'Sound of Freedom' shocks at July 4th box office, beats woke 'Indiana Jones' sequel

A movie about the egregious crimes of child trafficking, "Sound of Freedom," had a shocking performance on July 4, 2023, even beating out several blockbuster studio films such as "Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny."

The movie by Angel Studios, a movie studio that allows for equity crowdfunding of its films, took the top spot at the box office for July 4 in a monumental victory for non-mainstream movie studios.

As the Daily Wire reported, the film beat out Disney's latest Indiana Jones flick, which had been shrouded by rumors of extreme wokeness, including a possible death of the iconic character, to be replaced by a woman. While any extreme twists have reportedly been removed from the Harrison Ford-led film, it still premiered to an underwhelming response.

"Sound of Freedom" took in $14.2 million, whereas the Disney film made approximately $11.7 million. While "Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny" still made over $80 million in its first five days in theatres, its reported $300 million budget did not leave much room for such an opening.

The Angel Studios movie was led by Jim Caviezel, who starred in the movie "The Passion of the Christ" as Jesus. It also stars Mira Sorvino, who won an Oscar for best supporting actress in 1995.

"Thanks to fans around the country, ‘SOUND OF FREEDOM’ earned the top spot as America’s number one movie on Independence Day,” said Neal Harmon, CEO of Angel Studios.

“We’ve received numerous messages telling us theaters are either packed or sold out,” he added. “This movie has now taken on a life of its own to become something more than that, a grassroots movement. With an A+ CinemaScore rating, we’re the top-rated movie in America, and we’re going to see word-of-mouth spread even further going into the weekend," the CEO continued.

The movie likely benefited from the positive words of generational star Mel Gibson, who said "the first step in eradicating this crime is awareness ... go see 'Sound of Freedom.'"

According to Deadline, the movie expects a $20 million debut for its first six days, which the outlet described as "impressive for a non-major-studio adult thriller."

The movie is a true story surrounding former Homeland Security Agent Tim Ballard, who founded Operation Underground Railroad in 2013. The operation has reportedly conducted several sting operations to rescue children, some of which were outside the United States.

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