The independent film and sleeper summer hit “Sound of Freedom” placed in 2023’s domestic box office top 10, beating out Taylor Swift’s “The Eras Tour” movie and making it the highest-grossing indie film since 2019’s “Parasite.”

The movie, from American media company and film distribution studio Angel Studios, deals with the horrors of human trafficking. It ended up just squeezing past Ms. Swift’s concert film, grossing $184,177,725, according to Box Office Mojo. “Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour” grossed $179,635,196.

Topping the list of domestic box office winners for 2023 was “Barbie” with $636 million, “The Super Mario Bros Movie” with $575 million, and in third place the animated hit “Spider-Man: Across the Spiderverse,” which earned $381 million domestically.

Based on the true story of Tim Ballard, a federal agent and the founder and former CEO of Operation Underground Railroad, an anti-sex trafficking organization, the movie recounts his mission to rescue a young girl from sex slavery in South America.

Mr. Ballard, who is played by actor Jim Caviezel in the film, left Operation Underground Railroad in 2023 amid accusations of sexual misconduct. That was followed by a lawsuit filed against him by five women accusing him of coercing them into sexual acts during his sting operations.

Movie Succeeds Despite Serious Subject Matter

Released on the Fourth of July, the crowdfunded “Sound of Freedom” was made from a budget of only $14.5 million and played in fewer cinemas than franchise films like “Mission Impossible—Dead Reckoning Part One” and “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny.”

As reported by The Epoch Times, it succeeded over such blockbuster-based films despite its heavy subject matter and during what is a traditional summer movie season full of laugh-out-loud comedies and big action blockbusters.

“While the entire summer movie box office lineup is underperforming, our small independent film continues to grow week over week. Driven by millions of fans and supporters, ‘Sound of Freedom’ has become a national—and soon international—movement for change,” said Jared Geesey, senior vice president of global distribution at Angel Studios, in a statement at the time.

Angel Studios crowdfunded $5 million to distribute the movie after 20th Century Fox previously had the film rights before it was bought by The Walt Disney Company in 2019. Disney then shelved it. The film’s producer, Eduardo Verástegui, managed to get back the rights to eventually release it last year despite the fact the movie wrapped production in 2018.

During an interview with “Fox and Friends Weekend,” Mr. Verástegui said he put his life on hold over the last eight years while making the film.

“I put my life in this movie because this movie is bigger than ourselves,” Mr. Verástegui said.

“I was praying to God for an angel to come and rescue this film,” he added. “And what are the odds that from all the studios, the one that picked this movie is called Angel Studios?”

‘Media Inadvertently Helped Promote the Film’

Meanwhile, some media outlets leveled their share of criticism toward the film, with some trying to link it to QAnon conspiracy theories.

Rolling Stone writer Miles Klee wrote an op-ed titled “‘Sound Of Freedom’ Is a Superhero Movie for Dads With Brainworms” while it was subtitled “The QAnon-tinged thriller about child-trafficking is designed to appeal to the conscience of a conspiracy-addled boomer.”

In the piece, Mr. Klee described Mr. Caviezel as “a prominent figure on the conspiracist right, giving speeches and interviews in which he hints at an underground holy war between patriots and a sinister legion of evildoers who are harvesting the blood of children.”

Others, like singer Jewel, actor Mel Gibson, and Elon Musk, expressed their support for the film.

According to Christian Toto, host of “The Hollywood in Toto Podcast,” the film’s success “wasn’t accidental.”

“Angel Studios, the company which distributed the film, understands its audience better than many established studios. That helped. Plus, the film is unique in the marketplace. It features an everyman hero tackling a real-world problem in a straightforward fashion,” Mr. Toto told The Epoch Times.

“Finally, the media inadvertently helped promote the film. Reporters attacked ‘Sound of Freedom’ in such an unhinged fashion that it became important to see why they were being so unfair to the film. It’s a variation of the ‘Streisand Effect,’ where we’re told we shouldn’t look at something, and it makes us all the more eager to do just that.”