'Sound of Freedom' draws over 2M people to theaters, Oscar-winning actors call out child trafficking
As the new film "Sound of Freedom" has earned over $40 million in one week at the box office, academy award-winning actors Mira Sorvino and Mel Gibson agree that child trafficking must be eradicated.
The Angel Studios film had a goal to draw out 2 million people for its release week as a way to represent the 2 million children who are currently being trafficked. Their goal was exceeded in just four days and has earned the film more than double its budget since its release last week.
According to the film's Angel Studios page, over 4 million tickets were purchased to see the movie, which was released on July 4.
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"Sound of Freedom," directed and co-written by Alejandro Monteverde, was shown in only 2,600 theaters and tells the true story of one man's journey to combat child sex trafficking.
The Angel Studios film is based on the life of Tim Ballard, a former U.S. Department of Homeland Security agent who left his job because he wanted to do more to rescue children from modern-day slavery.
The film delivers a bold message calling for the freedom of millions of children enslaved in human trafficking, declaring that "God's children are not for sale."
The Fourth of July release earned $41 million to date due in part to the "Pay It Forward" technology used by Angel Studios, where people can donate tickets for anyone that wants to see the film but not might be able to afford to see the movie in theaters.
"Sound of Freedom" stars Jim Caviezel ("Passion of The Christ"), Oscar winner Mira Sorvino ("The Final Cut"), Bill Camp ("12 Years a Slave") and José Zúñiga ("Twilight"). Along with acting in the film, Eduardo Verástegui ("Unplanned") is the film's producer.
One of the film's producers, Sean Wolfington, shared a video of Mel Gibson on Instagram who shared his support for the movie.
"One of the most disturbing problems in our world today is human trafficking, and particularly the trafficking of children. Our future is our children," Gibson, who has worked with Caviezel in "Passion of The Christ," said in the clip.
The famous actor then charged viewers to do their part to raise awareness about child sex trafficking.
"Now, the first step in eradicating this crime is awareness. Go see 'Sound Of Freedom,'" Gibson declared.
Sorvino, who plays Tim Ballard's wife, Katherine, in "Sound of Freedom," also encouraged viewers to do more against trafficking.
"I've been an advocate against human trafficking since 2004," Sorvino said in a recent interview with the Patheos.com blog Reel Faith.
"I first discovered that slavery did not die with the end of legal slavery but is alive and well in the form of this illicit, multi-billion dollar industry, with 40 million people living as slaves today, the highest number in recorded history, and only .4% of them being discovered, rescued or exiting themselves."
The Hollywood star said all people of God should actively seek to help the oppressed.
"We have a soul that the Holy Spirit can affect," Sorvino explained. "It can call to us, God can call to us, Jesus can call to us. And when we hear that call, if we don't answer it, we're turning away from God."
"I had a minister once who described sin as distance from God. And when we don't do what we need to do to help people in need — if we see the need and really exposed to it and we look away — we are distancing ourselves from God in the most profound sense. And Jesus loved children more than anyone. He said, 'Whatsoever you do unto them, you do to me.' Our call is to help these children."
At the Miami premiere of the film, the film's director Monteverde told CP that he also takes what Jesus said to His disciples seriously in Luke 17:1-2: "It is inevitable that stumbling blocks will come, but woe to the one through whom they come! It would be better for him to have a millstone hung around his neck and to be thrown into the sea than to cause one of these little ones to stumble."
Shot five years ago, "Sound of Freedom" was once signed with Disney but was shelved. Multiple Hollywood studios also rejected the film, but Angel Studios acquired worldwide distribution rights earlier this year, and it is now a certified success.
The movie will have viewers at the edge of their seats, waiting to see what Ballard does next on his mission to reunite a vulnerable family whose worst nightmare comes to life when both children are taken captive for sex work. Featuring mild foul language and some violence, the film's scenes that are not shown but suggested have a haunting effect on audiences.
The studio wants families with teenagers to view the film together since teenagers should also be educated on the evils of the world.
According to a report from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development released in January, Mexico "ranks first in child sexual abuse; first in exploitation, homicides, and trafficking of minors; and first in creation and distribution of child pornography."
The United States was identified as the "number one consumer of sex worldwide," which includes viewing child pornography, according to Geoff Rogers, co-founder of the United States Institute Against Human Trafficking, as quoted in a 2019 Fox News report.
"Sound of Freedom" is now in theaters and received an A+ CinemaScore and a 99% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes.
Jeannie Ortega Law is a reporter for The Christian Post. Reach her at: [email protected] She's also the author of the book, What Is Happening to Me? How to Defeat Your Unseen Enemy Follow her on Twitter: @jlawcp Facebook: JeannieOMusic
