Film Canceled by Disney Gets Released to Huge Crowd

A film that was originally canceled by Disney was just released to a huge crowd and generated a massive amount of revenue in the process.

The Walt Disney Company has become known as a media giant and the top dog in the entertainment industry. In addition to its Disney Parks & Resorts, which has served as the major source of revenue for the company, especially in the last few years, Disney owns many media and entertainment properties that include Walt Disney Animation Studios, Disney Pixar, Lucasfilm, 20th Century Studios, and many others.

The latest major acquisition for The Walt Disney Company happened in 2018 (officially March 20, 2019) when it purchased 20th Century Fox– now known as 20th Century Studios– for a lofty $71 billion. The purchase of the studio gave Disney access to several popular intellectual properties, as well as its wide range of content including Twentieth Century Fox, Fox Searchlight Pictures, Fox 2000 Pictures, Fox Family and Fox Animation; Fox’s television creative units, Twentieth Century Fox Television, FX Productions and Fox21, FX Networks, National Geographic Partners, and much more.

While many fans are aware of the purchase and subsequent merger that took place a few years ago, what they may not know is there actually was a movie that had been completed by 20th Century Fox prior to its purchase. When Disney took over the property, the company made the decision to put the film on the shelf, reports say.

Now, nearly five years later, Sound of Freedom was released by the independent film-making studio, Angel Studios, and its opening box office numbers were well more than any box office insider would’ve ever expected.

As reported by Variety, Sound of Freedom has generated more than $40 million since opening last weekend. Between Friday and Sunday, the film picked up $18.2 million, good enough for third on the domestic box office chart just behind Insidious: The Red Door ($32.6 million), and Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny ($26.5 million). The film is playing in a much smaller footprint of theaters, as well, with 2,850 theaters picking the movie in comparison to 3,188 (Insidious) and 4,600 (Indiana Jones).

“As with our July 4th numbers, today’s numbers exceed our expectations, and we’re going to continue this momentum,” said Brandon Purdie, head of theatrical distribution at Angel Studios said. “We’re getting messages from all over the country telling us about packed theaters, sold-out theaters and spontaneous standing ovations for the film in numerous locations. Seeing this film has become a must, thanks to incredible word-of-mouth.”

In addition, box office analysts note that the movie impressively climbed the charts during the middle of summer, which is typically time where only the most popular and anticipated films from the biggest studios in Hollywood are released.

The movie is based on a true story and stars Jim Caviezel (best known for The Passion of the Christ) as Tim Ballard, a former government agent who goes on a mission to rescue children who have been trafficked in Colombia. It has received more than 5,000 audience ratings on Rotten Tomatoes, generating a 100% approval rating, and, though there has been some backlash from detractors, critical ratings have been mostly positive (77%), with approvals from critics from several noted publications, including Variety, Culture Mix, and the Epoch Times.

According to researchers, the audience for Sound of Freedom has been diverse in both “age and gender.”

“There’s support for the movie from white conservative political groups, but a third of the audience is Hispanic,” Franchise Entertainment Research firm owner David A. Gross said. “The inspiration, action and Latin America-based story are drawing a diverse audience, not just ethnically,” he adds, “but in age and gender.”

The film has been operating on “word of mouth,” and the studio has even started a “Pay It Forward” program to help cover the cost of expenses for people who may not be able to afford to see the movie otherwise. More information on that can be found on Angel Studios’ official website.