SHELBY COUNTY, Texas — Editor's Note: The above video aired in May 2024.
A film detailing the true story of an East Texas church that adopted 77 children debuted earning $3.2 million at the box office this past weekend.
“Sound of Hope: The Story of Possum Trot" premiered in several theaters across the nation, including those in East Texas, on the Fourth of July.
The film showcases the journey of Rev. W.C. Martin and his wife Donna as they ignited a "fire in the hearts of their rural church to embrace kids in the foster system that nobody else would take," according to the description. Their church is nestled in Possum Trot, a small, unincorporated community in southeastern Shelby County.
“Sound of Hope: The Story of Possum Trot" details the 200-person congregation came together to adopt 77 at-risk foster kids.
According to the Associated Press, the movie raked in $3.2 million. It was produced by Angel Studios, the same group that made last year's “Sound of Freedom,” which addressed human trafficking.
Ticket sale numbers for this past weekend were collected from Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters to determine the amount earned. Final domestic figures were set to be released Monday.
To showtimes of Sound of Hope: The Story of Possum Trot" near you, click here.
In May, the Fostering Collective hosted an invitational prescreening of the new film with the Martins in attendance.
The Martins were inspired to help adopt all these kids after the passing of Donna’s mom. To overcome her grief, Donna turned her focus toward providing love as a mother herself.
"God has just told you to do something that would change you. I had no idea that he had a plan, a major plan, bigger than what I could have ever imagined," Donna Martin said.
Rev. Martin hopes to see people take the message of the film to heart.
"I’ll be honest with you, everybody can’t adopt. But everybody can be a part, do something that is going to help this process along. And I believe that there’s going to be a total change throughout this nation when they see this because this is going to grab the heartstrings of many people," Rev. Martin said.