‘We wanted to be, but they didn’t want any part of this film’: The star of the year’s biggest breakout sensation has salty reasons for not striking

You’d have been laughed out of the building this time last month if you’d told anyone who’d listen that a $14 million thriller shot half a decade ago that was ditched by Disney would end up as the single breakout box office sensation of the year, but Sound of Freedom keeps on surprising everybody.

After landing a mind-blowing 27 percent increase at the box office this weekend to take it within touching distance of $100 million, the contentious trafficking tale is in with a genuine shot at landing a domestic total of $200 million, which is ludicrous whatever way you want to cut it.

Of course, the ticket sales are being driven primarily by a certain demographic that intersects with another notable target audience, and devout Christian star Jim Caviezel being interviewed by Sean Hannity on Fox should give you some indication of what those two groups are.

You may be wondering why the actor is able to talk about his latest role when SAG-AFTRA is striking and its members aren’t giving press interviews, but The Passion of the Christ headliner was on hand to offer an explanation.

“Those are my brothers and sisters of SAG. I support them, but we are not a part of (the collective bargaining agreement with) AMPTP. We wanted to be, but they didn’t want any part of this film.”

As an independent feature backed by an independent studio, Sound of Freedom and Angel Studios in general have been finding loopholes to avoid the strike action, which only serves to add another curious wrinkle onto its already fascinating existence.