Nolte: Success of ‘Young Washington’ Launches Potential Franchise, Starting with ‘1776’

Playing in fewer theaters and up against the likes of Steven Spielberg (Disclosure Day), Supergirl, and Toy Story 5, a little faith-based movie about the founding of America came in second place at the box office on the Fourth of July.

Young Washington from Angel Studios grossed $7.65 million in just 2,700 theaters on America’s 250^th birthday, beating Toy Story 5 ($7.5 million in 3,975 theaters), Supergirl ($2.5 million in 3,602 theaters), and Disclosure Day ($1.8 million in 2,702 theaters).

The only movie that beat Young Washington was Minions & Monsters, the latest from the wildly popular Despicable Me franchise. It grossed $9.5 million in 4,253 theaters.

Some context…

This was Young Washington’s debut weekend, while Toy Story 5, Supergirl, and Disclosure Day have been in theaters for two weekends or longer. But still.

Nevertheless, this was Minions & Monsters’ debut weekend, and it barely topped Young Washington’s total gross for the day and lost in the per-screen category. Young Washington averaged $2,833 per screen on July 4 to Minions and Monsters’ $2,231.

That is a remarkable accomplishment for Angel Studios, especially for a movie that cost around $20 to $25 million to produce.

Angel Studios is the same studio that brought us the faith-based 2023 thriller Sound of Freedom, which opened to $19.7 million and went on to gross $184 million, becoming one of the biggest box office hits of the year on a reported budget of $16 million.

Throughout the entire July 4th weekend, Young Washington came in a respectable third place with $21 million and a per-screen average of $7,721, right up there with second-place Toy Story 5 ($31 million and $7,800 per screen) and first-place Minions & Monsters ($36.4 million and $8,600 per screen).

Young Washington stomped all over poor Supergirl’s lousy $9.6 million second weekend and even lousier $2,665 per screen average.

Thanks to the success of Young Washington, which also earned an A on CinemaScore (indicating positive word of mouth), director and co-writer John Erwin announced that 1776, a sequel, is already in the works.

What that really means (at least to me) is that Angel Studios is preparing to franchise Young Washington into a reasonably-budgeted, multi-part look at America’s founding. And why not? Hollywood refuses to cater to a wide-open market of Normal People eager to see inspirational and faith-based true stories. Best of all, Angels Studios does it at a price that ensures little financial risk.

Already, Young Washington attracted top actors such as Kelsey Grammer, Mary Louise Parker, Andy Serkis, and Oscar-winning Ben Kingsley.  Don’t be surprised to see more big names as Angel Studios continues to branch out and find an audience.

It took a little longer than some of us would have liked, but at long last, an alternative to Hollywood is rising, and those behind it know their craft.