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That studio has since inked the filmmaker brothers to a multi-year deal. Affirm released the Erwin Brothers comedy Moms’ Night Out in 2014, but missed out on their $86 million windfall I Can Only Imagine, which released in 2018 through Lionsgate instead. It also shows how retaining talent has proven a challenge.Īfter several Sony blockbusters, including Heaven is for Real, which earned $101 million worldwide, producer DeVon Franklin decamped to rival studio Paramount. (Crowdfunded by over 20,000 backers who have raised $20 million to date, the production outshines other titles on the Pure Flix app.)īut the varied filmography of Sony’s Affirm label, helmed by executive vice president Peluso since its founding, encapsulates decades of hits and misses in reaching Christian consumers. Its dozens of Christian-themed films, including the Kendrick Brothers’ conversion-oriented movies, will be merged with the Pure Flix library, which recently added season 1 of VidAngel’s acclaimed Gospel adaptation The Chosen. Sony’s acquisition of Pure Flix streaming marks the first major studio attempt to create a must-see destination for faith content. They have the credibility and size to be taken seriously by everyone: trade publications, industry producers, and the audience.” “But there’s no better leader than Sony Affirm led by Rich Peluso to try to compete. “Today, more Christians are watching Netflix and Disney+ than any self-described ‘faith-based streaming service,’” said Lokkesmoe. Disney+ catered to Christian audiences with recent inspirational film Clouds-given high marks from Christian outlets-while Netflix features a robust slate of faith titles like Sony’s Soul Surfer, The Young Messiah, and the new docuseries Voices of Fire. Yet major streamers have kept faith-driven consumers coming back with consistent releases. (Pure Flix and Sony Pictures did not respond to requests for comment.) Meanwhile, market leader Netflix has recently risen to 195 million subscribers worldwide.īy contrast, Pure Flix reported 350,000 subscribers last December, and has since stated their streaming service has seen a “40 percent increase in membership” this past spring. Sony’s announcement came on the same day Disney revealed that its Disney+ streaming service has attained more than 73 million global subscribers. With most theaters closed during COVID-19-related lockdowns, streaming has ruled the entertainment landscape. Most players in the market are still feeling their way up the staircase in the dark.”

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“But there’s not a clear path on how to find an audience. “The shift to streaming has been a long time coming, with the pandemic accelerating it,” said Erik Lokkesmoe, president of Nashville-based Aspiration Entertainment.

This move by a major studio reveals the value Hollywood places on reaching Christian consumers, particularly as most entertainment has been moving to in home and on demand. However, the independent studio Pure Flix Entertainment will remain a separate entity and retain its library of films-notably its God’s Not Dead trilogy, which collectively earned $96 million at the box office. White-who has starred in many Pure Flix releases himself- said they plan to stay on board, joining Affirm Entertainment after the deal is done to manage the service and help develop future programming.

Pure Flix CEO Michael Scott and chief content officer David A. Keith Le Goy, president of networks and distribution at Sony, said the acquisition allows Affirm to create and share more stories that are “both impactful and entertaining.” Pure Flix, one of a half-dozen streaming platforms targeting Christian viewers, will be fully owned by Sony subsidiary Affirm Entertainment pending regulatory approval, the company announced last week.Īffirm already has a strong track record of what executives call “uplifting, inspirational content,” with popular titles aimed at Christian audiences: Miracles from Heaven starring Jennifer Garner, War Room from filmmaker brothers Alex and Stephen Kendrick, and The Star, an animated re-telling of the Nativity co-produced by DeVon Franklin and The Jim Henson Company.

In a shakeup of the niche faith-based streaming market, Sony Pictures plans to acquire streaming service Pure Flix and its hundreds of thousands of subscribers committed to “clean entertainment” and “feel-good movies.”

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