Angel Studios made history at the domestic box office this weekend with its animated musical “David” starring award-winning Christian artists Phil Wickham and Lauren Daigle.
“David” grossed over $22 million at the box office in his opening weekend, surpassing “The King of Kings” and “Prince of Egypt” to become the highest grossing faith-based animated theatrical opening of all time.
Angel’s latest film release tells biblical story of the shepherd boy’s journey, from defeating the mighty Philistine giant Goliath to taking his throne as the anointed king. In addition to Wickham and Daigle, “David” features the voices of Brandon Engman, Mark Jacobson, Adam Michael Gold, and Asim Chaudhry. The film is directed by Phil Cunningham and Brent Dawes.
Earlier this year, Angel’s animated feature “The Kings of Kings,” which starred Oscar Isaac, Mark Hamill, Pierce Brosnan, Uma Thurman, Forest Whitaker, Ben Kingsley, Kenneth Branagh, and Roman Griffin Davis, earned more than $19 million in its opening weekend.
“The Kings of Kings” broke the record set in 1998 by “The Prince of Egypt,” which earn over $14 million during its opening weekend. “The Prince of Egypt” also featured a star-studded voice cast, which included Val Kilmer, Ralph Fiennes, Sandra Bullock, Michelle Pfeiffer, Jeff Goldblum, Danny Glover, Patrick Stewart, Helen Mirren, Steve Martin, and Martin Short.
“David” is Wickham’s first film, and he shared that he learned during the filming process to press through fear. “So often I equate fear with a lack of faith,” Wickham told ChurchLeaders. “But I don’t know if that’s always the case. You can have fear but underneath it believe you can trust a God who is bigger than whatever you’re facing. So I’m going to do it afraid.”
“That term has become a new term in my life—’do it afraid,’” he continued. “If I’m a little afraid or nervous or anxious or I don’t know if I have what it takes, but I’m standing on the side of the one who raised Jesus from the dead…if the same Spirit that raised Jesus lives in me, then I can do this.”
Wickham added, “He will give me what I need. It’s the faith of David that stuck out to me. I want to be a man of faith like that.”
