Thursday, December 12, 2024

UPDATED” Crowdfunded Christian Movie “Sound of Freedom” Hits $100 Mil*, Tops “Mission Impossible” Wednesday, Star Calls Trump “A New Moses” on Fox

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THURS MORNING UPDATE: “Sound of Freedom” narrowly beat “Mission Impossible” last night and took the top position at this morning’s box office. Technically. It’s time for an audit to figure out what went on here.

Also, this morning star Jim Caviezel called Trump “a new Moses” this morning on Fox and Fiends.

WEDNESDAY NIGHT: “Sound of Freedom” will cross the $100 million mark tonight. But it gets an asterisk. “SOF” is crowdfunded by Angel Studios. They’ve had millions of tickets purchased in blocks so audience members can go for free. No one knows who bought the tickets or how many people actually used them.

What happens if the free tickets donated by church and Christian groups aren’t used?

According to Angel Studios’ website:

“If there are any funds remaining after the theatrical run, they will be used to pay for streaming Sound of Freedom in the Angel Studios app. Remaining funds from Pay it Forward may also be used to help the filmmaker create additional content.”

So that should disabuse everyone about where the money is going. Because of this, the “Sound of Freedom” is just ka ching, but not the sound of truth.

A quick look tonight at Fandango in Chicago, Kansas City, and Indianapolis — places where “SOF” would have an audience — shows lots of seats available at all times. This would negate the proposition that it’s selling out like crazy. In all likelihood, Angel Studios sitting on plenty of tickets that haven’t been used.

Fandango and the other ticket systems would be wise to perform an audit.

Roger Friedman
Roger Friedmanhttps://www.showbiz411.com
Roger Friedman began his Showbiz411 column in April 2009 after 10 years with Fox News, where he created the Fox411 column. His movie reviews are carried by Rotten Tomatoes, and he is a member of both the movie and TV branches of the Critics Choice Awards. His articles have appeared in dozens of publications over the years including New York Magazine, where he wrote the Intelligencer column in the mid 90s and covered the OJ Simpson trial, and Fox News (when it wasn't so crazy) where he covered Michael Jackson. He is also the writer and co-producer of "Only the Strong Survive," a selection of the Cannes, Sundance, and Telluride Film festivals, directed by DA Pennebaker and Chris Hegedus.

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