I wanted to add some bonus thoughts on the Angel Studios. Angel Studios primarily seeks to grow by being the premier distributor for faith-based films and feel-good stories. And as a distributor, Angel Studios has played a large role in marketing their movies which is what I wanted to talk about in this addendum.
With The Shift, I believe Angel Studios absolutely screwed up by hyping a science fiction movie starring Kristoffer Polaha and Neal McDonough as a “modern retelling of Job.” Granted, this is a flaw in the film itself, which received mixed reviews. Such marketing of a movie alienated people who did not believe the story of Job needed a modern adaptation and furthermore created an expectation for critics that the film did not fit squarely into.
Moreover, Angel Studios decided to use the Conservative Inc. advertising channel to market the movie. This was probably the best money they spent. Specifically for Sound of Hope, they struck a deal with Daily Wire+ to distribute it on their streaming service, leading to a backlash.
Angel Studios struck a deal to salvage a movie that had underperformed. While this may have been the right business decision, it was handled poorly and seemingly without communication with the producers.
As I stated in the original article, Angel Studios caught lightning in a bottle with Sound of Freedom, but they do not have a film that can replicate it success until possibly late next year. Until then, it’s not the next Sound of Freedom they are counting on, it’s the next God’s Not Dead. Angel Studios is able to get a film into theaters, but its ability to market a film is questionable.
