Tom Hanks film 'Greyhound' to premiere on Apple TV+ in $70M deal [u]
The WWII battleship film "Greyhound" written and starring Tom Hanks will be released via Apple TV+, premiering via the streaming service instead of having a theatrical release.
Following experimental releases by movie studios of films in digital storefronts that were still showing in theaters, due to closures caused by the coronavirus pandemic, the Tom Hanks movie "Greyhound" will be following a slightly different route. Originally intended for a theatrical release on Father's Day weekend, the Sony Pictures movie will instead be shown through Apple TV .
The movie was previously set to release on May 7 by Sony, but was then moved to June 19, reports Deadline, though the continued lockdowns and social distancing rules will force box office takings to be low. With the continued pandemic, the movie was instead offered up for digital storefronts and streaming services, with Apple clinching the deal.
It is claimed there was a bidding war between Apple and other unnamed streaming platforms, with the auction handled by CAA Media Finance and FilmNation said to have ended in the $70 million range.
"Greyhound" follows Commander Ernest Krause, played by Hanks, commanding a Navy destroyer during the Battle of the Atlantic during World War II. Along the way, Krause has to battle personal demons and self-doubts in order to become an effective leader of the vessel.
The deal is an indication Apple is keen to expand its offerings to consumers, and is willing to spend to do so. A report on Tuesday alleged Apple was in talks with Hollywood studios to acquire licenses for back catalog content, with a view to providing audiences with a considerable amount of content to watch alongside its original shows and films.
Apple has yet to advise when "Greyhound" will be available to watch on Apple TV+, but given its original premiere dates, it is likely to take place in the short term.
Update: Apple paid $70 million for 15 years of exclusive streaming rights to "Greyhound," according to CNBC. The company had to clear the deal with both Sony and Hanks, as this is the prominent actor's first straight-to-streaming release.
Following experimental releases by movie studios of films in digital storefronts that were still showing in theaters, due to closures caused by the coronavirus pandemic, the Tom Hanks movie "Greyhound" will be following a slightly different route. Originally intended for a theatrical release on Father's Day weekend, the Sony Pictures movie will instead be shown through Apple TV .
The movie was previously set to release on May 7 by Sony, but was then moved to June 19, reports Deadline, though the continued lockdowns and social distancing rules will force box office takings to be low. With the continued pandemic, the movie was instead offered up for digital storefronts and streaming services, with Apple clinching the deal.
It is claimed there was a bidding war between Apple and other unnamed streaming platforms, with the auction handled by CAA Media Finance and FilmNation said to have ended in the $70 million range.
"Greyhound" follows Commander Ernest Krause, played by Hanks, commanding a Navy destroyer during the Battle of the Atlantic during World War II. Along the way, Krause has to battle personal demons and self-doubts in order to become an effective leader of the vessel.
The deal is an indication Apple is keen to expand its offerings to consumers, and is willing to spend to do so. A report on Tuesday alleged Apple was in talks with Hollywood studios to acquire licenses for back catalog content, with a view to providing audiences with a considerable amount of content to watch alongside its original shows and films.
Apple has yet to advise when "Greyhound" will be available to watch on Apple TV+, but given its original premiere dates, it is likely to take place in the short term.
Update: Apple paid $70 million for 15 years of exclusive streaming rights to "Greyhound," according to CNBC. The company had to clear the deal with both Sony and Hanks, as this is the prominent actor's first straight-to-streaming release.
Comments
There hasn't been that much on Apple TV lately that has appealed to me, but I'll definitely be watching this.
I like Tom Hanks and I like war movies, so I'm expecting this to be good.
Some positive side effects can be found from the virus, such as this movie not being released in the theatres and I'll be able to watch it from the comfort of my home on my Apple TV. A lot of companies have also been having virus related sales, and I've been able to take advantage of that and get some really good software and plugins that are usually very expensive for a very good price.
the other interesting part is that this movie was originally set for theatrical release, but has now been auctioned off to streamers. Did Sony make more money doing this than if it was released in cinemas the usual way? Amazing for a Tom Hanks movie. Was the calculation that holding it for release until after the CV madness had passed would end up less profitable than selling to a streamer?
I give it an A+ and hope they do a second season.
Or, and this makes me chuckle, did they delay it to fill a hole in their 2020 release schedule. Oops!
Apple is obviously playing the long game with Apple TV, and like I stated in the other thread about Apple TV, it is far too early for anybody to be judging it yet, as it has barely gotten started.
Perhaps you missed the headline: it's on Apple TV+. I suspect the writer or editor missed the "+" there is all. As another article on this same site has shown, all these similarly-named properties are a bit confusing, and of course I hear people shorthand TV+ to "Apple TV" all the time, which really doesn't help.
Sometime back, I was wondering how Netflix could afford to buy/ fund a high profile movie like 6 Underground - a movie that could have easily made some pretty good numbers at the box-office.
I did a little napkin-maths and realised that the sheer number of paying subscribers that Netflix has can pay for such projects.
Streaming is big business now.