‘Sound Of Freedom’ Reaches Amazing Milestone, Surpasses ‘The Godfather’ In Earnings

The 2023 hit film “Sound of Freedom” from Angel Studios broke box office records for an independent production, shaking the bedrock beneath the power elite of Hollywood with its wildly successful Fourth of July weekend release. Through its urgent, heartfelt message, telling the story of the modern-day abolitionist movement rescuing children from horrific sexual abuse and servitude, the film has surpassed the milestone of outperforming the Francis Ford Coppola masterpiece “The Godfather.”

As of this report, according to Box Office Mojo, “Sound of Freedom” has netted a worldwide box office return of over a quarter-billion dollars, $250,570,396 to be precise. On a budget of just $14.5 million, it is easily one of the most successful films of all time.

However, as Nick Kangadis reported for mrcTV, the groundbreaking biopic was unsurprisingly snubbed by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, failing to earn a single nomination.

“Sound of Freedom” follows former Department of Homeland Security Agent Tim Ballard, portrayed by Jim Caviezel, as Ballard leaves his government career behind on a personal mission to rescue a young girl from the horrors of sexual slavery in South America. It is based heavily on Ballard’s real-life experiences and his work founding Operation Underground Railroad.

In a press release around the time of its debut Brandon Purdie, Head of Theatrical Distribution for Angel Studios said, “There have only been 10 wide release movies in box office history that have had a 2nd weekend increase greater than 35% over their opening weekend. All of them did it at Christmas. Angel Studios is the only Studio to do this in the summer blockbuster season with SOUND OF FREEDOM.”

Even Hollywood Reporter’s Hilary Lewis observed with surprise that the film was spurned by The Golden Globes despite the addition of a category specifically for box office performance,

“In the Globes’ new category recognizing cinematic and box-office achievement, The Sound of Freedom was a surprise omission given the film’s $248 million worldwide gross, including $184 million domestically, while the inclusion of Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour concert film was a bit unexpected. “

The chief analyst at BoxOffice.com Shawn Robbins told CNBC, “Angel Studios deserves a tremendous amount of credit for designing and executing one of the most unexpected indie box office runs in years.”

He added that the audience “Sound of Freedom” appealed to has demonstrated a large underserved demographic saying, “Sound of Freedom’s’ sustained success goes to show that grassroots campaigning still has a sizeable impact in this day and age and that the movie’s core audience remains overlooked and underserved.”