Why Apple Would Spend Billions on Wide Theatrical Movie Releases | Charts
Apple and Amazon are both reportedly planning to spend billions of dollars on movies for release in theaters. It may sound counterintuitive that these two tech giants with their own streaming services are investing in theatrical releases but they likely have reasons beyond box office revenue to pursue this strategy. An analysis of Parrot Analytics’ data — which takes into account consumer research, streaming, downloads and social media, among other engagement — shows why releasing movies widely in theaters might make sense as a way to boost the profile of and subscriptions to their streaming services.
In addition to attracting A-list talent, who might prefer that their work gets a chance to be seen in theaters, Apple is no doubt hoping that giving its movies a theatrical release will persuade more people to sign up for Apple TV+.
So far this year, the most in-demand movie on Apple TV+ is “Emancipation,” which had 15.75 times the average series demand. While this number is a solid performance (only about 3% of movies reach eight times the average demand), it’s still well behind the exceptional level of demand that the top new movies of the year so far have reached.
One question is whether to go wide with a release or stay limited. There’s some evidence that a limited theatrical release doesn’t deliver the benefits of a wide release. In the cases of “Sharper” and “The Tragedy of Macbeth,” both films hit peak demand only after becoming available on Apple TV+. Their initial limited theatrical releases did little to attract audience attention and it was only after becoming available to stream that they reached their potential.
What this doesn’t answer is whether these movies’ limited theatrical release ultimately laid the foundation for them to go on and be successful on Apple TV+. The scale of Apple’s reported investment in theatrically releasing its movies certainly suggests that the company thinks it has something to gain by it.
“CODA” may be a more instructive example of the value of being part of the conversation. Initial demand for the movie following its day-and-date release in theaters and on Apple TV+ was muted, lagging the performance of other Apple movies. However, the movie ultimately reached its highest levels of demand in the lead-up to and following its Best Picture win at the Academy Awards. Apple may be calculating that it can drive similar buzz by keeping movies in theaters longer — even if its films don’t all bring home Oscars.
Christofer Hamilton is a senior insights analyst at Parrot Analytics, a WrapPRO partner. For more from Parrot Analytics, visit the Data and Analysis Hub.
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