How Angel Studios Is Spreading the Gospel of “Faith-Friendly” Cinema

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Like any good proselytizer, Angel Studios is taking the good news global.

A Utah-based company that caters to underrepresented religious communities by blending crowdfunding, innovative digital marketing, and creativity, has recently been expanding its global operations at an accelerated pace in anticipation of an upcoming Initial Public Offering (IPO). Notably, their efforts have led to the success of independent films such as Sound of Freedom and King of Kings.

Or, more concisely:

A Utah-based company specializing in faith-based, crowdfunded productions is quickly expanding its international operations before an anticipated IPO, with notable successes like Sound of Freedom and King of Kings.

This week, Jeffrey Harmon, co-founder and chief content officer at Angel Studios, traveled to London for the premiere of episodes one and two from the new British series, titled Testament. This series is inspired by Biblical stories and is being jointly released by Angel Studios and its U.K. partner, Kova Releasing.

Under the direction of Paul Syrstad, the film titled “Testament” is a contemporary reinterpretation of the Acts of the Apostles, the fifth book from the New Testament, detailing the early chronicles of the Christian church, set in London. This latest production by Angel Studios comes after their partnership with Kova, as follows “King of Kings“, an animated movie portraying the life of Jesus Christ and featuring Kenneth Branagh, Uma Thurman, and Mark Hamill’s voices, and “Bonhoeffer“, a biographical film about Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a German Lutheran pastor and anti-Nazi dissident.

Previously this year, Angel announced comparable agreements with distributors spread throughout Europe, Latin America, and Asia. These include Saje Distribution in France, Kinostar in Germany, and Rialto for Australia and New Zealand. Now, the company has distribution arrangements established in numerous regions globally. Examples include Brazil (with Paris Films), English-speaking West Africa (Filmone), and Sri Lanka (Skyline Entertainment).

Most of Angel Studios’ business is still based in the U.S., but films like “Sound of Freedom” and “King of Kings” suggest a global future for the studio. For instance, “Sound of Freedom” earned over $66 million out of its total $250 million box office earnings internationally, while “King of Kings” has garnered approximately $6 million internationally, with $1.5 million coming from Brazil alone. This indicates the global potential of the studio’s business model. On June 16, Angel Studios will be awarded the first “Breakout Distributor of the Year” at CineEurope, recognizing their significant influence on the film industry through their commitment to authenticity and creating content that resonates with their audience.

Harmon states to The Hollywood Reporter, “It’s a global pulse when it comes to the faithful audience. There seems to be an aversion to faith in Hollywood, but it shouldn’t be so. Consider ‘King of Kings,’ which has grossed $67 million at the box office thus far. Look at the [Biblical TV series] ‘House of David,’ which was the top-rated show on Amazon Prime. The market for faith is vast and that’s why we’re a studio that embraces faith.

In the year 2023, Harmon, along with his brothers Neal, Daniel, and Jordan Harmon, as well as his cousin Benton Crane, founded Angel Studios. This venture served as a more family-oriented option compared to traditional distributors.

Harmon expressed that their aim was to establish a system to produce the type of products they desired for their own families. As a father of six, he yearns for his children to be raised with television shows and movies that contemporary Hollywood no longer produces. The studio was founded with the purpose of materializing these films into reality.

One of the unique independent initiatives by this company is the Angel Guild program, which grants members access to the studio’s new releases and a vote in deciding future film and television productions, along with Angel Funding – a controlled crowdfunding platform for projects that meet certain criteria. In various regions, users can also employ the Pay it Forward reservation system, where tickets for movies can be purchased and then gifted to others for use.

In late 2023, The Angel Guild had approximately 250,000 members. Today, this global community has grown to over 1.2 million individuals hailing from 155 different countries. As explained by Harmon, each member participates in the decision-making process for projects within Angel Studios and contributes financially to these initiatives as well.

Angel Studios’ approach offers standard backend contracts to filmmakers, differing from the buyout model typically seen on platforms like Netflix and other streaming services. Instead of owning the rights outright, they share a portion of the revenues generated on their platform, specifically a percentage that represents the viewing time for each movie or series per month compared to the total viewing time of all content available.

Angel Studios has faced some rough waters in its journey. Originally emerging from the demise of VidAngel, a company that specialized in distributing family-friendly versions of major film studio productions, VidAngel encountered significant turbulence. In 2016, Disney, Warner Bros., 20th Century Fox, and Lucasfilm, among others, filed a costly lawsuit against VidAngel, claiming copyright infringement. The studios were awarded $62.4 million in damages, though this was later reduced to a $9.9 million settlement following VidAngel’s bankruptcy filing under Chapter 11.

In 2021, the company changed its name to Angel Studios and started concentrating on creating and disseminating unique content via equity crowdfunding. However, this change of direction led to additional legal conflicts, most notably with the creators of the Biblically-themed TV series The Chosen. As a result of these disputes, an arbitration decision was made against Angel Studios, finding that they breached their contract and were ordered to pay $5 million in fees and expenses. Recently, Slingshot Pictures sued Angel Studios for alleged breaches of contract concerning the animated film David.

Angel Studios intends to debut eight movies in cinemas this year. At present, two films are being screened: “King of Kings” and a couple more. The latter includes “The Last Rodeo,” directed by Jon Avnet from the team behind “Fried Green Tomatoes,” and featuring Neal McDonough. This film has grossed over $11 million domestically so far. Additionally, there’s “Rule Breakers,” a true story about an all-girls robotics team from Afghanistan directed by Bill Guttentag, which has accumulated $3 million in box office earnings to date.

Forthcoming offerings feature “Zero A.D.”, the subsequent work by Alejandro Monteverde, who previously directed “Sound of Freedom”. This film is a reinterpretation of the Biblical narrative involving Mary and Joseph, and it marks the beginning of Monteverde’s multi-picture agreement with Angel Studios. Over the next ten years, this deal will allow him to direct between five and ten theatrical productions for the studio.

Apart from Zero A.D., Angel’s filmography is relatively devoid of heavily religious narratives. For instance, Seth Worley’s Sketch, a beloved audience pick at last year’s Toronto Film Festival debuting in August, doesn’t incorporate any direct Bible lessons. Angel’s Christmas release, The Stranger’s Case, produced by Brandt Andersen of Lone Survivor fame, follows the story of a pediatric surgeon and her daughter amidst the chaos of the Syrian Civil War. Solo Mio, slated for theatrical release in February next year, is a romantic comedy featuring Kevin James as a man left at the altar who decides to embark on his planned Italian honeymoon solo. Lastly, Young Washington, a biopic chronicling the early life of the first U.S. President, is currently being filmed in the UK and will be released on the 4th of July.

Harmon states that about forty-five percent of our movies and shows incorporate spiritual themes,” he explains. “Essentially, we’re a family-oriented platform that also caters to audiences with faith-based preferences.

Harmon explains that Angel is adjusting its global distribution approach based on the unique market demands in different regions. He points out that there’s a significant variance in audience demographics internationally when compared to the U.S., particularly regarding its substantial Protestant Evangelical population.

Compared to Brazil, where people are significantly more religious, Europe is generally less religious and thus tends to be a less devout market. However, when it comes to faith-based movies, Europe seems to have a greater appreciation for them compared to the United States.”

or

“Europe is typically less religious than Brazil, but they show a stronger interest in religious films compared to the U.S.

Angel Studio collaborates with both religious distributors such as Kova from the UK and France’s Saje Distribution, along with non-religious partners like Germany’s Kinostar and A Contracorriente from Spain.

According to Harmon, when it’s advantageous, we’ll work with faith-based performers, but if a different kind of distributor is more suitable in other markets, that’s what we’ll do. Ultimately, our focus is on achieving the best results.

The same intensity is being applied to Angel’s lineup of small-screen projects, spanning from the post-apocalyptic drama Homestead, recently renewed for a second season, to the fantasy series The Wayfinders, starring Pirates of the Caribbean actor Mackenzie Crook, to the Irish animation Tuttle Twins, to Fellowship, helmed by Testament director Syrstad, which explores the bond and shared beliefs between fantasy writers J.R.R. Tolkien (The Lord of the Rings) and C.S. Lewis (The Chronicles of Narnia).

As a gamer, I’d say: “In our collection, ‘The Wayfinders’ and ‘Tuttle Twins’ aren’t religious titles; they don’t fall into any particular faith. Anything that leans too heavily on one specific religion, like dogma, won’t resonate with players. A game needs a universal, broad, and appealing storyline to capture the interest of many.

Harmon emphasizes that Angel Studios, while staying true to its spiritual foundations, is fully committed to expansion as it readies itself for an initial public offering (IPO). Last year, the company revealed intentions for a public listing through Southport Acquisition Corp, a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC), in a deal estimated at $1.6 billion. However, a specific date for the IPO has yet to be set.

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2025-06-06 22:25