The first original film that Angel Studios released to theaters was proved to be a “relative success” considering how first time filmmakers tend to do in theaters. Comparing the $12m worldwide box office to The Chosen’s (3) past film releases we can assume that the enormous fanbase that the series has will translate into greater success, but this $14m box office (only $2m more that His Only Son) proved to be of marginal advantage. So considering this film came into theaters with no positive press and no built-in fanbase, it is a surprising victory for Angel. Maybe Angel fans are more engaged than previously assumed, and they were willing to be adventurous and take a bet on this film by going to theaters.
And Angel Studios agrees. But not only with the financial success, alone. They also agree with the artistic vitality of this first outing by David Helling, by awarding it the Torch Award for Best Film at the recent Illuminate 2023, where Angel shows off it’s best & brightest. Every year the “Angel Guild” (a body of voters similar to how the Academy Awards operates) awards two projects as “the most highly rated” film and series of the year.
But even better, if you got to see the film in theaters, as I did, you got to hear the director’s address to the public on his plans for a future sequel, currently titled “Jacob”. This was a surprise to me, but I’m sure for many who know David Helling’s story this was not that surprising. It was funding soon after the theatrical release began, and has now achieved more than double the funding of His Only Son. It is now sitting at $2.9 million in comparison to the $1.2 million that His Only Son achieved. However it should be noted that this is for the production budget as well as marketing budget of the film. Likely, more will need to be raised for the film to be finished.
You can check on the continued growth in the campaign here.
And you can watch an interview with Helling here, and the entire Illuminate event here.
Download the Angel App here to watch His Only Son online.
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