‘Sound of Freedom,’ $125 Million Indie Smash Hit Film, Sets First International Releases

EXCLUSIVE: The Sands International Film Festival of St Andrews will return for a third edition set to run from April 19 – 21, 2024.

Tatiana Siegel Despite its status as the highest-grossing indie film since 2019’s “Parasite,” “Sound of Freedom” has been dismissed as a QAnon fever dream by large swaths of the mainstream media. But that derisive label is “so ridiculous” to the film’s writer-director Alejandro Monteverde, who began working on the project in 2015, two years before QAnon emerged. “The origin [of the film] has been avoided, purposely or accidentally, in the media,” Monteverde said.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief “Evil Does Not Exist,” the new drama film by “Drive My Car” director Hamaguchi Ryusuke, has been picked up for North American release by Sideshow and Janus Films. The title will have its world premiere in competition at the Venice festival before playing as a special presentation in Toronto and the main slate of the New York Film Festival. Sideshow and Janus Films, which acquired all North American rights, expect to release the film in theaters after a run of top festivals.

K.J. Yossman “Control,” Kevin Spacey’s first film following his acquittal for sexual assault in the U.K., is set to get a Christmas release. Variety understands the feature — in which Spacey doesn’t appear but has a major voice role — will be released in both the U.S.

Disney’s live-action reimagining of The Little Mermaid is hitting Disney+ on Sept. 6, after a very hearty 103 theatrical window.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Ryu Seung-wan’s female-led crime caper “Smugglers” topped the South Korean box office for a second weekend, ahead of new release title “Ransomed.” “Smugglers” enjoyed a strong hold in its second weekend of release and commanded 42% market share. It delivered $7.09 million, a drop of only 20% on its opening weekend, giving a 12-day cumulative of $26.2 million, according to data from Kobis, the tracking service operated by the Korean Film Council (Kofic).

Rebecca Rubin Film and Media Reporter “Meg 2: The Trench,” the second Jason Statham-led shark thriller, is swimming to $112 million in its international box office debut, bringing its global total to $142 million. It’s a strong start for the $130 million-budgeted film, which was co-financed by Warner Bros. and China Media Capital.

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor Italian producer Andrea Iervolino, whose credits include Michael Mann’s “Ferrari,” “Waiting for the Barbarians” and “Tell It Like a Woman,” has invested around 50 million euros ($55 million) in the construction of Tuscany Film Studios, a technologically advanced studio with the largest virtual set in Italy, and a 360 studio for live-action productions. The production facility, which is being built just outside Florence, will also host a movie theater and luxury hotel with the aim of attracting premium international productions to Italy.

Pedro Almodóvar’s “Strange Way of Life” is coming to theatres.

Rachel Seo Sitting in her writing office, surrounded by mossy green bookshelves, Jenny Han is telling an origin story of sorts. She was 24, and her first novel was about to be published. At the time, it wasn’t considered appropriate for authors to put their headshot on the back flap of their books.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief New Zealand-based specialty sales firm Black Mandala has picked up global rights to upcoming U.S. supernatural horror film “Cheat.” Written and directed by Kevin Ignatius and Nick Psinakis (“The Long Dark Trail”), the film is set for its world premiere at FrightFest. The picture’s premise is the urban legend that a supernatural being from the afterlife will violently murder anyone who cheats on their partner.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief In Hulu’s “Creamerie,” the future is female — and it’s also dark, dystopian and funny. Season 2 of the New Zealand-made comedy drama, now airing on the streamer as well as TVNZ, is set some years after a plague has wiped out 99.9% of humans with the Y chromosome, i.e. men.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief The Melbourne International Film Festival has confirmed that it will provide $202,000 (A$300,0000 of cash prizes, making it one of the world’s most generous film events. Nearly half of the prize pool $95,000 (A$140,000) will go to the winner of its Bright Future competition for features by first- and second-time directors.

Angel Studios is launching its unexpected summer hit Sound of Freedom in a bunch of international markets after it made $127M during its first three weeks in U.S. theaters. 

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief While “Barbie” was romping to box office records in North American and scoring strongly in many international territories, the pink phenomenon could muster only fifth place in China, the world’s second largest movie market, on its opening weekend. “Barbie” managed $8.2 million in its opening three days, according to data from consultancy firm Artisan Gateway. Local box office sources show the film trapped in that position on all three days of the weekend session, as the locally-produced titles jostled for leadership and swapped positions. Somewhat encouragingly, the daily score for “Barbie” had increased by Sunday as it was given more screening sessions by Chinese exhibitors.

Rebecca Rubin Film and Media Reporter “Sound of Freedom,” this summer’s unlikely box office hit, has crossed the $100 million mark in North America after three weeks of release. It’s an impressive milestone for the low-budget, faith-based movie, especially in the height of summer blockbuster season. It also marks the first indie release in post-pandemic times to surpass $100 million at the domestic box office. Last year’s Oscar-winning arthouse smash “Everything Everywhere All at Once” topped $100 million globally, but that included $63 million at the international box office. “Sound of Freedom” isn’t playing overseas. “Sound of Freedom” stands as the 16th-highest grossing North American release of the year. At this rate, the movie looks to keep climbing that list and soon supplant the No. 14 and 15 spots, which currently belong to “Scream VI” with $108 million and “The Flash” with $107 million.

Sophia Scorziello editor Live Nation’s concert streaming platform Veeps has set its first-ever global film premiere with rock documentary “What the Hell Happened to Blood, Sweat & Tears?” The doc’s exclusive PVOD release on Veeps follows its March 2023 theatrical release, which was helmed by Abramorama. The exclusive Veeps screenings will take place on August 20 at 12 p.m. ET and 8 p.m. ET. Veeps is offering two tiers of tickets, the first going for $12.99 which gives access to the screening, and the second for $24.99, which includes screening access along with a CD copy of the documentary’s soundtrack. Both tickets provide audiences with a 3-day rewatch window. In addition, each of the two PVOD screenings will host a live Q&A with filmmaker John Scheinfeld and Blood, Swear and Tear’s band member Bobby Colomby.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief The scheduled Aug. 24 release of the Eric Bana-starring Australian thriller film “Force of Nature: The Dry 2” has been indefinitely postponed, due to the SAG-AFTRA actors’ strike. The strike is also forcing adjustments at the Melbourne International Film Festival, which starts in early August. “It is with some regret, but a large amount of conviction that we have decided to postpone the release of ‘Force of Nature: The Dry 2’,” said Bana, who both stars and produces through his Pick Up Truck Pictures.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Cineverse, the streaming and content distribution company previously known as Cinedigm, has acquired North American rights to the Chinese animated fantasy film “Warrior King.” Inspired by the legend of the hero and warrior, King Gesar, the film is directed by Lu Qi from a screenplay by Lu Wunan and Wang Yunsheng. Cineverse says that it will release the film in U.S. theaters Aug. 25, following its international theatrical debut.  The story of Gesar is considered one of Central Asia’s literary classics and was passed down in oral tradition for some 1,000 years, as well as literary, poetic and stage play versions. Its Tibetan iteration may now be the most prominent, It is certainly one of the longest, running to over 100 volumes and a million verses, according to some calculations.   

Thania Garcia SoundCloud will be supporting the careers of five up-and-coming artists with their six-month accelerator program, “First on SoundCloud.” This year’s picks are all over the map in sound, representing the striking evolution of styles that range from Brooklyn bass to Algorave, aka music created using computer code. In tandem with Sony, SoundCloud has selected artists: wolfacejoeyy, DJ_Dave, Nitepunk, Sojabrat, and sim0ne to receive creative support from the platform’s in-house tools for music discovery. Read more about their backgrounds below. “First on SoundCloud” was launched in 2018 and was later expanded into a year-long program in 2021 designed to work directly with each individual artist to connect them with new audiences and fortify connections with existing fans. The program has helped launch the careers of several established acts who got their start on the platform including Kehlani, Baby Rose, Peggy Gou and Little Simz.