'Sound of Freedom' Fury As Multiple People Claim AC Not Working During Film

A number of TikTok users have claimed AMC Theatres and Regal Cinemas' air-conditioning was not working at screenings across the country of the new movie Sound of Freedom.

The movie, produced by and based on the life of anti-child trafficking campaigner Tim Ballard, opened to positive numbers, beating Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny at the box office when it was released on the Fourth of July.

Sound of Freedom follows former Homeland Security special agent Ballard (played by Jim Caviezel) as he sets up Operation Underground Railroad (O.U.R.), an anti-child trafficking organization. The film made $14,242,063 on its first day in theaters, while the new Indiana Jones movie made $11,698,989 domestically.

Ohio-based musician Jamskillet said in a TikTok video that he and his girlfriend went to see Sound of Freedom on the Fourth of July. He noted that the theater was one they had been to "many times," adding that it was "always a pretty good experience."

"This particular time was really uncomfortable to sit through," he continued. "There was no AC running, it was unbearably hot. So I go out and I asked if they can turn the AC on and they told me that it wasn't working."

He further went on to allege that there was a notable disparity between seat availability online and in reality. Jamskillet, whose real name is Jacob Anthony Matthews, explained that when he "bought these tickets online, it showed that the theater was pretty much sold out—there was only a few seats available. When we get there, it's just me and my girlfriend and maybe eight other people in the whole theater."

"I didn't think anything of this until I got on TikTok a few days later, and come to find out that hundreds of other people are experiencing the same thing," he added. "So AMC and Regal, the people who own it, are not running AC and they're making it hard to get tickets. And that should make you want to go see this movie even more."

Newsweek contacted representatives of AMC Theatres and Regal Cinemas via email for comment on Wednesday.

In a clip viewed more than 9.5 million times, TikTok user @belighve1112 said that she and her friends pre-ordered their tickets for a Sound of Freedom screening at an AMC theater in Pineville, North Carolina. She claimed that the tickets were refunded without explanation on the same day as the screening.

Following dinner that evening, she said, the group visited the theater and asked about the issue. The TikTok user claimed that an AMC staff member said the refund was issued because there was no air-conditioning in the theater where the film was showing.

The social media user asked: "Why did they not send out a notice in the email saying, 'Hey, we refunded your tickets because there is no air conditioning?'"

Adding the onscreen-caption "AMC pulling some sketchy c*** with #thesoundoffreedom," she went on to state: "There was air-conditioning in the lobby, there was air-conditioning in the hallway, there was air-conditioning in the bathrooms, not the theaters?"

TikTok user @sunni17q, who is based in Mandeville, Louisiana, said in her video that she specially picked out a Regal theater that was "a little bit further away" in Slidell, "because their seats recline and it's so comfortable."

However, after settling into her seat with a sweater on hand in anticipation of a cold blast of air-conditioning, she said she found the temperature uncomfortable.

"I was like, 'It's really hot in here,'" she recalled of her reaction, adding that she is currently "going through the menopause" and has been experiencing hot flashes.

"Through the movie...I did not move from my seat, even though I was dripping with sweat," she continued. "I didn't think about it once until I started seeing all these videos about how there was no AC in there. There was no AC... They turned the f****** air off in the Sound of Freedom theater. Yeah, thanks."

Another video shared by @kristenestxx from an unnamed location showed a woman asking a theater staff member about the air-conditioning issue occurring around "the whole country" and affecting "this movie only."

The staffer appeared to be unaware of the purported problem, prompting the woman to tell him that he "should look online—it's insane."

In an attempt to explain the apparent issue, he told the woman that the movie was "very popular" and appeared to suggest that crowds likely caused the theaters to feel warmer.

Adam Aron, CEO of AMC Theatres, recently slammed rumors that his chain was "suppressing" the release of Sound of Freedom.

"Really bizarre FUD [fear, uncertainty and doubt] floating around Twitter that we are suppressing attendance for Sound of Freedom," Aron tweeted on Saturday. "Yesterday we showed that movie 3,000 times at our 570 U.S. theatres and more than 100,000 people watched it @AMCTheatres. Misinformation on Twitter is astonishing. Bots? Haters?"

After Aron stated that AMC had welcomed thousands of visitors in to watch Sound of Freedom, Jeffrey Harmon, the co-founder of the production company behind the movie, Angel Studios, thanked him.

"I want to personally thank you for how amazing of a partner you have been," Harmon responded to Aron's tweet. "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."

His brother and Angel Studios co-founder, Neal Harmon, responded to Aron as well, tweeting: "We are so grateful that you stepped up to support this film. Thank you for your partnership," with their brother Jordan Harmon calling AMC "supportive partners" in another tweet.

Aron tweeted again on Sunday to clarify some more stats about how Sound of Freedom performed over the weekend.

"Let's put this ridiculous conspiracy theory to bed. Fri/Sat more than 250,000 people watched Sound of Freedom at AMC in the U.S.," he tweeted. He went on to quote the head of distribution at Angel Studios, who apparently said that "no other theater chain in the world has shown more support for Sound of Freedom and Angel Studios than AMC."

Ballard recently appeared on Fox & Friends, where he dismissed the alleged links between Sound of Freedom and QAnon. A 2020 Vice News investigation suggested that the success of O.U.R. was aided by the rise of the group. The film movie been panned by several outlets that made the comparison, including Rolling Stone, which called Sound of Freedom a "superhero movie for dads with brainworms: The QAnon-tinged thriller."

"Where's the QAnon doctrine being spewed in the film and in the script? I have no idea, because this is actually what it looks like," Ballard said on Fox News. "This is what happened. I was there, and several others were there to confirm so this is just some other agenda."