This year’s new hit movie Sound of Freedom has already made its budget back at the box office. Interestingly, however, it looks like Sound of Freedom nearly didn’t get released because of Disney.
The history behind Sound of Freedom goes back several years. In fact, the film initially wrapped production in 2018. The producers made a deal for the film to then be released by 20th Century Fox in 2019. Of course, Disney acquired Fox not long after, and the film was shelved as a result.
Disney’s refusal to release the film recently went viral on Twitter. As you can see below, a woman named Joy Reborn on Twitter emphasized Disney’s decision not to release Sound of Freedom. Here’s what was shared:
🔥 Sound of Freedom was originally produced in 2018. DISNEY bought & SHELVED #SoundOfFreedom refusing to release it. 🧐 Why wouldn’t Disney want us to see human trafficked children saved? It took @AngelStudiosInc & @ElonMusk to get this movie to the public. GOD’S CHILDREN ARE NOT… pic.twitter.com/1N1SX7w5aj
— ♥️ Joy Reborn ♥️ (@RedRising11) July 2, 2023
Ultimately, director Alejandro Monteverde teamed up with Angel Studios to get the film distributed. Angel Studios successfully crowdfunded the distribution of the film. The CEO of Angel Films, Neal Harmon, was quoted as saying the following in an interview with Washington Examiner:
“Initially made with [21st Century] Fox. After it was completed, Fox was acquired by Disney, who said, ‘We can’t release this film.’ Eduardo spent over a year before [Disney] released the rights to the film. At that time, he tried to take it to theaters, but just as they were, COVID hit, and another three years passed.”
A Disney spokesperson commented on the matter to Newsweek, claiming that there was a plan for international distribution prior to Disney’s acquisition of Fox. And, due to this, they claim to have had no knowledge of the film:
“[Disney] studios had no knowledge of the film given the nature of the international acquisition pre-merger.”
As such, it looks like everything worked out for the film, as it’s now finding an audience and making a smash at the box office.
The film stars Jim Caviezel, Mira Sorvino, and Bill Camp. As of this writing, it’s managed to make $85.5 million on a $14.5 million budget. Sometimes it really does pay to make a film with a smaller budget as certain failed blockbusters have illustrated in recent years. Of course, we’ll have to wait and see what kind of impact this could have on other small-scale projects.
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