If you haven't heard of the film "David," I wouldn't be surprised. There wasn't exactly a lot of media saturation for it, but regardless, it's currently blowing up the box office at number two, falling behind "Avatar: Fire and Ash."
What's more, the film now makes for the largest animated release from Angel Studios with a solid opening of $22 million domestically, opening in 3,118 theaters in North America.
However, according to former NCAA All‑American swimmer turned conservative activist Riley Gaines, the film is currently experiencing a bit of trouble as Disney and Paramount Pictures are rumored to be bullying theaters into pushing David out.
We're now learning that Disney and Paramount are allegedly bullying theaters out of showing David. We've seen stunts like this tried before... #PromoteDavid https://t.co/7EHIjtZZOA
— Riley Gaines (@Riley_Gaines_) December 19, 2025
I've yet to find anything that actually confirms this, and Angel Studios hasn't put out an official statement themselves as of yet, but if it is true, it wouldn't be surprising.
In fact, pushing other films out of theaters is a pretty standard practice from major studios.
Back in December of 2024, I reported on Disney taking a similar strategy against none other than the blue blur himself, Sonic the Hedgehog. Sega and Paramount Pictures were serving up "Sonic the Hedgehog 3" at the theaters as Disney was limping to the barn with "Mufasa," a prequel to the live-action Lion King that was pretty awful in its own right.
Despite Disney's best efforts, Sonic garnered more money per theater despite Disney purposefully taking up as many theaters as it could:
Currently showing in 3,769 locations, Sonic the Hedgehog 3 faces a bottleneck caused by contractual obligations many theaters have with Disney for Mufasa: The Lion King. While Sonic 3 has provided far more revenue per theaters, the total count of screens added for Sonic 3 from its first week to its second will be a staggering eight. Yes, eight additional screens in the entire nation! Disney’s agreements often stipulate extended runs in a high number of theaters, leaving little room for other blockbusters to increase their reach. Despite being the second-highest earner this season, Mufasa continues to occupy 4,100 locations, effectively stifling Sonic’s ability to capitalize on its box office momentum.
This is a common strategy for big releases, especially around the holiday season.
So, I can't confirm that Disney is purposefully pushing out David for ideological or anti-Christian reasons, but if I were a betting man, I'd put my money on Disney seeing David as a threat to its Avatar film.
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You should probably be more than aware of the David and Goliath comparison happening in real time.
While David brought in the aforementioned $22 million, Avatar's domestic intake was $88 million. Before anyone starts spiking footballs, it needs to be understood that Angel Studios not only punched way above its weight, but the blow it struck was significant, given the fact that it had far fewer screens to work with, didn't nearly have the same promotional budget, and it was competing with other family film offerings like "The SpongeBob Movie."
Avatar has brand recognition and a large fanbase to begin with, then put Disney's power behind it, and you have a film that is going to saturate the holiday market and likely beat out all the other films by brute strength alone. Yet, "David" arrives on the scene with hardly any fanfare and pulls out a box office opening that surprises everyone.
History repeats itself in weird ways sometimes.
While I'm sure there are people within Disney who would love to suppress "David" for its Christian message, Disney is trying to silence its competition to make itself look better in the box office reports isn't exactly a fresh brand of evil. It's an old one, but if you look just below the surface, you'll see that Disney actually took something of a beating, and by an indie studio without a massive budget, no less. As Sonic did before it, David scored a solid chunk of cash despite the biggest studio in America's best efforts to suppress it for money.
I can't wait to see it myself.
