Since its release on July 4, the film has made more than $127 million in box office receipts and even bested the latest “Indiana Jones” film. Production costs for the PG-13 film totaled about $14.5 million, largely paid by Mexican investors.
The Capitol Hill screening was sponsored by Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy, R-California, who was joined by Rep. Christopher Smith, R-New Jersey, on stage. Other members of Congress were in attendance as well as former House Speaker Newt Gingrich and his wife, Calista Gingrich. Ballard and Caviezel were also at the screening.
“We are making history tonight,” McCarthy said at the event. “The film that we are showing on Capitol Hill today addresses issues that are so urgent and important to which we must all commit ourselves.”
According to Verástegui: “The main objective of the film is to raise awareness about the trafficking of minors for sexual exploitation, but we didn’t stop there. The film has the potential to trigger a global movement, with real solutions, leading to concrete actions that help us save children.”
Verástegui pointed out that nearly 85,000 Latin American children and adolescents, unaccompanied by adults, were admitted into the U.S. in 2022 alone. (According to government sources, some 130,000 migrant minors entered the country in 2021 and 2022, of which 85,000 are as yet unaccounted for.) The federal government has admitted that it doesn’t know their condition or whereabouts, having neglected to properly identify and care for them.
“I am hopeful that it is still possible to find them, but we have to act immediately before it is too late,” Verástegui said. “That is why we are asking the U.S. Congress to pass a bipartisan initiative as quickly as possible. The Sound of Freedom initiative calls for authorities and officials entrusted with the care of children entering the country to have an exhaustive, effective, and real control over those who receive them.”