A feud of Biblical proportions culminated this week with the announced streaming delay of the fourth season. Chosen persona series about the life of Jesus Christ that has become perhaps the most popular television show in the world.
Dallas Jenkins, director, screenwriter, creator Chosen person, The show announced Sunday via a YouTube video that free streaming of the show's fourth season has been postponed due to “legal issues.” Fans who want to watch the new season can pay to watch it in theaters.
Although Jenkins was intentionally vague in his comments, SEC filings from Angel Studios, the show's distributor, show violations between The Chosen LLC and the studio. According to a February filing, The Chosen LLC notified Angel Studios in April 2023 that it intended to terminate the content agreement for breach of contract pending arbitration between the two companies. In October, The Chosen LLC reiterated its intention to exit Angel Studios.
The delay is the latest issue between the two companies. In March 2022, Angel Studios filed a lawsuit against Brad Perot, an Angel executive who later became president of Chosen. The two companies have since reached a new content agreement and the lawsuit has been resolved.
This troubling conflict comes as faith-based projects are finally starting to take off with titles like: Jesus RevolutionIt was produced by Kingdom Story Company and distributed by Lionsgate Films. the passion of christ It took Hollywood by storm in 2004.
In addition to Angel Studio, Chosen person and other faith-based projects distributed and sold. sound of freedomthe film grossed $250 million worldwide, despite complaints that it exaggerated the heroism of a vigilante who saved children from sex traffickers.
Angel Studios has found further success selling streaming rights. sound of freedom Along with the latest release of Amazon Prime, cabrini, which has a score of 91% on Rotten Tomatoes among 64 critics. Chosen Inc. is also working on several spin-offs of the show of the same name about Jesus, as well as new projects that will tell stories about various characters from the Bible.
Neither Angel Studios nor Chosen Inc. will talk. newsweek In this report, however, the stakes in the ongoing disruption are very high. Angel Studios said in a 2022 lawsuit that it plans to collect up to $2.6 billion from the show's seven planned seasons.
A trail of legal documents and SEC filings tells a story of behind-the-scenes infighting that lasted at least three years, and led to legal arbitrations that could take weeks, months, or even years to resolve. culminating in the postponement of the season.
origins of the feud
Angel Studios began in 2013 as VidAngel, a service created by brothers Neil, Daniel, Jordan, and Jeffrey Harmon to remove inappropriate scenes from mainstream movies so they could be watched as a family. The service became popular among Christians, but was nearly put out of business in 2016 after Disney, Lucasfilm, 20th Century Fox, and Warner Bros. sued the service.
Perot has known about VidAngel since at least 2018, when he licensed the rights to one of its shows called VidAngel. driver comedy He was working on a new platform called “Say”.when he saw it Chosen personHe joined the company.
In the beginning, he was very effective, helping VidAngel survive the bankruptcy crisis and settle with the studios it sued to stay in business, as well as encouraging it to become a more traditional studio. They signed his full-time employment contract at the end of 2020, and on March 25, 2021 he was reborn as VidAngel as Angel Studios.
But things quickly deteriorated, according to the complaint, with Perot allegedly insisting that Chosen LLC be allowed to remove the Angel Studios logo from the film's opening credits. Chosen person It was being prepared for television broadcast.
Although Mr. Perot was chief distribution officer, the suit claims that Mr. Perot focused on content production and that the company was more of a “platform” than a “studio.”
Things got so tense that on July 14, 2021, he allegedly demanded that executives choose between being on the “Chosen Team” or “Team Angel.” A few months later, Pero left Angel and eventually joined Chosen LLC as president.
Angel's complaint against Perot alleges that Perot, as president of Chosen LLC, sent a “bombshell” letter to Angel Studios asking it to voluntarily relinquish distribution rights to a significant number of its films. Chosen person Only the rights to older seasons of the show would have remained available to stream for free to viewers.
'The Chosen' Season 4 postponed
The issues raised in the lawsuit were resolved through a content sharing agreement in October 2022, paving the way for the release of Season 3, but issues between the two companies have put the release date of Season 4 in jeopardy.
For example, in Jenkins' YouTube video announcing the postponement, he refers to Angel Studios as “our former partner,” making a sharp contrast. sound of freedom and Chosen person In terms of profitability.
“That movie generated more box office revenue than this in just a few months in theaters. Chosen person We’ve never had more total revenue for the whole year,” Jenkins said in the video.
“Here's what's even more depressing: With movies, you keep the money that comes in. With our multi-season shows, we have to keep spending the money we generate for the next season.” added.
Jenkins also said that Chosen Inc., with help from the nonprofit Come & See Foundation, is spending tens of millions of dollars to translate the show into different languages and distribute it around the world. Ta.
SEC filings include: Chosen person It has risen dramatically in the last few years. Production costs in 2020 were $8.2 million, $20.3 million a year later, and $47.7 million in 2022.
Jenkins' salary rose from $174,166 in 2020 to $1.1 million two years later, but it's still meager by Hollywood standards for someone who helped create a hit TV show.
Jenkins said in the video that each episode of Season 4 has been released in theaters, and now that streaming has been delayed and efforts are underway to bring Season 4 to churches and prisons, people who want to binge-watch the season will be able to watch it in one sitting. He said that a DVD will be released in the future.
But SEC documents show Chosen Inc is restricting the right to freely stream Chosen personstipulates that you can only do so on The Chosen app if you also stream shows on the Angel app, which is owned by Angel Studios.
However, while Chosen Inc. could release the entirety of Season 4 in theaters, that means fans who are used to watching shows for free probably won't be able to until after arbitration . As an example, Cinemark is selling tickets for episodes 1-8 split between his three screenings for $30.
However, Jenkins told fans in the video that he is determined to keep the show available for free on “The Chosen” app, which relies on financial support from viewers. He added that less than 5% of those people had donated.
There is no mention in the video of how its relationship with Lionsgate will be affected, as Chosen signed a deal last year that gives it certain distribution rights to mainstream studios. Chosen person. Lionsgate did not respond to a request for comment.
Chosen personThe show, which has been watched by approximately 200 million people worldwide, also streams select seasons on Netflix, Amazon Prime, and Peacock, although it is not in season 4.
Pero said. newsweek The 16,500 people who participated in the equity crowdfunding campaign last year own 46 percent of Chosen Inc.'s shares and are therefore entitled to a share of the profits, meaning they also have a stake in the outcome of the ongoing drama. It means that you are doing it.
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom, finding common ground and finding connections.