‘Young Washington’ Just Delivered Angel Studios’ Second-Biggest Opening Weekend Ever, and Hollywood Didn’t See It Coming
Independence Day weekend at the movies is usually a battle between the biggest franchises Hollywood can throw at audiences, all fighting for the same crowded multiplex real estate. This year was no different on paper, with animated sequels and superhero tentpoles dominating the marketing conversation heading into the holiday.
Yet once the actual numbers started rolling in, the story of the weekend belonged to a film that barely had a marketing budget compared to its rivals. Angel Studios, the faith based distributor behind grassroots hits like ‘Sound of Freedom’ and ‘The Chosen,’ quietly turned its George Washington origin story into one of the biggest surprises of the summer.
That film, ‘Young Washington,’ pulled in an estimated 20.8 million dollars over its three day opening weekend from just 2,700 theaters nationwide, according to Variety. The number is staggering when you consider the film had no major stars carrying obvious box office weight, and it landed the film the second biggest opening weekend in Angel Studios history, trailing only the studio’s Easter release ‘David.’
To put that run into perspective, ‘Young Washington’ cleared the openings of nearly every other Angel Studios release to date. It topped ‘Sketch’ at 2.5 million, ‘Brave the Dark’ at 2.6 million, ‘Sight’ at 2.8 million, ‘Sound of Hope’ at 3.1 million, ‘Animal Farm’ at 3.4 million, and ‘The Shift’ at 4.3 million.
The film also blew past ‘Bonhoeffer’ at 5.1 million, ‘The Last Rodeo’ at 5.3 million, ‘Homestead’ at 6.1 million, and both ‘Solo Mio’ and ‘Cabrini’ at 7.2 million apiece. Even Angel’s more recent hits could not keep pace, with ‘The King of Kings’ landing at 19.4 million and ‘Sound of Freedom’ at 19.7 million, both narrowly edged out by Washington’s holiday weekend haul.
The film’s per theater average is arguably just as impressive as the topline number. With roughly 7,700 dollars per screen from a nationwide release of 2,700 locations, ‘Young Washington’ proved it did not need a limited platform release to post eye catching per screen numbers, a feat that is unusual for wide releases competing against major studio tentpoles.
Directed by Jon Erwin, known for faith based and patriotic projects like ‘Jesus Revolution’ and ‘American Underdog,’ ‘Young Washington’ follows a young George Washington during his time in the Virginia Militia and his experiences in the French and Indian War. The film stars William Franklyn-Miller in the title role, with support from Mary-Louise Parker, Kelsey Grammer, Andy Serkis, and Ben Kingsley rounding out the cast.
The release date was clearly no accident, arriving in theaters on July 3 to coincide with America’s 250th anniversary of independence. The film earned an A grade on CinemaScore from opening day audiences, a sharp contrast to its 57 percent score from critics on Rotten Tomatoes, though its audience score on the same platform has been reported in the low to mid 90s, reflecting the kind of critic and audience gap Angel Studios has leaned on successfully in the past.
That divide is nothing new for the studio. Its breakout 2023 release ‘Sound of Freedom’ saw a similarly mixed critical reception paired with overwhelming audience enthusiasm, and it went on to gross well over 200 million dollars worldwide from a fraction of that budget. Angel Studios has built its entire business model around targeting a conservative, faith-adherent, and family-oriented audience that traditional Hollywood marketing often overlooks, and the results this weekend suggest that strategy is still paying off.
‘Young Washington’ finished the holiday frame in third place at the domestic box office, landing behind the animated sequel ‘Minions & Monsters’ and the continuing run of ‘Toy Story 5,’ but ahead of DC’s struggling ‘Supergirl’ in its second weekend. For an inspirational historical drama going up against two of the biggest family franchises in Hollywood, that placement alone speaks to how much stronger the film’s word of mouth turned out to be than early tracking suggested.
Did you watch ‘Young Washington’ in theaters?
With such a strong CinemaScore in hand and the kind of community-driven audience Angel Studios has cultivated for years, the film’s second weekend hold could end up being just as telling as its opening numbers. Historically, Angel’s biggest hits have shown unusually strong legs in the weeks following their debut, often outperforming typical Hollywood drop-off rates.
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