We have talked several times about ‘Sound of Freedom.’ We admit this author hasn’t had a chance to see it, but the filmmakers have a very explicit goal of attempting to have a social effect very much like a modern Uncle Tom’s Cabin. The movie concerns child sex trafficking and tells the true story of how Tim Ballard worked to rescue some of the children exploited by this industry (we say some, because even he would admit it is a drop in the bucket). Meanwhile, Uncle Tom’s Cabin is the nineteenth century novel that helped to awaken the conscience of many free people to the evils of slavery. (It baffles us to this day that somehow ‘Uncle Tom’ became an insult.) In this interview, Ballard explicitly argues that he hopes this movie could have a similar effect as the novel:
.@OURrescue founder @TimBallard tells TPM’s @RealTStevenson why the #SoundofFreedomMovie needed to be made:
— The Post Millennial (@TPostMillennial) July 4, 2023
"This is the most important tool that I've ever seen to fight human trafficking, because it creates the movement." pic.twitter.com/X5FOcNKCpo
So, pardon us if we are rooting for the film to do well, and it seems to be enjoying some success:
BREAKING: Sound of Freedom is a SMASHING SUCCESS, projected to earn OVER $40 MILLION in opening weekhttps://t.co/RtqJWbrXsL
— Jack Poso 🇺🇸 (@JackPosobiec) July 9, 2023
That might not seem like a lot, but success is always relative. This movie reportedly cost $20 million, and allegedly with marketing costs, it usually takes double that to break even. Therefore, this movie has broken even by that traditional metric, but as we will see in a moment, it may be much more profitable than it would seem by that normal formula.
But first, it is worth taking a moment to note that this movie also represents a humiliation for Disney at the box office, in that for one day it beat the new (and reportedly weak-sauce) Indiana Jones movie, which is particularly painful, because at one point this movie was owned by Disney:
In a shocking twist, #SoundofFreedomMovie from @AngelStudiosInc usurped the No #1 spot at the boxoffice from #IndianaJonesAndTheDialOfDestiny ...and that is quite the humiliation for #KathleenKennedy!https://t.co/GxtChwbJTG pic.twitter.com/QEbfLuua0a
— The Official ME (@Midnights_Edge) July 6, 2023
Disney originally planned to bury this movie and never release it, but it was bought out by Angel Studios. And as Midnight’s Edge points out in this next video, that radically alters the calculus:
We saw #TheSoundofFreedom and go through the controversy surrounding it!https://t.co/QwN8MwSJWp
— The Official ME (@Midnights_Edge) July 10, 2023
Just being a student of life, we think it is safe to assume that Angel Studios bought the movie for less than the original full cost of it. And we are not sure we should assume they spent as much on promotion as most movies. The campaign we have seen seems more viral than usual—for instance, right now they are getting free advertising from us. So, this movie might be far more profitable than that usual calculus would suggest. Of course, the Indiana Jones movie has made more money overall, but because it costs so obscenely much, it is unlikely to be profitable.
And of course, the new Mission Impossible is probably going to crush both movies. But we think there is still room for sleeper hits, and maybe this movie can be one of them.
In any case, the real story does sound fascinating and this interview with Ben Shapiro makes an excellent point:
We think they are right to say that stopping this sort of thing should be a larger priority than it currently is. We are no fans of abusing drugs but shouldn’t we be devoting at least as much effort to ending the abuse of children, if not more?
In any case, there was much rejoicing at the news of its relative success:
— Mostly Peaceful Memes (@MostlyPeacefull) July 9, 2023
Indiana Jones cost $300 million to make and has been playing to empty theaters.
— Sara Higdon (@SaraHigdon_) July 10, 2023
Perfect time to start naming names with regard to Epstein, now that eyes are wide open. 😍
— rbnator (@rbnator17) July 9, 2023
There’s never a bad time for that. Seriously, its amazing what doesn’t get leaked.
That’s fantastic. And they are making another about the mission in Haiti.
— Susan Chak ❤️🔥✝️VoxSusana (@voxsusana) July 9, 2023
Unverified, but here’s hoping that is true.
Just saw it. Everyone needs to see this movie. Lots of tears in the theatre.
— VWGurl 🇺🇸 (@VwgurlChrissy) July 9, 2023
Yeah, don’t go thinking it is a fun night out. We understand that the movie is not too explicit, but we are talking about some harrowing subject matter.
The People’s Movie https://t.co/gDyfPX5ezK
— Human Events (@HumanEvents) July 9, 2023
This is great! https://t.co/gc6YHh5vtd
— Dr. Interracial 🇺🇸 (@billysandytodd) July 9, 2023
2nd week's goal is not to drop, but gain. But it might be difficult with #MissionImpossibleDeadReckoning opening. If you keep it above $30M, it'd still be a huge smackdown.https://t.co/Cv4mxetRky
— El AnCap (@ElAnCapPe) July 10, 2023
Keep going! This is an important movie and movement.
— Albert (@JohnnyWhiskyTX) July 9, 2023
Even if the Theaters and turning on the heat, GO!!!
Gods children are no longer for sale #SoundofFreedomMovie https://t.co/k8tRa3Ln9j
They don’t care about American money anymore.
— Fran (@21FannyB) July 9, 2023
“The Little Mermaid” made $38 million in its first day. And $117 million in just 4 days. And MAGA’s declared it a flop.😂 https://t.co/oS8wISI8bL
— Hey, Dave! (@davegreenidge57) July 9, 2023
Because that movie cost much, much more. Duh. (And it isn't just MAGA calling it a flop.)
Only $15 million less than The Flash opening weekend. 😂😂😂 https://t.co/jm5flELKdu
— Erik Griffin (@ErikMGriffin) July 9, 2023
Netflix is like😳🥲 they passed on it just like all the major studios good on Angel Studios I hope it makes 100 million🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥 https://t.co/3JsuqV57qi
— RealCurtis🕶🇺🇸 (@raider725lv) July 9, 2023
Can we partially thank the left and their hissy fits? 🤣🤣🤣🤣 https://t.co/O5jA9XuHqr
— 🇺🇸 𝔹𝕣𝕠𝕠𝕜𝕝𝕪𝕟 𝔾𝕚𝕣𝕝 💙🇺🇸❤️🤍💙 (@Brooklyn__Girl) July 9, 2023
Yes, we are pretty sure we can.
***
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