Tom Hanks has shaken things up at Apple.
According to sources familiar with Apple’s thinking, the success of Hanks’s World War II drama Greyhound (which he both wrote and starred in) has catalyzed Apple’s ambitions in feature films, which are now being amped up to (almost) Netflix-like levels.
Going forward, one source says the streamer is discussing plans to release a dozen new movies a year on Apple TV Plus, roughly one a month. Two to four of those would be blockbuster-type titles such as Greyhound and Emancipation, the runaway-slave thriller starring Will Smith and directed by Antoine Fuqua (Training Day) that Apple recently acquired for $120 million in a bidding war with Warner Bros., Universal, and other studios. Another source had fewer specifics but confirmed that Apple is telling Hollywood that it’s now in the market for more tentpole-like feature films. (Apple would not comment for this story.)
Apple’s greater focus on big films marks a noticeable amplification on its movie front. When the company launched Apple TV Plus to much fanfare and hullabaloo last November, movies were something of an afterthought—unlike its TV strategy, which was crystal clear. Apple made no bones about the fact that it was interested in prestige programming in the form of glossy series along the lines of The Morning Show, populated by A-list stars such as Jennifer Aniston, Reese Witherspoon, Steven Spielberg, and Oprah Winfrey.
Movies, meanwhile, appeared as, at best, an excuse for Apple execs to do the film festival circuit and score invites to awards shows. With movies, the company appeared to be stealing a page from the Amazon playbook by investing in smaller, arthouse films that could win Golden Globes and Oscars and drum up publicity while burnishing Apple’s premium brand. The company made a deal with A24, the studio behind the Oscar-winning Moonlight, to produce a slate of films for the service. But Apple also shelled out big-time for a Christmas musical with Will Ferrell and Ryan Reynolds.
What was the company’s point of view, exactly? As one film agent puts it, “They’re more confusing than Netflix. I know what Netflix wants and doesn’t want. [Apple hasn’t] come out to the agencies and said, ‘We need these kinds of movies.’ I think they’re much more specific on the TV side.”
Then came Greyhound.