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.