Apple to invest $1 billion a year in theatrical movie releases: report

Apple reportedly plans to spend $1 billion (about Rs. 8,200 crore) a year producing movies for theatrical release, and the company has already approached film studios to collaborate on such titles for release this year and in years to come. According to a recent report, the company intends to screen films in thousands of theaters for at least a month, reversing its previous policy of showing original content and limited box office releases. However, the details are still being worked out.

According to a Bloomberg report, Martin Scorsese’s Killers of the Flower Moon, Matthew Vaughn’s Argylle and Ridley Scott’s Napoleon could be among the potential films the company could release in theaters.

The move is part of the Cupertino-based tech giant’s attempts to boost its profile in Hollywood and attract customers to its streaming platform, Apple TV+, according to the report. Usually, Apple has either released movies directly to its streaming site or granted limited runs at select theaters to qualify the release for Oscar nominations. CODA, an Apple-produced film, won Best Picture at the 2022 Oscars.

According to the report, Apple is trying to seek collaboration with established film production companies to handle global theatrical distribution, instead of handling everything in-house due to a lack of expertise in this area. He is still trying to finalize deals such as marketing budget sizes and distribution commissions for the partner studio, according to the report.

It also suggests that this is separate from Apple’s current plans for the Apple Original Films unit, as the Paramount deal was born out of agreements a few years ago when Apple bought the development rights to Killers of the Flower Moon at the studio.

Apple has paid around $200 million (about Rs. 1,600 crore) for the long-awaited Scorsese production, with the film set to premiere at the Cannes Film Festival in May, accompanied by a wide theatrical release for a few months before. to actually be broadcast on the Apple TV+ platform.

The company’s dedication to long-running theatrical releases is a way for it to appease Hollywood stars who want to see their works on the big screen while raising awareness for its subscription service, which is expected to number around 20 million and 40 million users. , far less than rivals Netflix and Disney+, according to a CNBC report.

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