‘The Chosen Meets The Passion’: Angel Studios Movie ‘His Only Son’ makes crowdfunding history

Originally published in CBN News

An original biblical drama about one of the most heart-wrenching passages in the Bible, when God asked Abraham to sacrifice his only son to him, has made crowdfunding history. 

His Only Son has now become the first theatrical film to crowdfund for marketing funds in order to pay for distribution and advertising expenses. Described as “biblically accurate” and “authentic,” the movie is set to be released on March 31 in US theatres by Angel Studios, the streaming platform behind the most successful faith-based crowd-funded shows of all time, like The Chosen.

Tens of thousands of investors quickly took advantage of Angel’s crowdfunding investment opportunity for His Only Son to pay for what is known in the entertainment industry as “P & A” or “Prints and Advertising.” The movie has already been made. 

“{C}rowdfunding for His Only Son reached capacity in 100 hours – we are responding to the demand from the audience by at least tripling the theatre count nationwide and throwing our most valuable marketing resources behind the film. The Angel Guild, made up of Angel investors from every show, have rated this film with one of the highest scores we have ever received in our system,” Angel Studios CEO and co-founder Neal Harmon told Fox News. 

The film’s story follows the Lord God testing Abraham by commanding him to take his promised son, Isaac, and sacrifice him on the mountain of Moriah as told in Genesis Chapters 12-22 in the Bible’s Old Testament. Scripture tells us God had promised to make Abraham the father of nations and then tested him after giving him, Isaac. 

“This feature film illustrates that striking account, following Abraham, his son, and their two servants as they journey for three days to the place of the offering. Along the way, the men encounter dangers and trials as Abraham silently relives memories spanning the decades he and his wife, Sarah, longed for the son God had promised… the son he must now lay upon the altar,” a description of the movie on the Angel Studio’s website reads.  

Studio investors who have screened the motion picture describe the story as “The Chosen meets The Passion.”

David Helling, the film’s director, and a US Marine Corps veteran said it took five years to make His Only Son.  While serving his country in Iraq, he turned to the Bible. His resulting faith has prompted him to make it his life’s mission to bring Bible stories to the big screen. 

The movie stars Lebanese film and TV actor Nicolas Mouawad as Abraham. Sara Seyed, Jasmine in the Netflix original series Young Wallander, portrays Abraham’s wife Sarah. 

Angel Studios, the family-friendly, movie-making powerhouse behind the national distribution of His Only Son has produced several hugely successful shows including The Chosen, Dry Bar Comedy, and The Wingfeather Saga.

The Chosen, the first-ever multi-season TV series about the life of Jesus Christ, was one of the company’s first projects which earned hundreds of millions of views around the world.

Moviegoers are clamouring for more biblical stories. As CBN News reported in January, when the creators of The Chosen announced they would be premiering the last two episodes of season three in theatres, fans grabbed tickets so quickly that it crashed the ticketing website. 

His Only Son also follows the February 24 release of the hugely successful faith-based film Jesus Revolution. As CBN News has reported, that film tells the true story behind the Jesus Movement of the 1970s, including how Pastor Chuck Smith welcomed hippies looking for truth at his church. 

The movie is based on Pastor Greg Laurie’s book, Jesus Revolution, which outlines “the true story of the national spiritual awakening in the early 1970s and its origins within a community of teenage hippies in Southern California.”

After being saved, Laurie would later start Harvest Christian Fellowship, in Riverside, California, which is now one of the largest churches in the country. The church has sponsored its local SoCal Harvest event for three decades, making it one of the longest-running evangelistic events in the nation, attended by millions of people.

Jesus Revolution stars Kelsey Grammer and Jonathan Roumie. Roumie also portrays Jesus in Angel Studios’ The Chosen. 

Filmmaker Jon Erwin of I Can Only Imagine and American Underdog directed Jesus Revolution. As of March 14, it had made more than R 714.7 million ($39 million) at the box office. 

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