Apple boosts investment in film production
The US corporation Apple plans to increase its investment in film production. Investments in this area will amount to USD 1 billion annually. This step is dictated by the company’s desire to expand its presence in Hollywood and increase the number of Apple TV+ streaming service users.
As a part of the development plan, the corporation intends to cooperate with a number of famous Hollywood directors. In addition, Apple announced upcoming releases of several of its films, including Martin Scorsese and Ridley Scott.
The company has also changed its approach to streaming its products. Whereas Apple films used to be available exclusively on a streaming platform or in a limited number of theatres, they will now be available at most cinema chains within a month. Such a move will allow the company to increase collections from its films and thereby make its streaming service more popular. To remain competitive, Apple needs to increase the number of TV+ subscribers. The platform has between 20 and 40 million subscribers, behind Netflix and Disney+.
Despite such ambitious plans, Apple has not yet had a clear strategy for distributing films to cinemas. The corporation has not previously engaged in the large-scale production of movies and their distribution to significant networks for worldwide broadcasts. For this, the company decided to enlist the help of distributors. However, negotiating marketing budgets and paying for distribution services is the first priority. The studios spend over USD 100 million to promote their potentially successful films. This amount is significantly higher than streaming services’ budgets to distribute their products. Most of the money is spent on promoting TV shows and TV series.
However, Apple intends to actively develop film production, especially since the company has previously established its studio in Hollywood. The impetus for developing the film direction was the success of CODA, which won an Oscar in 2021. Apple bought the film for $25 million, which was a record for the corporation. The picture was shown in cinemas and on a streaming platform.
It’s worth noting that the increased investment in film production was quite a surprise move, given that the tech giant had previously announced a reduction in investment in its other areas. Apple is following a trend that has been seen amongst tech giants over the past few years. They are increasing investments in entertainment while reducing investments in other divisions or laying off employees.
