MightGuy

That they're using Dark Arts to remain that high?

Barbie performing like a superhero.

There's a bit of Pay It Forward, allowing some to buy tickets for others; you can hop over to their site to see how readily available tickets are. But really, this is American Sniper again. Hyper targeted film for that specific demo. Folks forget AS did $350 million domestic.

Infinity War and Endgame made everyone think anyone could do it.

There's a growing gap in the middle of the box office. The hits HIT HARD. But folks used to use their disposable income to maybe see a film that they weren't amazingly hyped for. I think a combination of streaming and a lack of disposable income thanks to economic conditions means folks are willing to wait if it's not checking off their lists with pure 10s.

Haunted Mansion matching TMNT awareness. Huh. I feel like the latter should be higher, but that's gut talking.

Ah, that's an excellent point!

Surprised it's doing as well as it is given the lack of promotion.

The response to this tells me Marvel can get itself out of its doldrums once the X-Men enter the picture.

The hell? Are you serious? I can't even be kind about this take. The adrenochrome theory is A] definitely Qanon related and B] absolutely in no way a belief that you can have and just be fine. Negative. There is literally an extremist action based entirely around this conspiracy theory. I gotta step away if this is the kind of thing folks can just post with no pushback.

I just want to say, this is all well and good! 👍 Go ahead and watch the film if you want to. I won't personally, but I'm just one rando. Just want folks to not downplay stuff tied to the film, as some have.

The adrenochrome conspiracy comes from QAnon. Caviezel, as I've shown multiple times, openly believes in the adrenochrome conspiracy. I have outlined why that is bad. Conspiracies like this and the Wayfair conspiracy actually get in the way of legitimate child trafficking investigations. The latter was in 2021, for example. https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/interactive/2021/wayfair-qanon-sex-trafficking-conspiracy/ Further on Caviezel himself. https://www.thedailybeast.com/how-hollywoods-jesus-jim-caviezel-went-full-qanon So, when one talks about Qanon beliefs, we are pointing, in this case, to the linked adrenochrome conspiracy, which is, to be clear, entirely nonsense. Again, as I've stated before, his own words. Words he has openly tied Ballard to. Caviezel has also attended many events adjacent to Qanon beliefs. Openly! He does not shy away from this, in the same way Kyrie does not shy away from his flat earther beliefs. These beliefs are tied to the film by Caviezel and Ballard. I am not making connections that they have not stated, and you can see their beliefs in previous posted videos. Does the director and producers believe the same? I have no clue. I do know that they have let the tying of those beliefs to the film by their star go unchallenged. Whether that is because they believe the same or simply believe it's a profitable route, I do not know. Now, similar to Terrific, I may dip on discussing the matter with you, because the facts of the matter are openly at hand. I have little interest quibbling on terminology with you instead of those facts.

It is good to realize when folks won't meet in the middle and walk away. No reason to waste one's precious time fighting on the internet too long. Cheers.

Slow news week. Nothing else other than that and an impending strike.

Lemme put a pin in the whataboutism. Didn't see The Flash for the reason you state, despite being a very big fan of the characters and acknowledging that the crew was much more than just Miller. Fine with cutting Majors, Polanski, Allen, Singer, and Spacey. I have no fear or problem in remaining remarkably consistent. I've given you Caviezel's own words (Ballard too) in regards to promotion of the film. Nothing disingenuous there at all. I have not added or embellished anything. If you want to go see the film, by all means. You're (theoretically) an adult. I don't know you. I merely want folks to acknowledge what is being tied to the film by proponents of the production, and how a success will raise all ships. I largely agree with all of this. My issue is in those who try to minimize or ignore 2 and 4.

I've told you exactly what Caviezel has said, in his own words, in regards to the promotion of this film. And you have no answer for that. Again, Caviezel is the star. *he* directly, specifically, is tying the film to these causes. There's nothing to make up. These. are. his. words. This is Jim Ballard, the man the film is about, in an interview with Caviezel. This is a interview *for the film*. The poster is right there in the background. Watch the video, listen to what he's saying, and then tell me it's all fine. Now look, if you want to just focus on the film and not the talk of the star and the man the film is about, in tandem with the film's promotion, then fine. But say it with your chest. "I only care about the film and not anything directly tied to it." I'm not making anything up or bringing anything extra to the table. I'm just telling you their own words. Whether you care is up to you.

There is a version of this film that's fine. But with Caviezel in the lead and how he has tied his conspiratorial views to the film's promotion, with no pushback from the film's producers, we've trended away from that ideal. And that's before we even talk about some of the issues surrounding Ballard.

Because once you decided that your enemies are kidnapping children to harvest their blood, it justifies you doing whatever you want to them. Pizzagate was literally that conspiracy theory. https://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/21/technology/fact-check-this-pizzeria-is-not-a-child-trafficking-site.html https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/local/wp/2016/12/04/d-c-police-respond-to-report-of-a-man-with-a-gun-at-comet-ping-pong-restaurant/ It is also related to groups like Veterans on Patrol committing acts of harassment and violence at the border. https://www.splcenter.org/hatewatch/2022/08/08/how-antigovernment-extremists-and-qanon-took-over-southern-border https://soundslikehate.org/season-three/the-unwelcome/ EDIT: There are more benign conspiracy theories to be sure. This is not one of them. And the fact that it's related to a real problem is one of the issues. But ignoring the effects of it is not the way to go.

As I said elsewhere: I mean, searching #SoundofFreedom on Twitter and selecting Top, not Latest, brought gems like this. A quick look at the video shows the star of the film talking about the adrenochrome conspiracy and how this movie will shine a light on that truth. Now, you can ignore that and just focus on the movie, but yeah, the star is *openly* promoting the conspiracy theories in tandem with the film. To add on: https://www.washingtonpost.com/arts-entertainment/2023/07/07/sound-of-freedom-qanon-theories-jim-caviezel/ The star is actively using the film to promote those beliefs, which are without harm and not within a vacuum.

Oh, then someone should say something, because the perception is it's a faith-based project. Probably due to the status of the production company. https://variety.com/2023/film/box-office/sound-of-freedom-faith-based-movie-10-million-presales-box-office-hit-1235660833/ https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/sound-of-freedom-indiana-jones-box-office-faith-based-angel-studios-210534821.html https://www2.cbn.com/news/entertainment/sound-freedom-ranks-no-1-movie-america-truly-awe-inspiring WOM is hitting much, much harder these days.

"This is exactly how a faith-based movie plays." It says so right in the article you quoted.