William Hughes asks on The A.V Club: How the hell did Sound Of Freedom make $100 million?

He begins:

“It’s not every day that a $15 million movie, released by an independent producer, and paid for at least in part through crowdfunding, can climb to the top of the box office charts. And yet, that’s exactly the fate that’s greeted Angel Studios’ Sound Of Freedom, which has just passed the $100 million mark after just three weeks in theaters, making it the most successful independent film of 2023 by a country mile.”

Sound of Freedom stars Jim Caviezel and was produced by Angel Studios.

The Numbers charts Sound of Freedom in second place at the US box office for the week starting July 14, 2023.

Brian Welk on IndieWire explains the marketing and financing of the film.

My take: you would think a movie about child trafficking would be a tough sell. Faith-based Angel Studios created a community of motivated producers who greenlit this project. It then developed a Pay It Forward scheme allowing people to buy free tickets for others. Both raised money and created invested promoters. The power of community!