Over the past year, Apple has significantly increased the number of movies it offers, releasing a string of big-budget, high-profile films. getting wide theatrical releases and long exclusive windows ahead of release on Apple TV+.
While the early days of Apple-funded films focused on low-budget indie films like the Oscar-winning CODA, Apple has significantly increased its offerings over the past six months or so.
The company has recently debuted such large-scale projects as Martin Scorsese's Killers of the Flower Moon, Ridley Scott's Napoleon and, most recently, Matthew Vaughn's Argyle. All three films were made not only with the support of prestigious directors, but also with huge financial backing amounting to hundreds of millions of dollars.
Now, according to a new report, it seems that Apple management is overestimating its capabilities. film ambitions, including the role of theatrical releases as part of the strategy.
Training from theater performers
Matt Belloni from Puck shared what he heard about a meeting at Apple last month that included TV+ heads Zach Van Amburg and Jamie Erlicht, as well as Apple CEO Tim Cook and head of support Eddie Cue. The meeting was an opportunity to review Apple's film strategy and consider changes.
Cook and Cue weren't asking for major strategic changes, but they did insist on some changes in the near future.
Cook and Cue The Qs did not demand large-scale strategic changes, but they did insist on some changes in the near future.
Cook and Q did not demand large-scale strategic changes.
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From Belloni of Puck:
I'm told Apple executives have pushed Zack and Jamie to explain how the company can get smarter about its theatrical endeavors, which, at least by traditional metrics, haven't been successful.
Belloni emphasizes that this meeting comes not only after Apple's recent trio of big-budget theatrical projects, but also ahead of several key theatrical releases that are in development. One such film is the Formula 1 movie starring Brad Pitt, which reportedly cost over $300 million. Continuing to struggle in the theatrical market could be extremely costly for the company.
9to5Mac's Opinion
Apple has a lot of money , which can be thrown around, a fact that has been evident since TV+ first debuted in 2019. This gives it a competitive advantage over legacy Hollywood studios, which have to deal with very different financial realities.
However, this meeting – and especially the presence of Tim Cook at it – indicates that there is still a moment when Apple's cash flow is tightening.
I hope the company is patient enough and Apple's film team is creative enough to figure out how to make it a success with theatrical releases. But if the next few big-budget projects underperform, I wouldn't be surprised to hear about major changes.
