'Drummer Boy' Opens a Faith-Friendly Musical Set at the Start of the Revolutionary War

Angel Studios released Drummer Boy on 6 November 2026, a musical set at the outset of the Revolutionary War.

The film stars Joel David Smallbone, one half of the Grammy-winning Christian music act For King + Country, which he forms with his brother Luke. Joel David Smallbone also co-directs the picture with another brother, Ben Smallbone. Variety described the film as a patriotic musical that should appeal to Christian audiences.

For several of the people involved, this is their first feature since Unsung Hero, the 2024 film that Variety called one of the bigger faith-based entertainment hits in recent years. Making a second feature is not guaranteed in a business where most independent films never reach a wide release, so the gap between projects matters to the people making them.

Angel Studios sells its films mainly to audiences who already follow faith-based entertainment, and it has built its release strategy around that community. Whether Drummer Boy repeats that pattern will show up in its box-office figures, which had not been reported at the time of writing.

Families weighing a visit have some guidance to read first. Common Sense Media published a Parents' Guide and review on 5 November 2026, and it described the story as historically inaccurate. Plugged In also published its own review of the film the same day.

Both guides are written for parents deciding what to show their children, and each lists content concerns and themes to talk through after a screening. Readers who want the full detail should open those pages directly.

The Revolutionary War setting places the story in the 1770s, when the American colonies began their fight for independence from Britain. Films about that period often draw on well-known names and battles, but this one starts at the beginning of the conflict, so its early scenes set up the stakes for the rest of the story.