After so many months in lockdown with little else to do, binge-watching has become an even bigger business than the streaming providers could have ever hoped back in 2019. Little wonder, then, that the battle for content is reaching grandiose scale of (literally) Hollywood proportions.
Amazon is seeking to ensure its position as the king of all things in online commerce with the addition of MGM’s Leo the Lion to its menagerie of offerings. The £6 billion deal, announced earlier this week, gives Amazon access to some 4,000 films and 17,000 TV shows with which to bulk up its Prime Video service and fend off other big beasts such Netflix and Disney+ in the subscription streaming jungle.
MGM was reportedly also courted by Apple and Comcast, the owner of Sky. Both ultimately balked at the size of the cheque Amazon was willing to write, with the initial suggested price tag for MGM pegged at around £3.5bn when the Hollywood studio was put up for sale in December.
Furthermore, the deal comes just weeks after telecoms giant AT&T signed off on a £30bn agreement to combine its WarnerMedia unit with Discovery, marking the entry of another global content powerhouse stalking the streaming landscape.
READ MORE: 007 enters Amazon's service in £6bn deal
With nearly a century of filmmaking behind it, MGM’s back catalogue is a treasure trove of material ranging from classics such as Fiddler on the Roof and Raging Bull to Rocky, Thelma & Louise and Silence of the Lambs. In terms of television, popular series such as The Handmaid’s Tale and Vikings feature.
But the jewel in MGM’s crown is arguably James Bond, the fifth-most valuable movie franchise of all time behind the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Star Wars, Harry Potter and Spider-Man films.
Amazon has made clear its intention to “reimagine and develop” MGM’s back catalogue for a 21st century audience by rebooting trustworthy movies and characters for new generations. This has led to concerns among some commentators that creativity will be stifled, with original new stories passed over in favour of endless iterations of what has already been before.
But it may be a different story with 007, which was only partly owned by MGM. The rights were shared between the studio and Eon Productions, which is owned by Bond producers Barbara Broccoli and Michael G Wilson.
READ MORE: Cineworld flies out of the traps with 'Peter Rabbit 2'
The latter have said they remain committed to making James Bond films for the “worldwide theatrical audience”, indicating the spy won’t be relegated solely to Amazon’s streaming service. Eon is also said to have a veto on every aspect of the 007 franchise, indicating that Amazon will not have free reign to exploit it with spin-offs in that way that, for example, Star Wars has been expanded by Disney+.
It seems those global audiences referred to by Eon will be keen to get their Bond fix when the long-delayed No Time To Die comes out later this autumn, with Cineworld earlier this week reporting a strong UK reopening weekend following months of lockdowns to control the spread of Covid-19.
The world’s second-largest cinema chain said UK crowds topped expectations with animated comedy Peter Rabbit 2, while chief executive Mooky Greidinger predicted a “good recovery” in attendances over the coming months.
Crowd levels this weekend are expected to be helped by the release of Walt Disney’s Cruella and the thriller A Quiet Place 2 from Paramount.
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