Amazon to invest $1bn PA in cinema releases
November 24, 2022
By Colin Mann
Amazon plans to spend more than $1 billion a year to produce movies that will be released in cinemas, according to people familiar with the company’s plans.
The online retailer intends to make between 12 and 15 movies annually that will get a theatrical release. Amazon will release a smaller number of films in cinemas in 2023 and increase its output over time, reports Bloomberg.
The initiative differs from rival SVoD service Netflix which releases more than a movie a week for home viewing. It released Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery theatrically on November 23rd, and it will remain there for just one week before heading to streaming in December.
“Amazon.com’s plans to invest $1 billion to produce 12-15 movies a year for release in cinemas is a vote of confidence in the theatrical model,” noted Bloomberg Intelligence analyst Geetha Ranganathan, suggesting the move could easily boost receipts by 15 per cent to 20 per cent given that Universal and Warner have roughly similar budgets.