Apple looking to spend $1B a year to release movies in theaters
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Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) may be about to boost its already big push into original entertainment content by investing $1B annually into movies that will debut in theaters.
The moves come as Apple (AAPL) looks to build up its Apple TV+ streaming service which the company has used to debut exclusive movies, and those with limited theatrical runs such as 2021 Best Picture Oscar winner CODA. Among the movies reportedly under consideration for Apple (AAPL) are director Martin Scorsese's Killers of the Flower Moon, which stars Leonardo DiCaprio.
According to a report from Bloomberg, Apple (AAPL) has had talks with movie studios about partnering on releasing a handful of films in theaters through the end of 2023, and build up the number of releases in the next few years. In addition to Scorsese's project, other movies that Apple (AAPL) could soon financially support include director Matthew Vaughn's Argylle, a spy thriller, and Ridley Scott's Napoleon, a drama about the French emperor.
Such a relationship would be a sort-of reunion between Scott and Apple (AAPL), as Scott directed Apple's (AAPL) legendary "1984" commercial that introduced the original Macintosh computer almost 40 years ago.
Since debuting its Apple TV+ streaming service in 2019, Apple (AAPL) has focused on content investments in shows and movies made exclusively for Apple TV+. The strategy counters that of the likes of Netflix (NFLX), Amazon (AMZN) and Disney's (DIS) Hulu, which license content from other sources and studios in addition to producing shows and movies of their own.
Apple's (AAPL) biggest movie success would have to be CODA, which won the Best Picture Oscar a year ago. However, according to Bloomberg, CODA brought in less than $2M in box office receipts after Apple (AAPL) acquired it for $25M and released it at the same time in theaters and on Apple TV+.
In addition to its reported new movie plans, Apple (AAPL) is said to be looking into bidding on the rights to stream English Premier League soccer games in the U.K. starting next year.