Pinnacle Peak Pictures (formerly Pure Flix Entertainment until January 2021) is an American independent evangelical Christian film production and distribution studio founded by David A. R. White and Russell Wolfe. Pinnacle Peak produces Christian films, including God's Not Dead (2014), Do You Believe? (2015), Woodlawn (2015), The Case for Christ (2017), and Unplanned (2019). Since 2014, films produced and distributed by Pure Flix have collectively grossed over $195 million at the worldwide box office. The company has headquarters in Scottsdale, Arizona.
History Pinnacle Peak was founded in 2005 by David A. R. White, Michael Scott, Russell Wolfe, Randy Travis, Byron M. Jones and Elizabeth Travis as Pure Flix Entertainment.Mia Galuppo, hollywoodreporter.com, Faith-Based Company Pure Flix Launches Theatrical Distribution Arm, US, November 17, 2015Katherine Rosman, nytimes.com, Forget Netflix and Chill. Try Pure Flix and Pray., New York, April 22, 2017
Since its foundation, the company has created many films, such as The Wager, Home Beyond the Sun, In the Blink of an Eye, Sarah's Choice, A Greater Yes: The Story of Amy Newhouse, The Book of Ruth: Journey of Faith, Holyman Undercover, and Samson.
The company produced Jerusalem Countdown in 2011, with 10 West Studios. They also produced the first two seasons of TBN's Travel the Road. God's Not Dead (2014) starring Kevin Sorbo, Shane Harper, and Dean Cain earned over $60 million in the U.S. box office and was released in digital format by Lionsgate on August 5, 2014.
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. Retrieved November 2016 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. In 2016, Pure Flix launched "Keep the Faith", a curriculum supplement for homeschooling.
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.Jerry Bowyer, The Case For "The Case For Christ" And Other Christian-Themed Films, forbes.com, USA, September 25, 2017 In 2016, Pure Flix reached a multi-year home media distribution deal with Universal Pictures Home Entertainment, starting with Woodlawn.
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. The acquisition included rights to the "Pure Flix" brand, thus the studio was rebranded as Pinnacle Peak Pictures in January 2021.
God's Not Dead series Their film God's Not Dead was 2014's highest-grossing independent film and one of the most successful independent faith-based films of all time despite negative criticism. A second film, God's Not Dead 2 grossed over $1.4 million in Brazil and was considered by Vox to be "moderately commercially successful". 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. Legalities related to the Johnson Amendment were referenced in the second film.
Awards and nominations YearNominated workAwardResult2014God's Not DeadInspirational Film of the Year – GMA Dove Awards
Productions and distributions Film Release dateTitleNotes2004Home Beyond the Sun2007The Wager2008The Imposter2009A Greater Yes: The Story of Amy NewhouseSarah's ChoiceIn the Blink of an EyeThe Book of Ruth: Journey of Faith2010Holyman UndercoverWhat If...The Bill Collector2011The EncounterJerusalem Countdown2012Ghost SoldiersApostle Peter and the Last SupperThe Mark2013The Book of EstherThe Book of Daniel2014God's Not DeadMoms' Night OutProduced by TriStar Pictures, Affirm Films, Provident Films, and Four Boys Entertainment2015Old FashionedDo You Believe?Faith of Our FathersWoodlawn2016God's Not Dead 2Hillsong: Let Hope RiseI'm Not AshamedProduced by Big Film Factory and Visible Pictures2017The Case for Christ Retrieved November 2016Same Kind of Different as MeDistribution onlyProduced by Disruption Entertainment and Paramount Pictures2018SamsonProduced by Boomtown FilmsGod's Not Dead: A Light in DarknessUnbroken: Path to RedemptionProduced by Universal 1440 Entertainment and The WTA GroupShake Off the WorldLittle WomenProduced by Paulist Productions and Main Dog ProductionsIndivisible2019Unplanned2021God's Not Dead: We the People2022Redeeming LoveProduced by Universal Pictures, Nitibah Pictures, and Mission Pictures International2024God's Not Dead: In God We Trust2025The Last Supper
Television Travel the Road (2003–present)
Subsidiaries Pinnacle Peak owns a subsidiary known as Quality Flix. Quality Flix works with international films, in contrast to Pinnacle Peak, which is primarily focused on distribution of films within the United States.
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. 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". 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. After its release, some criticized Unplanned for 'dangerous' inaccuracies.
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". 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". 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. 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.
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