In November 2015, Pure Flix established an in-house distribution arm, hiring former Regal executive Ken Rather as head. The studio planned for God's Not Dead 2 to be its first self-distributed film.[18] Also in 2015, Pure Flix launched a subscription streaming service of the same name, which would be devoted to Christian and family-friendly films and television series.[19] In 2016, Pure Flix launched "Keep the Faith", a curriculum supplement for homeschooling. [20]
Pure Flix partnered with the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference to supply further opportunities for Hispanic actors to improve the media representation of the Hispanic community.[21][22] In 2016, Pure Flix reached a multi-year home media distribution deal with Universal Pictures Home Entertainment, starting with Woodlawn.[23]
On November 12, 2020, Pure Flix announced that it would sell its eponymous streaming service to Sony Pictures Entertainment (via its Affirm Films subsidiary); financial details were not disclosed.[24][25] The acquisition included rights to the "Pure Flix" brand,[25] thus the studio was rebranded as Pinnacle Peak Pictures in January 2021.[26]
God's Not Dead series
Their film God's Not Dead was 2014's highest-grossing independent film[27] and one of the most successful independent faith-based films of all time despite negative criticism.[28] A second film, God's Not Dead 2 grossed over $1.4 million in Brazil[29] and was considered by Vox to be "moderately commercially successful".[30] A third film, titled God's Not Dead: A Light in Darkness, was released on March 30, 2018. A fourth film, God's Not Dead: We the People, was released in October 2021. The Christian band Newsboys appear in and provide music for the first two films in the series.[31] Legalities related to the Johnson Amendment were referenced in the second film.[32]
Pinnacle Peak owns a subsidiary known as Quality Flix.[47] Quality Flix works with international films, in contrast to Pinnacle Peak, which is primarily focused on distribution of films within the United States.[48]
Controversies
In 2019, Pure Flix's anti-abortion film Unplanned attracted controversy in both mainstream and evangelical media. Some Christian commentators perceived the film as being unfairly censored after it received an R rating from the Motion Picture Association of America and following a brief and subsequently rescinded suspension of the film's Twitter account.[49][50] Michael Gryboski, writing for Christian Post, criticized major Canadian film distributors (such as Cineplex) refusal to screen the film in the country, calling it a "de facto ban".[51] Film critic Normal Wilner countered that statement by accusing the distributors of employing disingenuous tactics to "manufacture a controversy", pointing out that the film was eventually shown in about 25 Cineplex and Landmark theaters in Canada and claiming nothing had prevented an earlier release. In turn, he pointed out Pure Flix's decision of deliberately choosing not to screen Unplanned for critics to avoid negative reviews.[52] After its release, some criticized Unplanned for 'dangerous' inaccuracies.[53]
Despite Pure Flix films generally being well-received by its evangelical Christian viewership, the company has also attracted criticism from several Christian commentators. Film critic Alissa Wilkinson, who wrote for Christianity Today and teaches at the Christian King's College in New York City, criticized Pure Flix films for being intellectually unstimulating and reinforcing their audience's prejudices "instead of exercising and challenging the imagination of their audience in ways that would make their audience better Christians".[54] She also criticized the studio's successful God's Not Dead trilogy for being "far more interested in bolstering a certain sort of persecution complex than in encouraging its audience toward Christlike behavior".[55]Justin Chang, another film critic who identifies as Christian, likewise criticized Pure Flix's brand of faith-based films for what he perceived as their "self-victimizing" depiction of the evangelical Christian community.[56] Kayla Bartsch, writing for National Review, argued that Pure Flix's films "work to confirm the hypothesis that American Christianity must be artless and unrefined", making a case for more nuanced and stimulating religious films.[57]
^Faughnder, Ryan (11 April 2014). "Can 'God's Not Dead' relive its early success this weekend?". Box Office. Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on 17 April 2014. Retrieved 17 April 2014. The indie film about a college student who debates his atheist professor about the existence of God has grossed about $35 million in ticket sales so far, making it one of the biggest surprises of the year, with little sign of stopping as it enters its fourth weekend in theaters.
^Sandler, Jennifer (10 July 2014). "Lionsgate Acquires Domestic Digital, VOD and Television Distribution Rights to Faith-Based Box Office Hit 'God's Not Dead'". The Wall Street Journal.
^"God's Not Dead". YouTube: GodsNotDeadTheMovie. 14 August 2013. Retrieved 5 August 2014.
^McNary, Dave (28 October 2014). "AFM: Faith-Based 'Do You Believe?' Aims to Match 'God's Not Dead' Success". Variety. Archived from the original on 3 February 2015. Retrieved 14 June 2015. "Do You Believe?" focuses on a dozen different lives that intersect on the streets of Chicago, starting with a local pastor (Ted McGinley) being moved by the visible faith of an old street-corner preacher, played by Delroy Lindo.
