The Bible movie “David” finished second at the box office this weekend behind “Avatar: Fire and Ash,” with the help of right-wing influencers who pushed the film on social media and shared baseless theories that Disney and Paramount are sabotaging the film.
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“David,” a new film from religious film distributor Angel Studios, made a $22 million debut at the domestic box office this weekend following promotion from right-wing influencers including former college swimmer and conservative activist Riley Gaines, podcast host Benny Johnson and actor Rob Schneider.
The film finished in second place this weekend, behind the $88 million grossed by Disney’s “Avatar” and ahead of new releases “The Housemaid” and Paramount’s “The SpongeBob Movie,” in addition to recording the biggest opening weekend ever for Angel Studios, which scored a big hit with “Sound of Freedom” in 2023.
Schneider, Gaines, and right-wing influencer Jack Posobiec claimed in posts on
“David” played in more than 3,100 theaters last weekend, according to Box Office Mojo, more than the new release “The Housemaid” and several hundred fewer than “Avatar” and “SpongeBob SquarePants.”
Gaines also pitched the film as a “great alternative to Netflix, which promotes trans propaganda to children,” and tagged some of his posts with #DavidPartner, suggesting he could be working with the studio or being paid by the studio to post about the film.
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What else do we know about ‘David’?
“David” is an animated version of the biblical story of David, including his battle against Goliath. The film is a continuation of “Young David,” a five-part series that Angel Studios distributed in 2023. The film features the voices of Christian singer-songwriter Phil Wickham as David, Israeli singer Miri Mesika as Nitzevet, David’s mother, and is co-directed by Brent Dawes and Phil Cunningham. Some right-wing influencers, like Posobiec, boasted that “David” outperformed films with greater star projection during the weekend, including the new release “The Housemaid,” starring Amanda Seyfried and Sydney Sweeney. “David” was produced on a budget of more than $60 million, much of which Angel Studios says was crowdfunded. As with previous releases like “Sound of Freedom,” Angel Studios also operates a “pay it forward” program where viewers can buy tickets for others so they can see the film for free, and says on its website that it is trying to fund tickets for one million children.
Key background
Angel Studios was released in 2021 and two years later achieved major box office success with “Sound of Freedom,” which grossed more than $250 million worldwide and was the 10th highest-grossing film in the United States in 2023. The film became a political flashpoint and was championed by right-wing influencers and politicians, including President Donald Trump, who held a screening at his golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey, and posted the trailer on Truth Social. It was also a hotbed of conspiracy theories, as lead actor Jim Caviezel spoke at events linked to the QAnon conspiracy movement, and a Vice investigation found that the anti-human trafficking group Operation Underground Railroad exaggerated its role in human trafficking rescue missions. False claims about the film spread widely on social media during its theatrical run, including that Netflix and Amazon Prime Video “banned” the film from streaming on their platforms (“Sound of Freedom” is now streaming on Prime Video). AMC CEO Adam Aron also criticized viral “conspiracy theories” that the theater chain was canceling or sabotaging screenings of the film, stating that “no other theater chain in the world” supported the film more than AMC.
Tangent
The theatrical release of “David” comes after a legal battle between Angel Studios and Slingshot, the production company responsible for the film. Slingshot terminated a distribution deal with Angel Studios at the end of 2024 and sued the distributor months later, alleging that it overstepped its scope and conducted a “hostile takeover” by excluding Slingshot from distribution, merchandising and marketing negotiations, implying that Angel Studios was the production company responsible for the film. Angel Studios regained the rights in October, just two months before the film’s U.S. release, reportedly paying $78 million for the intellectual property, which includes both the “David” movie and the “Young David” miniseries, settling the dispute.
This article was originally published by Forbes US
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