The independent film “Sound of Freedom,” which garnered mixed reviews from critics, has become an unexpected box office success this summer, surpassing the cinema earnings of the Academy Award-winning film “Good Will Hunting.”
Since its release on July 4, the sleeper hit has amassed a worldwide gross of $230,684,308. In contrast, “Good Will Hunting” earned $225,933,435 globally during its 1997 run. Directed by Gus Van Sant and written by Ben Affleck and Matt Damon, “Good Will Hunting” won Oscars for Best Screenplay and Best Supporting Actor (Robin Williams) and is often regarded as one of the greatest films of all time.
This marks the second Academy Award-winning film that “Sound of Freedom” has outperformed at the box office, having already surpassed Quentin Tarantino’s “Pulp Fiction.” The 1994 crime film, starring John Travolta, Samuel L. Jackson, and Uma Thurman, earned $214 million worldwide and received seven Oscar nominations, winning one.
“Sound of Freedom” is based on the real-life story of Tim Ballard, a former CIA operative who founded the anti-trafficking nonprofit Operation Underground Railroad (O.U.R.). Jim Caviezel portrays Ballard in the film, best known for his role as Jesus in Mel Gibson’s “The Passion of the Christ” (2004).
The movie follows Ballard’s efforts to rescue two siblings from child traffickers in Colombia, with Mira Sorvino playing the role of Ballard’s wife, Katherine.
Despite its box office success, the film has faced criticism for its portrayal of child trafficking, with some alleging inaccuracies and claims of promoting right-wing conspiracy theories, particularly Q-Anon.
Starting in 2017, the Q-Anon movement posits that a group of Satanic human cannibals secretly operate a global child sex trafficking ring while conspiring against former President Donald Trump.
In July, Ballard vehemently denied any connection to Q-Anon during an appearance on Fox News, denouncing the accusations as “sick” and emphasizing that the film made no such association with the conspiracy theory.
Ballard himself has come under scrutiny after facing allegations of sexual misconduct by seven women in September. According to Vice News, Ballard allegedly asked women to pose as his wife during undercover missions abroad, pressuring them to share a bed and shower together to deceive traffickers.
Ballard issued a statement denying the allegations, describing them as “baseless inventions designed to destroy me and the movement we have built to end the trafficking and exploitation of vulnerable children.”
In response to the allegations, O.U.R. announced that Ballard had resigned in June 2023 and reiterated its commitment to combating sex trafficking and rescuing children subjected to slavery.
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