In the Utah marketing scene where Daniel, Jordan, Jeffrey, and Neal Harmon are sometimes referred to as prodigies, it was evident on opening day for "Sound of Freedom" that the brothers had demonstrated their expertise to Hollywood.
The Harmons' latest release, a low-budget action film about an American who tracks down pedophiles in the Colombian jungle, nearly surpassed the new Indiana Jones film on July 4 and has since earned over $165 million at the box office. Additionally, it has been screened at the U.S. Capitol and Donald Trump's golf club, and has garnered the attention of hundreds of millions of TikTok users who have watched videos discussing the global sex-trafficking crisis in their homes and movie theater parking lots.
Everything that certain critics disliked about "Sound of Freedom" - its oversimplified portrayal of child trafficking and its moralistic undertones - was transformed into success by the well-executed marketing efforts of Angel Studios, an anti-Hollywood establishment founded by the brothers in the Mormon region.
"Preorder your tickets today, and you can help spread the message that God's children are no longer being exploited," says Jim Caviezel, the film's star, at the end of the trailer, appealing to viewers to evangelize the film and, if possible, contribute financially to the studio.
However, the Harmons' promotional machine encountered a setback.
Clips began circulating of Caviezel promoting "Sound of Freedom" at a gathering of QAnon followers and other conspiracy theorists, where he made claims about traffickers torturing children to extract chemicals they secreted. Some fan videos on TikTok turned paranoid, accusing movie theaters of sabotaging screenings to prevent people from watching the film. One of the thousands of crowdfunders mentioned in the film's credits was arrested in connection with a child abduction.
The Harmons suddenly find themselves in the spotlight as Angel Studios releases multiple statements distancing itself from the rhetoric and actions of certain fans. However, this isn't the first time the brothers have faced challenges in their mission to build a faith-based entertainment empire. Alongside what may be the most popular TV show about Jesus in history, their track record includes bankruptcy, a lawsuit from Hollywood studios, and a failed movie deal.
"They pride themselves on being a company that spreads light," said Ashley Bratcher, a filmmaker who cut ties with Angel Studios due to concerns about its fundraising practices. "I believe there are many things done in secrecy within this studio."
While the brothers possess a remarkable talent for making projects go viral, they maintain a limited social media presence themselves and rely on word-of-mouth to spread their message. A spokesperson for Angel Studios declined to arrange interviews with them for this article.
Jeffrey Harmon did speak to The Washington Post in 2016 for a profile, where he discussed how he and his siblings - there are a total of nine, with various brothers holding positions in the family's network of companies - grew up in poverty in rural Idaho, selling potatoes door-to-door.
By the 2010s, they were operating Harmon Brothers LLC in Provo, Utah, a small city that is home to Brigham Young University, the flagship institution of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which the family belongs to.
The brothers swiftly gained recognition within local circles. "It would be impossible to not know the Harmon brothers. I genuinely believe they are brilliant," said Clint Betts, founder of Silicon Slopes, a nonprofit that supports technology companies in the area. "They excel at storytelling and capturing people's attention."
Their company initially created advertisements for personal products like tongue scrapers and bathroom deodorizers, carving out a unique space between wholesomeness and edginess. Their most successful project during that time was a viral video for a supposed colon-enhancing toilet accessory called the Squatty Potty. The video featured a unicorn defecating rainbow-colored ice cream onto a conveyor belt and garnered over 100 million views on YouTube and Facebook.
Jeffrey, one of the founders, expressed his belief that there is no taboo subject when it comes to advertising, including discussing bodily functions.
At that point, the Harmons were already expanding their reach from YouTube to Hollywood. They launched an online service called VidAngel in 2014, which allowed users to filter out explicit content from their favorite movies and shows.
VidAngel faced a copyright infringement lawsuit filed by Disney, 20th Century Studios, Lucasfilm, and Warner Bros. in 2016. The lawsuit alleged that VidAngel bypassed DVD encryptions without permission to remove objectionable content. VidAngel would sell a DVD to a customer for $20, edit it to remove explicit scenes, and then stream the censored version back to the customer. The next day, VidAngel would offer to buy back the DVD for $19, essentially creating a $1-per-day rental service.
While this complex system allowed VidAngel to argue that they were operating within the boundaries of the Family Movie Act of 2005, which permits customers to edit films they own, they eventually settled with the studios in 2020. As part of the settlement, VidAngel agreed not to copy, stream, or distribute videos without permission.
VidAngel still exists today but has limited options for censoring content from platforms like Netflix and Apple TV. However, they no longer have access to Disney or Warner Bros. content.
The Harmons have continued to expand their business empire and rebranded their flagship company as Angel Studios in 2021.
The Angel Studios app resembles a Christian-oriented version of Netflix, featuring thumbnails with angelic lighting for free-to-watch titles like "His Only Son" and "Testament." Users are encouraged to comment, share, or donate to the company, which promotes itself as "Be a Part of Stories that Amplify Light."
Neal Harmon, the CEO of Angel Studios, occasionally appears in a window to ensure that children are not watching content that may give them nightmares. He emphasizes that Angel Studios was created for the audience and expresses gratitude for involving parents in their children's viewing choices.
The app also features faith-focused director Dallas Jenkins, wearing a "Binge Jesus" shirt, promoting his streaming series about the life of Jesus. The Harmons' company announced this series in 2019 as the "#1 crowdfunded media project in history."
According to the app, "The Chosen" has been viewed over 555,955,158 times as of Saturday morning. The app offers a button to "pay it forward" and support the creation of future seasons.
The app states that $15 will allow the show to reach 10 people per month, while a $100,000 donation can bring it to 200,000 people and earn the donor a credit in the show's credits. However, Angel Studios does not disclose how much money it collects through its Pay it Forward programs or how it utilizes the funds received from fans.
The upcoming Season 4 of "The Chosen" has a budget of $40 million, with most of the funding coming from donations to a nonprofit organization supporting the show. This nonprofit is not affiliated with the Harmons. Angel Studios contributed $8.5 million through its Pay it Forward program and retains a portion of the funds collected through its app for other purposes.
The CW recently aired the show for the first time, marking a significant milestone for Angel Studios. The company now promotes Pay it Forward programs for 15 shows and movies under its umbrella. On the payment screen for some of these programs, there is small print indicating that Angel Studios will own the funds and can use them at its discretion to further their mission of telling impactful stories that amplify light.
The crowdfunding model used to launch "The Chosen" is similar to one described by actress Bratcher, who gained a conservative following after her role in the antiabortion film "Unplanned." Bratcher revealed that Angel Studios approached her in late 2021 with a promising deal. They wanted to help her develop and distribute a feature movie based on her short film "Pharma," which tells the story of a doctor's battle to keep a drug for pregnancy nausea off the market in the 1960s due to its connection to birth defects. Angel Studios provided seed money to generate hype for a crowdfunding campaign that would tap into their passionate supporters. However, Bratcher faced increasing difficulties while working with Angel Studios.
Despite several delays in launching the crowdfunding site, the money started coming in. However, Bratcher became hesitant when Angel Studios insisted on spending large amounts of the funds, ranging from $200,000 to $300,000, on social media advertisements to attract more donations. Bratcher expressed concerns that potential investors might be less inclined to contribute if they knew a significant portion of their investment was going towards social media promotion. She found the situation uncomfortable.
In June, Bratcher and her business partner decided to terminate their contract with Angel Studios due to concerns over budgets and creative control. She still has $400,000 raised for the film on Angel's platforms and plans to produce the movie independently.
Angel Studios did not respond to inquiries from The Post but told the Hollywood Reporter that they released Bratcher from her contract after the crowdfunding campaign fell far short of its $5 million goal, among other issues.
While one failed project may not greatly impact Angel's reputation, the company announced in January 2022 that it had earned over $100 million, just one year after facing attempts by Disney and Warner Bros. to shut it down. Additionally, a venture capital firm invested $47 million in Angel Studios to support their long-term mission of revolutionizing the entertainment industry.
The success of "Sound of Freedom," a dark, PG-13 action film loosely based on the rescue operations of Tim Ballard, a former Department of Homeland Security agent who targets child sex traffickers in other countries, brings Angel Studios closer to achieving their goal. However, this film differs significantly from the family-friendly projects that dominate Angel's catalog.
Caviezel, known for his portrayal of Jesus in Mel Gibson's "The Passion of the Christ," plays Ballard in a more Rambo-like manner, infiltrating criminal hideouts to rescue a Honduran girl who was kidnapped to Colombia by criminal thugs.
Polaris, an anti-trafficking group frequently mentioned on Angel Studios' "How to Help Combat Child Trafficking" page, stated that the movie's plot bears little resemblance to reality. In reality, victims are often manipulated by abusers they know, and their situations cannot be resolved through heroic rescues or flashy sting operations.
Such films "mislead individuals to believe that if they witness something, they will take action and intervene, becoming the heroes of the situation," said Polaris spokesperson Rafael Flores Avalos. "That narrative doesn't contribute much to the field. There are individuals who are genuinely trying to listen to survivors and understand their perspectives on the solution to this problem."
Angel Studios has, however, marketed "Sound of Freedom" with a combination of moral urgency and explicit solicitation.
"We can make 'Sound of Freedom' the 'Uncle Tom's Cabin' of 21st-century slavery," an impassioned Caviezel tells viewers as the credits roll. "... But it will only have that impact if millions of people watch it. Now I know it's odd because we're in a theater, but feel free to take out your phones and scan this QR code. We don't want financial constraints to prevent anyone from watching this movie."
Viewers who comply are directed to the movie's fundraising page, where they can purchase a ticket for themselves, claim a free ticket through the Pay it Forward program, or contribute between $15 and $150,000 to Angel Studios.
A ticker on the page estimates that over 15 million tickets have been sold or redeemed, although it's unclear how this number was calculated. "The majority of tickets are being purchased by ordinary people through a normal purchasing process," a studio spokesperson told the Hollywood Reporter on Aug. 8.
It's also unclear how much Angel Studios has raised from "Sound of Freedom" supporters and whether the funds are being used for anything other than charity tickets. In July, the company announced that it was assisting anti-trafficking nonprofits by reimbursing them if they booked a private theater to screen the film and filled it to 70% capacity. "Angel Studios' objective is to raise global awareness," the press release states, "without hindering the emergence of potential solutions resulting from that awareness."
Since "Sound of Freedom" premiered in theaters on July 4, awareness has undoubtedly been raised. However, the exact nature of this awareness remains uncertain.
Within days of the film's release, rumors began circulating on social media that AMC was manipulating lights and temperatures to drive viewers out of the theaters.
"They silence anyone who talks about this stuff, but it's such an important message," says a man who claims his viewing experience was ruined by a malfunctioning air conditioner in a TikTok video that received over 110,000 likes. "There are so many individuals involved in child sex trafficking, organ harvesting, adrenochroming, slavery - it's all happening right under our noses, and it could happen to you."
Adrenochroming refers to an urban legend suggesting that pedophiles extract a narcotic chemical produced by the body under torture. Caviezel, who could not be reached for comment, mentioned adrenochroming while promoting "Sound of Freedom" at a convention filled with conspiracy theorists in Las Vegas two years ago. He reiterated his belief in an interview with Charlie Kirk a few days after the film's release, expressing frustration that QAnon adherents were being demonized for "investigating this stuff."
Angel Studios appears to be attempting to distance itself from such activities without explicitly criticizing the film's star or fans.
"Anyone who watches this film knows that it's not about conspiracy theories... It's not about politics," Neal Harmon told the New York Times last month.
The studio released another statement shortly after, as some members of its audience threatened to boycott movie theater companies due to the sabotage rumors. "We want to clarify that these rumors are not true," said Angel's head of theatrical distribution. "We kindly request that anyone attending a screening of SOUND OF FREEDOM show kindness to their local theater staff."
Then, in early August, Newsweek reported that one of the film's crowdfunding supporters had been arrested in Missouri on a charge of child kidnapping. National headlines highlighted that the individual was listed among thousands of other crowdfunding supporters in the credits for "Sound of Freedom," which rolled as Caviezel made his fundraising appeal to the audience.
