Director Alejandro Monteverde explained why it took so long for Sound of Freedom to be released.
Angel Studios
The filmmaker behind this year’s surprise hit Sound of Freedom, Alejandro Monteverde, has offered us some insight into why Disney decided to shelve the movie following their acquisition of 20th Century Fox. Speaking exclusively with MovieWeb, the talented Alejandro Monteverde laid out the timeline and the reasons why it has taken a while for audiences to see the action-drama on the big screen.
“I think what happened was the following. You know, when Disney bought Fox, imagine all the content that there was to go through. I think we got lost in translation. We were a little movie. Also, we were with Fox International, which is even a step farther from domestic Fox. So I just think that, when the merge happened, our film got lost. I don’t think it was intentional to be like, ‘Oh, we don’t want anyone to see you.’ I just think it was the nature of when one company gets bought.”
Putting to bed any ideas some may have that the studio buried Sound of Freedom intentionally, Monteverde explains that it was merely a victim of circumstance following the major deal between Fox and the Walt Disney Company. Continuing, Monteverde added that the emergence of COVID-19 and the stresses and strains faced by the world over did not help matters…
“And then COVID happened. And you know, everybody thought that after COVID, people wanted to see movies that are very happy and not heavy. So our film started to even get more on the shelf, because people, the minute they heard what the film was about, I don’t even think they were considering it, because of the heaviness.”
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Sound of Freedom Has Seen Major Success at the Box Office
Angel Studios
Addressing the subject matter and the timing, Monteverde goes on to reveal that he does not believe Sound of Freedom would have been so successful had it been released at an earlier stage.
“So, I want to believe there was not a bad intent. I just think that the circumstances didn’t help our film. But looking back retrospectively, I think also right now people are more familiar with the theme. If we would have come out earlier another year, I don’t know if we’d get the box office success that we have had. I think the timing just happened to come together perfectly, and the universe kind of aligned to launch this kind of film.”
Released last month, Sound of Freedom follows a former government agent who embarks on a dangerous mission to rescue hundreds of children from sex traffickers operating deep in the Colombian jungle. Starring Jim Caviezel, Mira Sorvino and Bill Camp, Sound of Freedom has become a sleeper hit, grossing $172 million against a $14.5 million budget and being met with largely positive reviews from critics.
Alongside the success, Sound of Freedom has also been met with criticism and controversy due to the possibility for over-inflation of ticket sales as a result of the ‘pay-it-forward’ promotion, as well as questions of accuracy regarding the true story of Tim Ballard, who himself has since corrected several misconceptions and falsehoods.