Rule Breakers
THE OPPORTUNITY
Hollywood has rarely given Muslim audiences a reason to buy a ticket. When Muslims do appear on screen, a USC Annenberg study found 69% of those characters are either targets or perpetrators of violence. Representation shapes how a community sees itself, and how everyone else sees it too.
Rule Breakers tells a different story: the true story of Afghan girls and women in STEM, with resilience, innovation, and identity at its heart. It opened in U.S. and Canadian theatres on March 7, 2025, in the middle of Ramadan and at the start of Women's History Month, with a Muslim American population projected to reach 6.2 million by 2030.
Angel Studios and the Rule Breakers team had identified the gap themselves: no one was speaking directly to Muslim audiences. Aam was brought in to fill it, in collaboration with Mariam Shahab, founder of Chatterbox Consulting. Together, we led the Muslim American outreach program end to end, from audience strategy and partnerships to creator campaigns, live events, and coordination with the film's wider marketing teams, with four jobs to do: amplify awareness, drive opening weekend ticket sales, position the film as one that reflects and uplifts Muslim experiences, and make every effort count alongside the work already in motion.
THE APPROACH: OUTREACH STRATEGY
We built the program around one idea: content that starts a conversation, grows into a connected community, and spreads as every advocate brings their own circle with them.
PILLAR ONE: SEGMENT THE COMMUNITY
Muslim America isn't one audience. We prioritised the most populous U.S. metros with significant Muslim communities and split outreach across five segments, each with its own reason to show up: Muslim parents invested in STEM, university students, professional networks, faith and community organisations, and influencers and content creators.
PILLAR TWO: ALIGN BEFORE WE AMPLIFY
A theatrical release already has a lot of voices in the room. We mapped the outreach already underway, so our work supplemented their efforts and expertise, keeping the program tied to the film's broader PR and impact narrative.
PILLAR THREE: GO IN THROUGH THE PEOPLE THE COMMUNITY ALREADY TRUSTS
Every segment got its own message, its own assets, and its own messenger. We opened doors through personal relationships and organisational connections, then gave the people behind them everything they needed to bring their communities to the cinema.
WHAT WE DID
A SCREENING AND IFTAR WITH BROWN GIRL MAGAZINE
In under two weeks, we brought a screening and Iftar to life with Brown Girl Magazine at the Brown Girl Clubhouse in NYC on March 5, two days before release. Cast and crew members Elaha, Sara, and Nikohl joined a fireside chat moderated by Aysha Qamar on representation and the state of Afghan women today. The guest list was built around changemakers: creator and activist Zahra, podcast host Uneeb Khan, Saima Mohammad of Women for Afghan Women, and Kent Page of the UN's Education Cannot Wait. Dates, a family-style Iftar, and chai cart set the tone, and Afghan family brand Maazah came on as food sponsor. A five-post Instagram content series, including the trailer, a recap, panel highlights, and an Instagram Live with cast member Amber, carried the night far beyond the room.
CREATOR PARTNERSHIPS
We partnered with Rida Ali, Jyoti K. Chand, Hitha Palepu, and Nina Davuluri, voices whose audiences would hear the film as an invitation, not an ad.
Rida Ali, a creator focused on history, culture, and South Asian narratives, made a Reel that went viral.
Jyoti K. Chand, an author and comedian, posted a Reel and Story, then followed up with bonus Stories of her own.
Hitha Palepu wrote a dedicated newsletter interview with Roya Mahboob and posted a multi-frame Story set driving to tickets.
Nina Davuluri, the first Indian American Miss America, posted a Story set and whitelisted video.
COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIPS & GROUP OUTINGS
We turned community organizations into ticket buyers. DAWN (Desi American Woman Network) ran chapter outings in Salt Lake City, New York, and Dallas. Desi Girls Read organized group outings across its book club chapters. Women for Afghan Women shared the film in its International Women's Day newsletter and took members of its New York Community Center to see it together using pay-it-forward tickets. Project Anar, 1497, Brown Girls Food Club, and the NYC Artsy Muslims WhatsApp network amplified it to their own circles.
THE UNITED NATIONS & MEDIA
We supported the Rule Breakers producers in bringing the UN's Education Cannot Wait on board: a joint International Women's Day press release, a social toolkit for ECW's campaign ambassadors, and a place for Elaha Mahboob in the UN Daily Press Briefing on International Women's Day. In Dallas-Fort Worth, we coordinated an on-air interview with Amber on Radio Azad, conducted in English and Dari.
PARTNER COORDINATION & TRACKING
We worked on influencer selection, messaging, and outreach strategy, set up commission links to track ticket sales by partner, and reported back throughout on engagement, key wins, and audience sentiment.
THE RESULT
20+ creators, community organisations, and institutions activated in under six weeks
459K, 188K, and 73.5K follower creator audiences reached through Zahra, Jyoti K. Chand, and Nina Davuluri
2K+ likes, ~300 shares, and 315+ saves across partner content
6 group outings across DAWN, Desi Girls Read, and Women for Afghan Women
191K+ impressions across 5 Instagram posts
70K+ trailer views, against a 50K average for similar content
783 DM shares and 382 bookmarks, nearly 3x the platform average for reels of that size
58K+ views on the post-event carousel in 24 hours, 25% above the account's average
64% open rate on pre-event emails, against a 20 to 25% industry average
37,660 reach on Rida Ali's Reel, 75% of it non-followers
200K Radio Azad listeners reached in Dallas-Fort Worth
Rule Breakers reached Muslim and South Asian America through the people those communities already trust. A screening in New York, a press briefing at the United Nations, a radio interview in Dari, and book clubs, women's networks, and creators across the country each brought the film to their own people, for their own reasons, in the weeks around Ramadan and Women's History Month.
Beyond opening weekend, the film's team came away with a culturally grounded outreach playbook, a deepened relationship with the UN's Education Cannot Wait, and a network of community partners ready for what came next: educational screenings, institutional licensing and streaming, and international releases in the UK and the Middle East.
PROJECT CREDITS
A collaboration between Aam Creative and Chatterbox Consulting
Strategy & Outreach: Afshan Nasseri & Mariam Shahab of (Chatterbox Consulting)
