Apple Movies Could Premiere in Cinemas Weeks Before Being Released on Apple TV+

[ipedro]

Isn’t Apple getting a little carried away if they think their content is going to be Oscar worthy?

What makes you think it won't be? AppleTV+ is working with Hollywood's top talent, from Emmy and Academy Award winning directors and producers to AAA level actors.

I was working the film festival in Toronto, spending time with the world's top directors, producers and actors and AppleTV+ was one of the biggest topics of conversation this year. The industry is taking them seriously because they know who is behind the content they're producing.

 

[MoreRumors?]

I guess you never go to the theater then? Since this is true for every movie.

It has been many, many years since I went to a theater to see a movie. I have chosen to wait and buy dvds when they come out. Does it bother you that I don’t go see a movie at a theater? BTW, the purchase of a dvd allows me to watch a movie over and over and over....

 

[HiRez]

Why is the photo shown for an Apple TV+ show, not a movie?

 

[StyxMaker]

I guess you never go to the theater then? Since this is true for every movie.

I haven’t been to a theater to see a movie in 30 years. I have been to theaters where live people actually perform on a stage.

 

[EdRed]

They just want to be elegible for awards. Awards make you noticeable and they need to be noticed badly.

 

[MacBH928]

Regarding Apple debuting their movies at the theater, I think it makes sense for them to do so since it will make their content eligible for Oscars.

My understanding is that movies make their money in theater, everything after that is pocket change. If it flops in theaters thats it.

I am not sure how they justify the cost of TV shows. I heard an episode of "Friends" cost up to $10M, I am guessing the 5min ad break in between the 20min show did not cost $12M. So not sure how it is profitable. Even licensing it to different tv networks, I doubt they will make up that money per episode.

 

[coolbreeze]

This strikes me as a company slowly realizing they've made a big mistake. They likely realize the actual, paying market for this limited (and specific) service may be a bit tricky to monetize to the level they need. Solution? Go for the even higher end! Have a glitzy build up, pay actors a pallet of cash and do it often! Use early adoption numbers for WallSt., float out updates until after the Q1 call, pray things get better by Q2, they aren't, report double-whammy disappointing results. Wall St Wall-Streets and flips it's ****, stock bounces for a day, settles. Apple TV+ Fire person in charge. Hire someone close, he/she/it cleans house in Marketing and they try again.They are now aggressively going to position the service as an "exclusive view inside Hollywood" with all sorts of crap only available on ATV. Basically same, reheated approach that just failed, but with a few minor tweaks (to minimize contractural disasters). Service limps along, becomes a zombie, disappears in 2023.

Or maybe I just don't understand Tim's approach IDK

 

[Abazigal]

Or maybe I just don't understand Tim's approach IDK

It's no different from Apple's approach to supporting artistes in Apple Music with higher streaming rates.

You build goodwill with the actors and legacy industry leaders who prefer the theatrical release model. And as the streaming wars heat up and companies go into bidding frenzies to lock up talent, you are going to want to be able to count on their support. How do you appeal to talented storytellers? By showing them where their work could potentially end up. Not just on your video streaming service, but also in cinemas with the potential for nabbing Oscar awards.

I am reminded of how Steven Spielberg came out criticising Netflix for doing a limited release for some of their films just to meet the basic requirements for qualifying for an Oscar nomination before making them available on their own streaming service. Given how closely Apple seems to be working with Spielberg, I don't think Apple wants to risk angering him too much, if they want to sustain a good working relationship with him in the long term.

The other benefit, of course, is getting street cred so the service will be taken more seriously by would-be subscribers.

 

[ipponrg]

What makes you think it won't be? AppleTV+ is working with Hollywood's top talent, from Emmy and Academy Award winning directors and producers to AAA level actors.

I was working the film festival in Toronto, spending time with the world's top directors, producers and actors and AppleTV+ was one of the biggest topics of conversation this year. The industry is taking them seriously because they know who is behind the content they're producing.

It’s funny how different perspectives are. I work in the industry as well but on the consumer side, and no one is taking this that seriously right now. I feel that creators and consumers are not usually on the same side, e.g rotten tomatoes.

We will see how it goes.

 

[ipedro]

It’s funny how different perspectives are. I work in the industry as well but on the consumer side, and no one is taking this that seriously right now. I feel that creators and consumers are not usually on the same side, e.g rotten tomatoes.

We will see how it goes.

Not that I was eavesdropping but you couldn’t help but overhear it, standing a few feet away from Hollywood’s top actors, directors, and producers. Off the top of my head, I heard Meryl Streep discussing a meeting with Zack (Van Amburg?) and Jennifer (Aniston?) — maybe she’s making an appearance on The Morning Show — Jon Bernthal (The Punisher) speaking with an Apple TV executive, Director Fisher Stevens talking about a documentary that he’s shopping around that might be picked up by Apple, Director James Mangold talking about the changing environment in the film business, 3 times bringing up AppleTV+and the entire team behind Hala coming in to discuss the project and mingling with other directors and actors.

This not to mention direct conversations I had with movie executives that brought up AppleTV+ before I did. I heard the word “Apple” spoken over and over during conversations at TIFF. Just so you don’t think I’m BS’ing about my access to these conversations, here’s Meryl Streep chatting with Antonio Banderas and a pair of executives and me behind the camera during an interview with James Mangold, Matt Damon and Christian Bale.

Or see my IG (tap on my TIFF stories) to see who I was photographing.

Apple is very serious about TV and I thought it would go without saying given the calibre of directors, producers and actors that are involved. This is going to be big.

 

[ipponrg]

Not that I was eavesdropping but you couldn’t help but overhear it, standing a few feet away from Hollywood’s top actors, directors, and producers. Off the top of my head, I heard Meryl Streep discussing a meeting with Zack (Van Amburg?) and Jennifer (Aniston?) — maybe she’s making an appearance on The Morning Show — Jon Bernthal (The Punisher) speaking with an Apple TV executive, Director Fisher Stevens talking about a documentary that he’s shopping around that might be picked up by Apple, Director James Mangold talking about the changing environment in the film business, 3 times bringing up AppleTV+and the entire team behind Hala coming in to discuss the project and mingling with other directors and actors.

This not to mention direct conversations I had with movie executives that brought up AppleTV+ before I did. I heard the word “Apple” spoken over and over during conversations at TIFF. Just so you don’t think I’m BS’ing about my access to these conversations, here’s Meryl Streep chatting with Antonio Banderas and a pair of executives and me behind the camera during an interview with James Mangold, Matt Damon and Christian Bale.

View attachment 864935View attachment 864936

Or see my IG (tap on my TIFF stories) to see who I was photographing.

Apple is very serious about TV and I thought it would go without saying given the calibre of directors, producers and actors that are involved. This is going to be big.

I definitely don’t think you’re BSing here. Not saying that Apple isn’t serious about it either. The issue is if the general audiences care about the content getting created. I do think the personas you’ve highlighted tend to have certain stigmas attached to them which will attract a certain demographic to be more excited than others

 

[TracesOfArsenic]

You should write a letter to Tim Cook.

You've got a better chance he'll look at it if you do it in Excel.

 

[ipedro]

I definitely don’t think you’re BSing here. Not saying that Apple isn’t serious about it either. The issue is if the general audiences care about the content getting created. I do think the personas you’ve highlighted tend to have certain stigmas attached to them which will attract a certain demographic to be more excited than others

To succeed in the TV business, you need essentially TWO things: a top tier talented team ranging from directors, to writers, to producers, to actors and you need money to realize the creative vision of those people without too many limitations. Apple has a near endless supply of the latter and given the slate of people working on shows for Apple, they have the best of the best of that talent.

Before these past few weeks, I'd put a couple of "if"s on that working out. If Apple were making a half hearted effort or If the talent weren't taking Apple seriously and just doing it for a pay check, there'd be a chance that Apple would end up just throwing a ton of money at a bunch of duds and it would fail. But Apple has shown that they're very serious about this and Hollywood is treating them as a legitimate player — better still, the industry is excited about AppleTV+.

Having seen the previews, I'm comfortable saying at this point that this is one of the most exciting things coming from Apple in a very long time. Not so much based on the current slate of shows, even though there are a good collection of very obvious hits in the making, but more about the potential for growth. Apple is hitting the ground running. It's only year one.

I'd go as far as to predict that within 5 years or less, Apple will be one of the biggest media conglomerates by audience, right up there with the existing slate of AT&T/Warner Media, Comcast, Viacom/CBS and Disney. Note that the owners of 2 of these are telecom giants that just bought their way in to the business but today are established players. I wouldn't neglect the possibility of Apple and Disney merging as Bob Iger said would have happened under Steve Jobs. Their interests and culture align perfectly.

To you point on how customer tastes and the industry don't always match, that's true for individual projects but can't be true for all offerings since there are always standout hits. Apple isn't just producing one show and betting the farm on it succeeding. There are proven talent releasing dozens of shows over the first year alone, with a steady stream joining in for future projects. Will there be a Stranger Things or a Game of Thrones or a Breaking Bad in there? People asked the same of Netflix as a total newcomer and yet they released a bunch of hits and are now taken seriously.

 

[Ruggy]

This.
I used to work at one of those done-in theaters and I was always amazed the money people threw at those places.

I mean good for me cuz I made bank as a server. But I’m sure it’s hard as a parent to feel pressured to take your kid to see a movie and spend $100 or more for a family of four.

Crazy prices and if you leave the kids at home and go out as a couple, you pay the same or more on the baby-sitter

I rarely go to the movies but I like the option for "big movies" such as Lord of the Rings or Star Wars. It is nice to get away from distractions and interruptions for 2 hours and just concentrate on the big screen. However this is definitely the exception instead of the rule. The vast majority of movies I watch are through Apple TV / Netflix.

Regarding Apple debuting their movies at the theater, I think it makes sense for them to do so since it will make their content eligible for Oscars.

Goodness me you are lucky. Last time I went I couldn't concentrate on the film for the noise of all the sweet bags rustling. The phone screens constantly lighting up was distracting too plus the people talking all the way through, or going in and out.
It's really nice to see a good film on the big screen especially as you aren't in comfortable surroundings and it adds to the tension, but the behaviour of people is ruining it. Worse at a play because the actors see it and it disturbs them.

 

[digthewell]

Makes sense. They don't lose out on the revenue by foregoing a section of people to streaming and people who want to have the cinematic experience at a theatre can still do a week earlier. And streamers don't need to wait for too long to get their releases.

 

[BGPL]

I haven't been to a movie theater since revenge of the sith. And the people talking behind me the entire movie pushed me to build my own theater at home, and I'll never look back. I know people like the movie theater, but I fear it will go away in the next fifteen years in favor of movie theaters and streaming.

 

[Ted13]

A 3 month exclusive theatrical run will hurt that, why do I want to pay Apple when they are gong to delay releasing stuff on their own service for 3 months. I mean, I'm an AMC A-List subscriber so, I'll just watch Apple's stuff in theaters and not subscribe to their service.

Clearly I missed the 3 month part - that is unnecessary on every level - I seriously doubt any of the AppleTV+ movies will be such a big hit that they will last in theaters for over 30 days, never mind 3 full months.
Yes, aTV+ is worldwide, and different coutries have different theatrical release schedules, but still... 3 months is gross overkill no matter how you look at it.

 

[Ted13]

Isn’t Apple getting a little carried away if they think their content is going to be Oscar worthy?

??? It's not like Apple made the movies - they like any other movie studio are buying films from the Toronto Film Festival and no doubt will be buying from Sundance and Cannes. Many Oscar nominees/winners have exactly those origins.