Apple is Looking to Break Into the Theater Market

By: Noah Briggs | nvb5298@psu.edu | September 27, 2019

Apple is thinking about releasing full feature films in theatres before putting them out on their streaming service, Apple TV+. Their idea for trying this is to hopefully attract big-name directors and producers, while getting ahead of one of their competitors, Netflix Inc.

In 2015, Amazon started with this idea of releasing films, giving more time for a showing than other categories. The two main leads for this effort are co-heads for video programming at Apple, Zach Van Amburg and Jamie Erlicht, along with some consulting help from Greg Foster, former head of entertainment at IMAX Corp. 

One of the first films that Apple plans to release is called “On the Rocks”, which is set to be

released in 2020, after a few premieres at some high-profile festivals. They have partnered with A24, an independent film production company, who is associated with best picture winner “Moonlight” and “Hereditary”. 

The whole goal of this tactic for Apple is more of a prestige and brand-building with a unique release, in their case in theaters. They are more focused on a character-based film, where artists can share their stories, wanting to attract content creators who want to see their work be shown on screen. Another goal is to increase the interest in Apple TV+, a subscription streaming service, also making their prices cheaper compared to other services like Disney and Netflix.

I think this is a good and smart idea by Apple. They already have a well-known brand with great products and now they are trying to move into the film and theater market. I think this may take a while for people to accept as it is hard for more original ideas to be produced. On the other hand, this could be a good platform for those more creative content creators to elevate their platform and receive better recognition. I think it is important that they thought about it and looked at Amazons model, which has grown to be successful over the last couple of years. 

This will be good in the long run as more people will look to the content by the original shows for Apple TV+ and look to see the films with the same quality. The markets for subscription TV will be disrupted and it will take some time to see who will come out on top, but Apple has an advantage with their product and brand recognition, and their idea of keeping prices low may benefit them as well.

Sources: 

https://www.wsj.com/articles/apple-plans-to-bring-feature-length-films-to-theaters-

11569579632?mod=hp_lead_pos7 

https://variety.com/2019/digital/news/apple-theatrical-film-release-apple-tv-plus-1203351362/ 

https://www.techspot.com/news/82100-apple-wants-feature-length-films-theaters.html

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