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☆ Hollywood goes conservative as an economic shift fuels a turn toward faith and family-based shows
▼ + stars: | 2024-11-06 | by ( Lucia Moses | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +10 min

After playing to the coasts, Hollywood is leaning toward faith and family-based shows and films. The Prime Video series will be the first to come out of Amazon's deal with The Wonder Project, a Christian-focused production company, for faith-based films and TV shows. After playing to the coasts with shows that embraced progressive themes, Hollywood is leaning into broadly appealing fare. That shift has included a combination of undeniably faith-based, conservative-themed, and family-aimed entertainment, agents, producers, and industry experts say. "Conservative, faith-based, family, is not a bad place to look," Thompson said.

Persons: —, David, Vernon Sanders, Jennifer Salke, Nick Barnes, UTA's, Kevin Costner, Bob Iger, Tyler Perry, DeVon Franklin, Ruth, Boaz, Mary, Anthony Hopkins, Tim McGraw, Jim Caviezel, Jesus, Dallas Jenkins, Jon Erwin, UTA's Barnes, Jesus of Nazareth, Angel, Robert Thompson, Thompson, Hilary Swank, Jamie McCarthy, That's, Jason Blum, Taylor Sheridan, Barnes Organizations: Netflix, Service, Amazon MGM Studios, Paramount, Heartland, Disney, Angel, Angel Studios, Wonder, Networks, Cable, Syracuse University's Newhouse School of Public Communications, Center for Television, Popular, Conservative, York, Kingdom, Co, Lionsgate, UTA, Ampere Locations: Hollywood, UTA's Nashville, Los Angeles, American, California, America, Yellowstone, Georgia , Texas, Tennessee

☆ From ‘Barbenheimer’ to Taylor Swift, here are the most important films of 2023 and why they worked
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-27 | by ( Sarah Whitten | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +10 min

Hannah Beier | The Washington Post | Getty ImagesCall 2023 an explosive comeback at the box office. Together, those three films contributed more than $1.5 billion to the domestic box office, according to data from Comscore. But in the meantime, here's a look at some of the most important theatrical releases of 2023 — and why they worked. Meanwhile, Disney has seen its animated content lag at the box office in the wake of the pandemic. "His Only Son," a biblical drama released in early 2023, cost $250,000 to make and generated $12.4 million at the box office.

Persons: Barbie, Oppenheimer, Hannah Beier, Mario, Comscore, Greta Gerwig, Christopher Nolan's, J, Robert Oppenheimer, Chris Pratt, Charlie, Luigi, Disney, Kung, Taylor Swift, Michael Jackson's, Buda Mendes, tas23, Swift, Beyoncé, Tim Ballard, Jim Caviezel, Covid, Blumhouse, Cabrini, Saint Francesca Cabrini, Bonhoeffer, Dietrich Bonhoeffer Organizations: Washington Post, Getty, Warner Bros, Mario Bros, Universal, Disney, Pixar, Walt Disney Animation, Swift, AMC, National Football League, Angel Studios, Century Fox, Roman Catholic, Reich Locations: Somerdale , New Jersey, There's, New York, Universal, Hollywood, Colombia

☆ 'Sound of Freedom' studio looks to build on crowdfunding success with new film 'The Shift'
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-30 | by ( Sarah Whitten | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Angel Studios is set to release "The Shift" this Friday. A relative newcomer to Hollywood, Angel Studios uses a Kickstarter-style method of generating funds. "Innovation and outside the box thinking has put Angel Studios on the map. "Sound of Freedom" isn't the only Angel Studios title to exponentially overperform its budget. A crowdfunding campaign in partnership with Angel Studios raised more than $1.2 million for prints and advertising costs.

Persons: Brock Heasley, Neal McDonough, America, Angel, Jim Caviezel, Covid, Paul Dergarabedian, Blumhouse Organizations: Angel, Hollywood, Angel Studios, Warner Bros

☆ 'Sound of Freedom,' hit child-trafficking thriller endorsed by Trump, will stream on Amazon
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-03 | by ( Sarah Whitten | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Amazon Prime Video has secured the rights to one of the hottest box office releases of 2023 — Angel Studios' "Sound of Freedom." Angel Studios calls the model "pay it forward." Angel Studios, which has become known for its faith-based content, has a wide variety of projects on the docket going forward. The studio is set to release a sci-fi thriller called "The Shift" in December and biographical drama "Cabrini" in March. Correction: An earlier version of this story misstated how many "pay it forward" tickets Angel Studios sold for "Sound of Freedom."

Persons: Jim Caviezel, Donald Trump, Cabrini Organizations: Amazon, Angel, Angel Studios, Century Fox, Walt Disney Co Locations: U.S, Colombia, Bedminster , New Jersey

☆ Trump-endorsed 'Sound of Freedom' has outgrossed 'Mission: Impossible,' 'The Flash'
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-01 | by ( Sarah Whitten | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

Over the last four weeks, Angel Studios' "Sound of Freedom," an indie film that has drawn the support of former President Donald Trump and other conservatives, has captured nearly $150 million in domestic ticket sales. "Sound of Freedom" is also on the heels of Disney's "Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny," which has generated around $167 million in box-office grosses in the U.S. and Canada. "'Sound of Freedom' is a summer movie success story that wasn't even on the radar just a few short weeks ago," said Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst at Comscore. "Sound of Freedom" wrapped filming in 2018. "'Sound of Freedom' benefitted not only from this but also by providing a non-typical summer style movie experience."

Persons: Donald Trump, Mario Bros, Tom Cruise, Indiana Jones, Shawn Robbins, Paul Dergarabedian, Tim Ballard, Jim Caviezel, Robbins, Trump, Steve Bannon, Trump's, Kari Lake, Jack Posobiec, Kevin McCarthy, Dergarabedian Organizations: Angel Studios, Hollywood, Warner Bros, DC, Century Fox, Walt Disney Co, Comcast, CNBC Locations: U.S, Canada, Hollywood, Colombia, New Jersey, Arizona, Washington, NBCUniversal

☆ ‘Sound of Freedom’ is a box office hit. It has an unusual ticket strategy
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-25 | by ( Nathaniel Meyersohn | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

More than 10 million tickets have been purchased through the app, called Pay It Forward. During the movie’s July 4 opening, “Sound of Freedom” scored $11.5 million from direct box office sales and $2.6 million, or over 20%, from Pay It Forward ticket sales. A spokesperson for Angel Studios told CNN that these posts could be tied to group ticket sales. For individual tickets, Angel Studios’ system creates a code that allows another person to redeem a free ticket directly from theaters. Angel Studios does not release what percentage of ticket sales come from customers buying other people tickets.

Persons: “ Barbie ”, “ Oppenheimer, ”, Jesus, Angel, Daniel Loria, Jim Caviezel, Donald Trump, Caviezel, Ted Cruz, Ted Cruz of, theatergoers, Loria, Adam Aron, “, Jeff Bock Organizations: New, New York CNN, “, Angel Studios, Angel, ”, Twitter, New York Times, AMC, AMC Theatres, CNN Locations: New York, American, Texas, Ted Cruz of Texas

☆ The box office success of 'Sound of Freedom' — an action film about child trafficking — really shouldn't be a big surprise
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-20 | by ( Kelsey Vlamis | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

"Sound of Freedom" is a box-office hit, taking in $90 million since opening July 4. The movie is a huge success for an indie — and there's clearly a market for this kind of content. Movies marketed to conservative Christians have defied expectations and crushed at the box office in the past. The "God's Not Dead" film series has also seen success at the box office since the first movie came out in 2014, raking in $64 million worldwide against a $2 million budget. "Sound of Freedom" has caused controversy, in part because of star Jim Caviezel's ties to QAnon and the questionable figure his character is based on.

Persons: Donald Trump, Jim Caviezel's Organizations: Service, Homeland Security, Office Mojo, Fox News, Angel Studios Locations: Wall, Silicon, Utah, QAnon

☆ Trump to host screening of 'Sound of Freedom,' the divisive anti-child-trafficking hit film
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-13 | by ( Kevin Breuninger | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Former President Donald Trump this month will host a screening of "Sound of Freedom," the surprise hit film about rescuing sex-trafficked children that has been embraced in right-wing circles, his 2024 campaign announced Thursday. "Sound of Freedom" has made more than $53 million as of Wednesday, Deadline reported. Utah-based Angel Studios distributed "Sound of Freedom," selling tickets through an online "pay it forward" campaign. Other conservative outlets have defended the film from its critics, and Ballard has pushed back on those linking it to QAnon. That outlandish right-wing internet conspiracy revolves around the idea that Trump was secretly fighting against shadowy, powerful rings of satanic pedophiles.

Persons: Donald Trump, Trump, Eduardo Verastegui, Ron DeSantis —, DeSantis, Disney, Bob Iger, Jim Caviezel, Indiana Jones, Tim Ballard, Ballard, Caviezel, Mel Gibson's, Steve Bannon Organizations: White House, Prosperity, GOP, Florida Gov, Disney, CNBC, The New York Times, Rotten Tomatoes, Angel Studios, New York Times, Homeland Security, Operation Underground Railroad, Underground Railroad, Trump Locations: Bedminster , New Jersey, Florida, Disney's, Utah, Colombia, Colombian, QAnon

☆ A Film About Child Trafficking Takes on Summer Blockbusters
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-11 | by ( Marc Tracy | More About Marc Tracy | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

“Sound of Freedom,” a thriller starring Jim Caviezel as a federal agent who takes on child traffickers, will not be the summer box office’s biggest hit. The film — whose distributor, Angel Studios, has a big success with “The Chosen,” a streaming series about the life of Jesus — was the third most watched film in North America last weekend. Its $19.7 million weekend take was behind only the horror film “Insidious: The Red Door,” which made $33 million in its first weekend, and “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny,” which made $27.4 million in its second. “Sound of Freedom” is based on a true story: Caviezel plays Tim Ballard, a U.S. Department of Homeland Security agent who investigated pedophiles. Some critics say the film appeals to the QAnon movement, which posits a false conspiracy theory accusing progressive elites of pedophilia.

Persons: Jim Caviezel, “, Jesus —, Indiana Jones, Caviezel, Tim Ballard, Ballard, Donald J, Trump, Neal Harmon, Angel’s, ” Organizations: Angel Studios, “, U.S . Department of Homeland Security, Operation Underground Railroad, Fox News, Guardian Locations: North America

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