Apple Inc. is planning to change its movie strategy following a series of box office disappointments. According to Bloomberg, the tech giant plans to shift focus to producing about a dozen movies annually, with most budgets capped at $100 million.
This change in plans comes after several high-profile, big-budget films underperformed at the box office, including Martin Scorsese’s “Killers of the Flower Moon,” “Napoleon,” and “Argylle.” As a result, Apple is reevaluating its approach to theatrical releases.
The company has already begun implementing this new strategy. “Wolfs,” an action comedy starring George Clooney and Brad Pitt, was originally slated for a wide theatrical release but will now have a limited run before streaming on Apple TV+. Similar plans are in place for upcoming titles like the World War II drama “Blitz.” Earlier, we revealed that Apple is planning to focus on only 1–2 big-budget films annually; the other’s cap rests at $80M.
Despite the shift, Apple isn’t completely abandoning big-budget productions. The company still aims to release one or two major theatrical films annually, with higher budgets approved on an exceptional basis. The next wide, global theatrical release from Apple is expected to be “F1,” a Formula One racing movie (shot in a modified Formula 2 car) starring Brad Pitt, scheduled for June 2025.
This change is like what other big companies like Netflix and Amazon are doing. They’re also changing how they make and share movies because working with the old movie industry is complicated.
More here.