'Sound of Freedom' success boosts Angel Studios' confidence: 'We're flipping the script'

LAS VEGAS – Angel Studios had a heavenly 2023, and for a victory lap, the independent faith-based movie distributor is hobnobbing with Hollywood heavyweights.

Following the surprise success of the company's child sex-trafficking thriller "Sound of Freedom" last summer – one of the biggest hits not named "Barbie" or "Oppenheimer" – Angel presented its slate for the first time at CinemaCon Wednesday morning, the annual convention of theater owners where Disney, Universal and Warner Bros. regularly showcase their shiniest new projects.

Rather than "a few Hollywood executives" deciding which movies go into theaters, "we're flipping the script" with Angel's crowdfunding business model and a "pay it forward" ticket-buying program, said Jared Geesey, the studio's chief distribution officer. "It’s not our team that green-lights a theatrical release. It’s the audience."

"Sound of Freedom," which starred Jim Caviezel as real-life Homeland Security agent Tim Ballard, raked in more than $250 million worldwide last year and ranked as the 10th-highest-grossing movie domestically (with $184 million), just ahead of "Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour." While reviews were mixed, audiences were extremely positive, giving it an A+ CinemaScore.

It wasn't without controversies, though: Critics argued that the movie was a recruiting tool for the far right while conservative voices and QAnon proponents championed the film, and Caviezel came under fire for comments he made during interviews. (As the credits roll, Caviezel appears as himself on the screen saying he hopes the film will be seen as “the ‘Uncle Tom’s Cabin’ of 21st century slavery.")

"The movie has become a circus on the political spectrum," "Sound of Freedom" director Alejandro Monteverde told USA TODAY last August. "It breaks my heart that this movie is − in any way, shape or form − part of a controversy. It shouldn't be."

Angel reveals upcoming movies starring Greg Kinnear and produced by Letitia Wright and Tim Tebow

According to the studio's website, Angel's mission is to "amplify" stories about truth, honesty and nobility, and in March, the studio released "Cabrini." The biopic of Francesca Cabrini, a nun and staunch advocate for the poor who in 1946 became the first American canonized a saint, is directed by Monteverde. The rest of this year's slate includes:

• "Sight" (in theaters May 24): Greg Kinnear and Terry Chen star in the true-life drama about Ming Wang (Chen), a Chinese immigrant who becomes a renowned eye surgeon trying to restore the sight of a blind orphan.

• "Possum Trot" (July 4): Executive produced by Letitia Wright ("Black Panther"), the drama features Nika King and Demetrius Grosse as an East Texas couple working to place dozens of foster-care children in adoptive families.

• "Bonhoeffer" (Nov. 22): Jonas Dassler stars in the biopic of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a pacifist German pastor who chooses to live in Berlin during the Nazi regime and becomes part of a plot to assassinate Adolf Hitler.

• "Homestead" (Dec. 20): Headlined by Neal McDonough, the post-apocalyptic action thriller follows a wealthy clan ready for doomsday in conflict against a family of military veterans hired as property security – with the film spinning off into a TV series.

The studio didn't address any of the controversies during its CinemaCon spotlight but did tease what it hopes will be the most successful animated movie of all time: "David," a biblical musical coming Thanksgiving 2025 and executive produced by Tim Tebow.

Contributing: Bryan Alexander and Marco della Cava

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 'Sound of Freedom' distributor Angel Studios unveils upcoming movies