In a shocking turn at the box office, Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny was potentially beaten at the box office on July 4th, by a wide margin, by the faith-based indie Sound of Freedom, starring Jim Caviezel. According to Box Office Mojo, Dial of Destiny managed a second-place finish with $11.6 million, while Sound of Freedom made $14.2 million. According to Angel Studios, who released the latter film, the figure comes with a caveat, with $2.679 million of the Tuesday gross due to a “pay it forward” campaign, where audience members can buy tickets for other people to be redeemed later. Without those figures, the movie came in just behind Indy 5 with $11.56 million.
Ironically, Sound of Freedom was initially produced by 20th Century Fox, only for the film to wind up in limbo after Disney acquired the studio. The film, shot in 2018, stars Jim Caviezel as Tim Ballard, the founder of Operation Underground Railroad. The organization is an anti-sex trafficking non-profit, with Ballard formerly of the Department of Homeland Security. The film tacks Ballard as he travels to Columbia to rescue children from Human Traffickers. Bill Camp co-stars as a former Cartel operative, Vampiro, who helps in his mission.
To note, Sound of Freedom’s critical reception has been mostly pretty good. While typically a movie that’s considered “faith-based” can rely on positive word of mouth from that sector, the few mainstream critics that were able to view the film have given it respectable to positive reviews, with Owen Gleiberman of Variety noting, “you needn’t hold extreme beliefs to experience “Sound of Freedom” as a compelling movie that shines an authentic light on one of the crucial criminal horrors of our time, one that Hollywood has mostly shied away from.”
Sound of Freedom was not screened widely for the press before opening. Even still, the film seems likely to emerge as one of the year’s highest-grossing Indies, and one of the biggest faith-based films in awhile.