Amazon Will Produce and Acquire Movies for Release in Theaters and Online
Amazon founder and CEO Jeff Bezos
By Hilary Lewis
Amazon Studios is getting into the movie business, announcing Monday that it will begin to produce and acquire original movies for theatrical release and early-window distribution on Amazon Prime Instant Video.
Amazon’s films won’t be released day-and-date in theaters and online, instead planning to making its original movies available on its subscription-based Prime Instant Video streaming service in the U.S. four to eight weeks after their theatrical debut. Production is set to begin this year with the goal of bringing customers a dozen original, prestige movies each year.
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"We look forward to expanding our production efforts into feature films. Our goal is to create close to 12 movies a year with production starting later this year," Amazon Studios VP Roy Price said in a statement. "Not only will we bring Prime Instant Video customers exciting, unique, and exclusive films soon after a movie’s theatrical run, but we hope this program will also benefit filmmakers, who too often struggle to mount fresh and daring stories that deserve an audience."
Amazon Original Movies will focus on unique stories, voices and characters from up-and-coming creators. The division’s creative development will be headed up by former Good Machine co-founder Ted Hope, whose production company was behind films like Eat Drink Man Woman and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, which Amazon competitor Netflix recently announced plans to make a sequel to that would be available on its streaming service the same day it hits Imax theaters. Hope, a veteran indie film producer, most recently served as CEO of Fandor, the subscription-based online streaming service that specializes in independent movies and foreign films. He had previously served as executive director of the San Francisco FIlm Society.
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"Audiences already recognize that Amazon has raised the bar with productions in the episodic realm, tackling bold material in unique ways and collaborating with top talent, both established and emerging. To help carry the torch into the feature film world for such an innovative company is a tremendous opportunity and responsibility," Hope said in a statement. "Amazon Original Movies will be synonymous with films that amaze, excite, and move our fans, wherever customers watch. I am incredibly thrilled to be part of this."
Netflix has also announced plans to make four movies with Adam Sandler, which will debut exclusively on Netflix.
Amazon Studios’ critically acclaimed original series Transparent recently won two Golden Globes and the company is also producing TV series with Steven Soderbergh, Carlton Cuse, Ridley Scott and Woody Allen.
Netflix chief content officer Ted Sarandos previously told The Hollywood Reporter that the streaming service is looking to make 10-14 movies a year, similar to Amazon’s planned output of 12 films a year.
Netflix’s announcement that it was making a movie to debut in theaters and on its streaming service simultaneously led to a swift backlash from exhibitors, with exhibition giants Regal, AMC Theatres and Cinemark saying they wouldn’t show the film on their own Imax screens.
Although Amazon Studios has primarily focused on TV, the division was started to produce movies and people have been able to submit film scripts to the service for a while.
Natalie Jarvey contributed to this report.
Image credit: AP Photo/Reed Saxon, File
