Tim Cook wants you to go to the movies. At least that’s the message he’s sent with the announcement that Apple is aiming at a $1 billion a year investment on theatrical film releases, with as much as fifteen titles making their way to the big screen per year. The plan is part of a coordinated action to make the brand more present across Hollywood, and convert new users to Apple TV+, the final destination for whichever movie Apple premieres in theaters. The announcement alone has already shaken up movie theater stocks.
After the announcement, Bloomberg reported that cinema stocks got a quick boost, with AMC rising 4%, IMAX 5%, and Cinemark getting the biggest increase of them all, jumping 10%. It’s not hard to imagine that Apple will manage to get butts in seats, since its original movies and TV series have featured absolute fan-favorites like Jennifer Aniston, Denzel Washington, Jason Momoa, and the streamer even took the time to flirt with future Willy Wonka Timothée Chalamet. So, it's only natural that investors's attentions have been sparked.
Apple Already Has Huge Titles to Bring to Cinemas
With the promise of their movies getting a theatrical run of at least a month, movie industry professionals are expected to flock to Apple. The reason is simple: A theatrical run suggests that their work will have the potential to reach bigger audiences and create a bigger impact in the business — and in their careers. And the names attached to some of those projects are already huge box office draws: Legendary director Martin Scorsese is hard at work on his thriller Killers of the Flower Moon with Leonardo DiCaprio at the lead, and Ridley Scott is bringing to life the historical epic Napoleon with none other than Academy Award-winning Joker star Joaquin Phoenix.
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Theatrical Releases Are Not a First For Apple
Apple is no stranger to movie theaters, since its titles have already debuted on the big screen in previous years. However, the company previously favored a limited run, which felt more like checking a box so that its movies could become eligible to integrate the awards season. That’s why some people had the chance to watch The Tragedy of Macbeth and CODA in a movie theater. Now, however, Apple wants not only to be eligible but also make a name for itself and start competing head-to-head with other big studios.
The billion-dollar bill attached to the plan also suggests that Apple will double down on marketing for its own movies. Marketing campaigns are a huge chunk of a movie’s post-production money, and can cost almost the same as the movie’s budget, and sometimes even more. It involves creating trailers, sending stars to different locations to promote the title, holding press junkets, and many other things that add up to surprising amounts of money — it's not a coincidence that only big studios foot this bill, and mostly for their biggest releases.
Recently, Apple TV+ did the combo of limited release and streaming platform for Sharper, a thriller starring Julianne Moore, Sebastian Stan, and Justice Smith. Considering its several twists, the movie could very well become a standout in movie theaters if it had a big enough marketing campaign. Hopefully, this billion-dollar plan from Apple will put the streamer's consistent batch of good movies on more people's radar.
You can watch the trailer for Sharper below: