CinemaCon, the premiere theatrical exhibitor convention held in Las Vegas, invites many of the world's greatest film studios and distributors who help produce and cultivate the most theatrical product for eager audiences, and Angel Studios was among them. In fact, two years in a row (at ShowEast in 2023 and CinemaCon in 2024), since Sound of Freedom hit theaters and divided audiences and critics, Cinema United has appreciated Angel's presence, and Angel has relished the opportunity to rattle sabres in favor of the theatrical model, while Hollywood's old guard support has come off as stale & half-hearted at best.
Once again, Angel has continued pressing into a more theatrical and cinematic product, for a wider (even family-friendly) audience, instead of hedging bets. This is why we were rightly concerned, though I cannot speak for others (who mostly haven't seemed to notice), when we heard about the legal dispute between Angel and Slingshot over the lauded David movie. This is not a good look for Angel if they seek to build confidence in their powers to inspire & produce a healthy future slate of theater-worthy work.
Our concerns on David were clearly voiced here about a week ago.
Jon Croft
This healthy slate of product is EXACTLY what theaters need if they seek to survive Hollywood's ineptitude for producing a continual stream of tone deaf 'content.' Theaters do not want to see that one of their new vanguard distributors who hope to fill the plush expensive-feeling stadium seats (recently abandoned by Hollywood's Big 5 & the mini-majors) are actually not able to do so, despite promises to the contrary.
Here is the breakdown that CinemaCon released on what Angel presented there.
By the way, we do not see the relevance for Cinema United (CinemaCon's managing non-profit) to include their tail-end promo to buy tickets to their "Sneak Peak Showcase @ The Movies" happening on April 22nd & 24th. The article that they published (about the event) on their site DOESN'T include Angel Studios as a participant in this sneak peak. Instead they list... "Participating studios include Sony, Lionsgate, Warner Bros., Universal, Focus Features, Amazon MGM, Paramount, and Disney." This includes the 5 majors and the top 3 mini-majors.
You can see that even though much news and social cache is made of the upstart operations like the Angel Studios, The Daily Wires, and The Wonder Projects out there, each of these studio/distributors (even combined) cannot even sum up to 1% of this industry's marketplace. Such is a stark reminder of the waning relevance of conservative values in our culture.
We do not even amount to 1% of the business happening in our cultural storehouses and halls of significance.
Go here for their article.
Boxoffice Staff
The fall and winter slate they just unveiled there will have to suffice for David's absence. After listing the following spring & summer films below, we will also list the newer films they unveiled there.
- The King of Kings - April 11th
- The Last Rodeo - May 23rd
- Sketch - August 6th
- Truth & Treason - October 17th
- Zero A.D. - December 19th
- Fablehaven - 2026
- Young Washington: A Founder's Story - July 4th, 2026
- Fellowship: Tolkien & Lewis - 2026
That's five more films coming from Angel in this remaining year and three already slated for 2026. While mini-majors such as STX have reverted almost exclusively to streaming content and others such as Amazon MGM Studios seem to mostly play it safe there as well.
The truth is you can lose your shirt on theatrical. You must be a bold confident player indeed to place your bets here and it's an encouraging sight to see faith-based media becoming MORE cinematic and artistic, while Hollywood players continue to become just another contributor to the growing legion of uninspired "content" which clutters our entertainment offerings more and more each year.
In contrast, each of these Angel projects look delightful, and I'd say that it looks like somebody at Angel is "paying attention" to the trends, evidenced by an apparent cessation of the old feminist propaganda DEI product. It's truly inspirational to see such moves, and if they can also cease from the propaganda faith-based formulas this will be a truly magnificent transformation that could make Angel a mini-major in a matter of five years, and a major in a matter of fifteen.
Why does this take so long? It's an enormous marketplace, and in addition, when dealing in this kind of product not only must great product be delivered seamlessly, but undercutting your competition in ways that Sound of Freedom did will be necessary to maintain this kind of meteoric rise.
They must go down, as you go up. It's a combination of elements that is very hard to synthesize every year.
Here is the full trailer for Zero A.D. and let us know if you think it can replace the David film during the upcoming holiday season. Comment down below.
It looks to us that Monteverde is competently executing his duties (to make about one film per year) as his contract with Angel stipulates. We hope that in addition, he is training a new group of filmmakers to do what he is doing in Utah.
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What did you think of the Zero A.D. trailer and the CinemaCon update? Do you think this will work to replace the David film? At least temporarily? Let us know down below (with sub) or on our social media!
On Media Moses: CinemaCon Presentation: Can 'Zero A.D.' Fill Space Left By 'David' Exit https://t.co/5rBiiQSPQs
— Media Moses (@themediamoses) April 8, 2025
