&#8221;
Written and directed by Alejandro Monteverde, the two million advanced tickets sold in Latin America represent the two million children trafficked each year, the press release noted.
In addition, the movie became the number one film in New Zealand on opening weekend and is in the number two spot in Australia after it opened in both countries on August 24, the press release noted.
The film has been what many called the sleeper hit of the summer and remains in more than 2,000 theaters after its release on July 4, the Studio <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/sound-of-freedom-adds-more-international-dates-amid-films-success" target="_blank" rel="noopener">previously noted</a>. It has earned, as of September 3, $181,967,046, <a href="https://www.boxofficemojo.com/release/rl4254237441/?ref_=bo_hm_rd" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Box Office Mojo</a> noted. And it now &#8220;ranks in the Top 10 Box Office Cume for the year,&#8221; the release added.
In the movie, which is based on a true story, Caviezel portrays Tim Ballard, a federal agent who quits his job and embarks on a dangerous mission to rescue a young girl from sex slavery in South America.
In July, the studio <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/sound-of-freedom-to-be-played-on-hundreds-of-additional-screens-in-4th-week-of-release" target="_blank" rel="noopener">announced</a> that the hit film would be released globally, appearing in theaters across the world, in Latin American countries, the U.K., and Ireland between August and October following its success at the domestic box office.
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/sound-of-freedom-dominates-box-office-in-florida-texas-and-arizona" target="_blank" rel="noopener">&#8216;Sound Of Freedom&#8217; Dominates Box Offices Across The Country</a>

Tim Ballard

‘Sound Of Freedom’ Dominates In 18 Latin American Countries

Menu