Sound of Freedom has smashed box office expectations outside of its biggest market, the U.S., which comes as no surprise to its director.

“We were told we only have a 1 percent chance to be successful, but it was our audience that came out and defended [the movie]… and it’s thanks to the audience that we survived the attacks [from the critics],” Alejandro Monteverde, who also wrote the screenplay, told Newsweek.

The film about child sex trafficking became the surprise hit of the summer in the U.S., making $182.58 million, despite only having a budget of $15 million. Sound of Freedom also out performed mega-franchises, Mission: Impossible—Dead Reckoning Part One and Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny to become the 10th highest grossing movie of 2023 so far.

Angel Studios, which distributed the movie to cinemas, came up with a “pay it forward” marketing campaign, which encouraged viewers to tell others about the movie and to buy tickets for other people who could not afford to do so themselves. This grassroots campaign helped bolster ticket sales.

But whether Sound of Freedom could replicate its success at the international box office was another story.

Box office expert and movie blogger Paul Ferrer told Newsweek in August that he did not think its success would translate overseas.

“While Sound of Freedom was a huge success in the U.S. these films don’t travel well outside the U.S.,” Ferrer said.

With “these films,” Ferrer was referring to Sound of Freedom‘s Christian message. Angel Studios’ previous releases include Testament: The Parables Retold and His Only Son, both faith-based films.

“Sony have had huge success with their Affirm Studios but the majority of box office came from the U.S. You only need to see how films like Heaven is for Real and the recent George Foreman film [Big George Foreman] took 90 percent U.S. and 10 percent international,” Ferrer said, pointing out another studio that distributes faith-based movies.

But Ferrer’s prediction did not happen, as Sound of Freedom reached two million advance ticket sales in Latin America in just four days, a feat which took a week in the U.S.

“We’re seeing packed theaters, standing ovations, widespread enthusiasm, and strong word-of-mouth from Buenos Aires to Mexico City to Bogota to Caracas, Lima, and beyond,” said Jared Geesey, Angel Studios’ chief distribution officer.

The film follows the story of Tim Ballard, played by Jim Caviezel, who founded the Operation Underground Railroad (OUR) to save children from sex trafficking, and has found huge popularity with Hispanic audiences in the U.S.

That success translated to box offices in Latin American where it secured number one spot in 18 countries across Central and South America, and the Caribbean, according to Angel Studios and movie industry data website, The Numbers.

Sound of Freedom has earned $7,588,724 since opening in the international market in late August and the first weekend of September.

The success in Mexico will come as no surprise to Monteverde because he and
the film’s producer, Eduardo Verástegui (who also stars in the movie), are both famous in their home country with a loyal fan base.

“In Mexico we have more access to media and they also know who we are. They know our work and our last film did really well in Mexico,” Monteverde told Newsweek, adding that despite the critics he’s pleased at Sound of Freedom‘s global success.

The movie also reached top spot in New Zealand, and second place in Australia and South Africa. While in the U.K. it made it in to the top four most-watched movies on its first weekend.