'Sound of Freedom' Predicted to Make More Money Than These Hollywood Movies

Sound of Freedom has already defied expectations in North America, but how popular will it prove overseas?

The globetrotting intense action thriller has proved incredibly popular since its launch on the Fourth of July, occasionally beating its blockbuster rivals to top the box office. That's all despite claims of audience "suppression" which has seen people allege that they were kicked out of theaters halfway through screenings.

Against a modest $14.5 million budget, Sound of Freedom has already made more than 10 times its money back, with a total box office intake of $153,438,887, according to Box Office Mojo. That figure is from the United States and Canada alone, as it has yet to be released in any international territories.

A box office expert told Newsweek that the producers of the movie can expect to add millions more to that total once it launches abroad, making more than Paramount Pictures' horror sequel Scream VI.

Sound of Freedom's distributors, Angel Studios, have announced their plans for the movie to go global, with a rollout across the world happening towards the end of August. Click here to see the full list of announced release dates and locations.

Sound of Freedom has had a roller coaster of a release, with the highs including beating Harrison Ford's Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny at the box office on the day of release, and the lows being the multiple accusations hurled at theaters for allegedly "suppressing" audiences from watching the film.

Videos and posts have gone viral across social media of viewers claiming that their screening of Sound of Freedom was interrupted for various reasons. Some cited unexplained evacuations, others pointed to broken AC units while others experienced a lighting glitch which brought their screening to an abrupt end.

AMC Theatres CEO Adam Aron publicly dismissed allegations that they were "suppressing attendance" in a tweet sent on July 9. The Harmon brothers who run Sound of Freedom's distribution company Angel Studios each thanked Aron and AMC for their support of the movie.

Despite the multiple occasions of seemingly unexplained interruptions, Sound of Freedom has proved to be a hit with audiences in North America, but box office expert and movie blogger Paul Ferrer doesn't think its success will translate overseas.

"While Sound of Freedom was a huge success in the US these films don't travel well outside the US," Ferrer told Newsweek.

By 'these films' Ferrer is referring to Sound of Freedom's Christian message. Angel Studios previous releases include Testament: The Parables Retold and His Only Son, both faith-based films.

"Sony have had huge success with their Affirm Studios but the majority of box office came from the US. You only need to see how films like Heaven is for Real and the recent George Foreman film [Big George Foreman] took 90 percent US and 10 percent international," Ferrer said, pointing out another studio that distributes faith-based movies.

Sound of Freedom is still continuing to earn good money at the domestic box office despite being in theaters for almost a month but if we were to apply the same logic to Sound of Freedom's international release, we can predict its total gross.

If Sound of Freedom made 90 percent of its box office return in North America and 10 percent more abroad, the movie could be set to take in more than $170,500,000 in total considering its current domestic box office figures, though that figure is almost guaranteed to rise significantly between now and its international release.

If the figure was $170 million, then it would mean that Sound of Freedom would have taken in more at the worldwide box office than a number of established studio movies like Scream VI ($169 million), Shazam! Fury of the Gods ($134 million), Air ($88 million) and Cocaine Bear ($88 million). However, since there's another month for Sound of Freedom to continue its successful Box Office run, the film could have Insidious: The Red Door ($175 million), Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves ($208 million), The Flash ($268 million) and Creed III ($275 million) in its sights.

Domestically, Sound of Freedom has already earned more than The Flash ($108 million), Fast X ($146 million) and Mission: Impossible—Dead Reckoning Part One ($142 million).

Ferrer puts Sound of Freedom's success down to its long production journey which eventually took it from Disney back to Angel Studios.

"There is another conspiracy theory over why Disney had the film on the shelf for five years, the film was developed by 20th Century Fox in 2017 and shot in 2018 but its release date delayed due to Disney's acquiring Fox," Ferrer said.

A Newsweek fact check found this to be true, as a Disney representative told Newsweek "[Disney] studios had no knowledge of the film given the nature of the international acquisition pre-merger."

"The producers brought rights back selling it to Angel Studios, but it's unlikely it would have been anywhere near as successful if Disney released it as Angel Studios crowdfunded its marketing and had the Pay It Forward campaign a studio would never do," Ferrer said.

Angel Studios crowdfunded to raise the money needed to distribute. The Wall Street Journal reported that 7,000 people invested between $10 and $25,000 to hit their target of $5 million within two weeks. Those who invested stand to gain up to 20 percent in profit for believing and investing in Sound of Freedom.

During the crowdfunding drive, Angel Studios also encouraged patrons to "pay it forward" to allow those who might not have been able to see the movie to see it for free, the Catholic News Agency reported.

Newsweek has contacted Angel Studios for further comment.

All box office figures included courtesy of Box Office Mojo, powered by IMDb.