Another interrupted screening of the new film Sound of Freedom is being linked to conspiracy theories that "they really don't want us to watch" it.
The movie, which took five years to get to cinema screens after filming wrapped in 2018, stars Jim Caviezel as the founder of Operation Underground Railroad, Tim Ballard, and tells the story of his fight to end child sex trafficking.
Since its debut on July 4, multiple videos and posts have gone viral across various social media platforms with accusations viewers are being prevented from seeing the film at AMC Theatres and Regal Cinemas venues by different means, including lights coming on and other technical issues.
The most recent video to go viral showed cinema workers apologizing to people in a theater, with one heard saying, "this is not our fault… we have to accommodate everyone and then we will restart the film."
A glimpse of the cinema screen showed a frozen image, but it was not explained what the issue was.
A person named Toa Taua posted the video on TikTok, and wrote on the video, "they really don't want us to watch Sound of Freedom."
He then captioned the post, which has been viewed 9 million times, "why cinema working wit da feds?"
It is not clear which cinema the incident occurred in, but Newsweek has attempted to contact Taua via TikTok DMs for confirmation.
@toataua35 Why cinema working wit the feds 🤣🤦🏽♂️ #fyp #soundoffreedom
♬ original sound - Toa Taua
Adam Aron, CEO of AMC Theatres, has taken to Twitter multiple times to shut down rumors that his chain was "suppressing" the release of Sound of Freedom.
"Sadly, conspiracy theorists are so prevalent in America," Aron tweeted. "So much garbage information is spread. More than ONE MILLION people have watched Sound of Freedom at AMC Theatres. More than at any other theatre chain on the planet. Yet people falsely claim otherwise. It is so bizarre."
Angel Studios, which distributed the film, told Newsweek in an interview last week that AMC has been "wonderful to work with."
"Our theatrical partners at AMC, CineMark, Regal, and beyond have been absolutely wonderful to work with—they're helping us add theaters as we speak in the middle the busy summer movie season," said Matthew Faraci of Angel Studios.
The founders of the studio, brothers Jordan, Neal and Jeffrey Harmon, have thanked Aron for AMC's support.
"I want to personally thank you for how amazing of a partner you have been," Jeffrey wrote on Twitter. "Many of your managers have reached out to me and personally told me they love what is happening and have worked so hard to bring a great experience to Sound of Freedom fans."
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
Shannon Power is a Greek-Australian reporter, but now calls London home. They have worked as across three continents in print, ... Read more
