Apple is already recruiting a number of Hollywood’s biggest stars for its original TV slate, and now it’s taking a big bite out of the independent film market. Apple has signed a multi-year agreement for A24 to produce a slate of multiple films for the tech giant, per THR.
While the terms of the deal are not yet known, the partnership is the first substantial sign of the company’s plans to enter the film market, where its rival Amazon Studios has quite the head start. Amazon’s film and television distributor has released hit titles including The Big Sick and Manchester by the Sea, both of which won Oscars.
Incidentally, A24 picked up Best Picture at the 89th Academy Awards for Moonlight, which beat out Manchester by the Sea for the top prize that year. Recent A24 releases also include Bo Burnham’s Eighth Grade and Jonah Hill’s Mid90s.
We don’t yet know whether the films produced under this deal will land on Apple’s forthcoming subscription service, for which the company has recruited major names like Reese Witherspoon and Oprah Winfrey to produce original TV programming. Based on how rival Amazon Studios has given its films a theatrical rollout before dropping them on Amazon Prime Video, however, it’s likely we can expect a similar strategy from Apple.
You can keep up with everything we know so far about Apple’s streaming service and TV shows here.