(Mark Pellin, Headline USA) The independently-produced Sound of Freedom made a stunning July Fourth premier in theaters with a box office smash, delivering a powerful message about the horrific reality of child sex-trafficking that gripped the country’s collective attention and sparked a national debate.
The movie, produced by indie filmmaker Angel Studios after being scuttled by Disney, is based on the true story of former DHS special agent Tim Ballard, who focused on tracking and arresting pedophiles and child-traffickers. After growing increasingly frustrated with bureaucracy interfering with that mission, Ballard founded Operation Underground Railroad in 2013, conducting sting operations to save hundreds of children from sex trafficking.
Passion of the Christ actor Jim Caviezel, who stars as Ballard, called the overwhelmingly positive response to the movie a testament to the message it delivered. The movie debuted as the top film at the box office on July 4, grossing $14.2 million in half as many theaters as Disney’s much-hyped, distant second-place Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, according to Box Office Mojo.
“We are not Disney’s film. We are the people’s film,” Caviezel told Fox News, and as such prompts the question “Can we love our children, can we love God’s children, more than we fear evil? That’s the challenge here, and Americans are up to it. God’s children are no longer for sale.”
Caviezel noted that Disney had originally shelved the movie and left it buried for nearly five years, until being rescued by Angel Studios.
The success of the movie isn’t just about it being produced by a faith-based, openly Christian, conservative indie producer, “It’s about the children and America waking up, right now. The only way these laws are going to be changed is if people move, right now, to save them,” Caviezel said. “This is a good versus evil story.”
Watched it ! Stellar. Bought two Pay it Forward tickets too. About to gift a friend tickets to go see it as well. Praise God for this film.#GibsonChallenge pic.twitter.com/IC1LPQBk6H
— BeNotAfraid (@Wrongwaythink) July 3, 2023
Angel Studios co-founder Jeffrey Harmon credited a large part of the movie’s success to the passionate work of its cast and crew to push the movie’s message into the public, and the advocacy of its supporters.
“A couple of weeks ago one of my co-workers did a 100+ hr work week,” Harmon tweeted on the movie’s July 4 opening.
“I called and asked him how he was holding up. He said, “I know this isn’t good for my longterm health, but I just keep thinking if I can move the needle a little more, maybe I can save another child.”
It makes my heart take courage to see so much self sacrifice for these kids. To see celebrities, and influencers, and businesses, and families stepping up to take beatings on social media for angel and sound of freedom. It’s astonishing and miraculous to see this wave of support.
— Jeffrey Harmon (@JeffreyHarmon) July 4, 2023
