Indiana Jones successfully found the Dial of Destiny, but another action hero may have stolen his box office treasure. In a closely-watched Independence Day box office battle, the faith-based thriller, Sound of Freedom — starring The Passion of the Christ star and outspoken conservative, Jim Caviezel, as well as Oscar winner Mira Sorvino — went toe-to-toe with the Walt Disney-backed Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, Harrison Ford's farewell to his signature fedora-wearing adventurer.

While Deadline initially declared Indy the winner of that July 4th face off, revised estimates reportedly put Sound of Freedom ahead of Harrison Ford's adventurer with a one-day gross of $14 million to $11.7 million. The film's upstart distributor, Angel Studios, is certainly claiming the crown, labeling Sound of Freedom "America's #1 Movie" on its official website.

Of course, even if he lost this particular battle, Indy still won the overall box office war. Dial of Destiny has a domestic gross of $83 million, and another $70 million overseas, numbers that Sound of Freedom almost certainly won't reach in theaters. On the other hand, the Alejandro Monteverde-directed action film only cost a reported $14.5 million to make — a mere fraction of Destiny's nearly $300 million budget — which means it stands the better chance of reaping the fortune and glory that comes with profitability.

Here's everything you need to know about the faith-based film that upset Indiana Jones's last crusade to be the July 4th box office champion.

What is Sound of Freedom about?

Caviezel as Tim Ballard in Sound of Freedom. (Photo: Amazon Prime Video / Courtesy Everett Collection)

Originally filmed in 2018, Sound of Freedom is inspired by the life of Tim Ballard — a former special agent with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. In 2013, he founded Operation Underground Railroad, an organization that works to prevent the sex trafficking of children. "I was working on a couple of cases that fell outside the jurisdiction of the United States, and I had to quit my job to finish the cases," Ballard said during a recent appearance on Fox News. "One of the first operations was this enormous hit in Colombia. It made national news and then the producers came to us and said, 'This sounds like a movie.'"

In the film, Caviezel plays Ballard at the tail end of his DHS career, worn down by a series of soul-draining trafficking cases involving migrant children. When he spearheads an operation at the Mexican border, he's able to free one child, but not the boy's sister, Rocio (Cristal Aparicio) who is still in jeopardy in Colombia. With the approval of his wife, Katherine (Sorvino), Ballard travels to South America as an independent agent and goes deep undercover in order find the missing girl.

That journey takes him into the Colombian jungle, where he discovers that Rocio is being held prisoner by a rebel leader named Scorpio. Along with another anti-trafficking American expat, Vampiro (played by character actor Bill Camp), Ballard must infiltrate the compound and figure out a way to spirit her to safety.

That may sound like it sets the stage for some Rambo-style firepower, but Variety film critic Owen Gleiberman notes in his review that Ballard isn't the next Sylvester Stallone or Chuck Norris, writing: "It’s not a glorified 'Rambo' movie or a Netflix thriller pretending to be serious. When the deliverance we’ve been seeking arrives, it feels earned."

How was it made?

Caviezel and Javier Godino in a scene from Sound of Freedom. (Photo: Amazon/Courtesy Everett Collection)

Sound of Freedom is produced by Mexican actor and filmmaker, Eduardo Verastegui, who has openly discussed how his Catholic faith played a role in his desire to see the film made. "I promise to God, I want to dedicate my entire life to save children," Verastegui recently told The Christian Post. (In 2020, former President Donald Trump named Verastegui an advisor to the White House Hispanic Prosperity Initiative, and the producer has reportedly been weighing a run for higher office in Mexico.)

Rod Barr and Alejandro Monteverde co-wrote the script, with Monteverde taking on directing duties. As for casting, Ballard told the Deseret News in 2018 that Caviezel was his first choice to play his onscreen alter ego, even though they didn't closely resemble each other. "There was something special about Jim," Ballard said, specifically citing the actor's star turn in the 2002 version of The Count of Monte Cristo. "It was important to us that whoever played this role had to be someone that willfully did it with God and knew that that light has to come out because we don’t want this to just be a movie, we want this to be a movement."

For his part, Caviezel called the project "the second most important film I have ever done since The Passion of the Christ." Sorvino, who has spoke out against human trafficking in her role as a United Nations Goodwill Ambassador, expressed a similar calling when talking to the Washington Examiner about the film recently. "We just can’t accept it anymore," she said. "We can’t let sweet children of the world be exploited in this way and hurt in this way."

In an interview with The Wall Street Journal, Verastegui said that Sound of Freedom was acquired by 20th Century Fox — which had successfully released several faith-based movies, including 2014's Son of God — for a release in Latin America. But after the studio was acquired by the Walt Disney Company in 2019, the producer bought the movie back and explored an independent release. "This is a movie about child trafficking," he said. "It’s not a Disney movie."

How did Sound of Freedom out-earn Indiana Jones?

Indiana Jones (Harrison Ford) rides again in Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny. (Photo: Lucasfilm Ltd./Walt Disney Studios)

After five years in limbo, Sound of Freedom was acquired by Angel Studios in March. Founded in 2021, the Utah-based media company started as a streaming service before moving into theatrical distribution with the film, His Only Son. Considering the role that Disney played in Sound of Freedom's belated journey to the big screen, it's perhaps no accident that Angel decided to target one of the studio's biggest summer releases directly, although the company has claimed that didn't play a role in their choice of release date.

Jordan Harmon, who runs Angel with his three brothers, told The Wall Street Journal that opening on July 4th was a way of indicating to audiences that they plan to tell "faith-friendly" stories that also "amplify light" to a broader audience. (Prior to founding Angel, the Harmon brothers ran VidAngel, a streaming service that ran versions of Hollywood movies that removed nudity and other "offensive" content. The company was shut down after being sued for copyright infringement by Disney, among other studios.)

Angel announced the film's July 4th release date in May, when the promotional campaign for Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny was kicking into gear with its launch at the Cannes Film Festival. The James Mangold-directed film opened in 4,600 U.S. theaters on June 30, while Sound of Freedom was booked into 2,600 theaters four days later. Dial of Destiny had a $24 million opening day, but those numbers fell to the $12 million range by July 3. That same day, Variety reported that Sound of Freedom had already generated $10 million in pre-sales, the first indication that an Independence Day upset might be brewing.

By the end of July 4th, both studios estimated that their respective films had earned $11.5 million, although Disney revised Indiana Jones's grosses to $11.7, seemingly giving it the win. But Angel subsequently announced an additional $2.6 million gross for Sound of Freedom, bringing its total up to $14.2 million. Those additional dollars reportedly came from the company's "Pay It Forward" crowdfunding platform, which allows audiences to donate extra money that reportedly goes towards funding free tickets for other moviegoers.

Why is Sound of Freedom controversial?

Caviezel in a scene from Sound of Freedom. (Photo: Amazon/Courtesy Everett Collection)

Like its July 4th rival, Sound of Freedom has received some mixed reviews, particularly in regards to its historical accuracy. Ballard's organization has been criticized for embellishing its role in anti-trafficking cases, with some former O.U.R. partners speaking out about their experience. Meanwhile, Caviezel made headlines in 2021 when he appeared to espouse QAnon conspiracy theories around human trafficking during a right-wing gathering.

Some reviews of the film have cited the QAnon connection as well. "At last, QAnon’s camp appeal gets the cinematic exploration it demands," writes Jezebel's Rich Juzwiak, adding that the film ends with a direct address to audiences by Caviezel in which the actor says: "I think that we can make Sound of Freedom the Uncle Tom’s Cabin of 21st century slavery."

Speaking with The Wall Street Journal about Caviezel's comments, Neal Harmon noted, "There have been lots of personal opinions shared around this film by actors, producers and others. Those are opinions of their own and they’re free to speak as they choose to. But what we find uniting about this film is that the subject matter is true, and we can all agree that children are worth fighting for."

What's the future for Sound of Freedom?

Angel Studios CEO Neal Harmon and Trisha Harmon attend the Utah premiere of Sound of Freedom. (Photo: Fred Hayes/Getty Images for Angel Studios)

Angel has aggressively advertised Sound of Freedom directly to faith-based and conservative audiences, counting on those appeals and word of mouth to enhance the movie's box office prospects over the next month. (Caviezel's Passion of the Christ director, Mel Gibson, gave it a thumbs up via video.) There are notably no new major studio releases arriving in theaters until Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning, Part 1 on July 14, followed by Barbie and Oppenheimer the following weekend.

Speaking to the Washington Examiner in the wake of claiming victory over Indiana Jones, Angel Studios CEO, Neal Harmon, called the movie a "grassroots movement" and shouted out its A+ CinemaScore. "We're the top-rated movie in America, and we’re going to see word-of-mouth spread even further going into the weekend," he boasted. "The world needs to see Sound of Freedom, and we know that our biggest competitive advantage — our incredible fans and investors — are going to make sure that happens."