Cinema Stocks Jump Amid Report Apple Plans $1 Billion Theatrical Movie Push

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by Anna Munhin Mar 24, 2023 News
Cinema Stocks Jump Amid Report Apple Plans $1 Billion Theatrical Movie Push

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According to a report, Apple plans to make $1 billion a year on movies that will be sent to theaters.

The tech giant plans to release a few movies in theaters this year, while ramping up its theatrical slate for a larger number of releases in the future, according to a report. The push into theatrical releases by Apple has been telegraphed.

The hiring of a former Disney marketing and content executive suggests that Apple is serious about growing its streaming division.

Adesua Etomi-Wellington in Gangs of Lagos India Amarteifio as Young Queen Charlotte in Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story.

The acquisition of MGM Studios by Amazon last year resulted in the release of 12 to 15 movies a year. The James Bond series is one of the 4,000 film titles MGM has. Amazon wanted MGM to make more movies.

Apple wants to work with major studios on the release of its films since it doesn't own a traditional Hollywood studio.

Cinema stocks got a boost from the news. At one point on Thursday, Cinemark's shares were trading at $13.88, but they closed the day at $13.24. The parent company of AMC Theatres jumped to a high of $4.76 before ending the day at $4.47 a share.

The stock of Imax, which went up to a high of $18.66 on Thursday, ended the day up 2% at $17.98. After hitting a high of $8.17 earlier in the day, Cineplex's shares closed at $8.00, up 4%.

The Apple TV+ platform is expected to be used to market upcoming releases. The latest releases for Apple TV+ include Napoleon, a film written and directed by Ridley Scott, and Killers of the Flower Moon, a film written and directed by Leonardo diCaprio.

A major pivot to theaters could help Apple TV+ increase its subscriber base and attract more bold-faced Hollywood names.

Some of its international titles have received small local releases, but it has yet to follow in the footsteps of Amazon and Apple.

The theatrical ambitions of streamers have been welcomed by major movie theaters, which saw the initial moves by Amazon and Netflix as the beginning of a greater push into the movie theater.

With all the benefits that we continue to hear from our traditional partners about how movies they're releasing theatrically are giving greater benefits to their streaming platforms, we've thought for a while that it's only a matter of time before the streaming companies get into theatrical in a much more

AMC Theatres and Cineplex have talked to online players about putting their movies on the big screen.