Tom Hanks' World War II drama "Greyhound" has boosted Apple's ambitions in launching feature films on Apple TV+, with plans now said to have increased to "Netflix-like levels" (via Fast Company). While plans are still being ironed out, this could mean that Apple releases a dozen new movies a year on Apple TV+, at a pace of roughly one per month.
Two to four of these films are projected to be blockbuster-style movies like "Greyhound" or the upcoming Will Smith-starring "Emancipation." As of now, Apple is still purchasing films from various Hollywood studios, and the company has reportedly told people in the industry that it is in the market for "more tentpole-like feature films."
Although Apple doesn't divulge specific numbers, sources speaking with Deadline stated that "Greyhound" saw a launch weekend viewing audience "commensurate with a summer theatrical box office big hit." Thirty percent of the people who watched the film on its debut weekend were also new Apple TV+ subscribers, further incentivizing Apple to look into launching more tentpole films.
Despite this growing interest in launching more movies, one source specified that Apple still wants to be "very curated" and avoid Netflix's glut of films across a number of genres, which can be very difficult to navigate. Due to the global pandemic, Apple is also seeing an opportunity to bid for films that won't be shown in theaters, although specifics for which movies weren't mentioned.
Coming soon, we do know that Apple TV+ will premiere the Sofia Coppola film "On the Rocks." This is part of Apple's deal with A24, so there will also be more films coming from that studio to debut on Apple TV+ as well. Additionally, the company is purchasing older movies in hopes of building its back catalog and encouraging people to remain subscribed to the service for longer, but again it's unclear which exact older films it has acquired.
