LAS VEGAS – Angel Studios had a heavenly 2023, and for a victory lap, the independent faith-based movie distributor is hobnobbing with Hollywood heavyweights.
Following the surprise success of the company's child sex-trafficking thriller "Sound of Freedom" last summer – one of the biggest hits not named "Barbie" or "Oppenheimer" – Angel presented its slate for the first time at CinemaCon Wednesday morning, the annual convention of theater owners where Disney, Universal and Warner Bros. regularly showcase their shiniest new projects.
Rather than "a few Hollywood executives" deciding which movies go into theaters, "we're flipping the script" with Angel's crowdfunding business model and a "pay it forward" ticket-buying program, said Jared Geesey, the studio's chief distribution officer. "It’s not our team that green-lights a theatrical release. It’s the audience."
"Sound of Freedom," which starred Jim Caviezel as real-life Homeland Security agent Tim Ballard, raked in more than $250 million worldwide last year and ranked as the 10th highest-grossing movie domestically (with $184 million), just ahead of "Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour." While reviews were mixed, audiences were extremely positive, giving it an A+ CinemaScore.
It wasn't without controversies, though: Critics argued that the movie was a recruiting tool for the far right while conservative voices and QAnon proponents championed the film, and Caviezel came under fire for comments he made during interviews. (As the credits roll, Caviezel appears as himself on the screen saying he hopes the film will be seen as “the ‘Uncle Tom’s Cabin’ of 21st century slavery.")
"The movie has become a circus on the political spectrum," "Sound of Freedom" director Alejandro Monteverde told USA TODAY last August. "It breaks my heart that this movie is − in any way, shape or form − part of a controversy. It shouldn't be."
According to the studio's website, Angel's mission is to "amplify" stories about truth, honesty and nobility, and in March, the studio released "Cabrini," a biopic of Francesca Cabrini directed by Monteverde. The rest of this year's slate includes:
The studio didn't address any of the controversies during its CinemaCon spotlight but did tease what it hopes will be the most successful animated movie of all time: "David," a biblical musical coming Thanksgiving 2025 and executive produced by Tim Tebow.
Contributing: Bryan Alexander and Marco della Cava
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