Apple’s Movie Theater Beef With Hollywood
Jon Watts, the filmmaker who stepped out of the Spider-Man franchise with Tom Holland and Zendaya to script and direct George Clooney and Brad Pitt in the film Wolfs for Apple, created a press dustup yesterday when he let slip that he and they would not be doing a sequel, even though Wolfs became by far the most viewed feature film ever released on Apple TV+.
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It is similar to when Doug Liman feuded with Amazon after his Road House remake went straight to streaming despite his deal for a theatrical release and huge test scores, and he is not returning for the inevitable sequel. It underscores the continuing dilemma between streaming bows and risky theatrical release deals with big P&A spends.
Via M.G. Siegler:
Look, on paper, in a vacuum, I’m not sure Apple didn’t make the right call in pulling back on the theatrical release and going straight-to-streaming. The reality of our current situation is such that a movie like Wolfs – especially and oddly when marketed by Apple – was unlikely to be a big hit at the box office. And that would have been a black eye. For Apple. For Clooney. For Pitt. For Watts. For everyone. So pulling it back made sense in this very practical regard.
But my god the intangibles here. First and foremost, risking pissing off two of the biggest movie stars in the world with the maneuver. Second, this was exponentially riskier because one of those movie stars, Pitt, was in the midst of wrapping up Apple’s biggest movie ever which will need to be a huge hit in theaters: F1. Third, risking pissing off one of the hottest directors in the industry right now with the maneuver. Which clearly happened! Honestly, all of the above probably happened, but Watts is the only one talking about it openly right now.
And it’s not just the move Apple pulled, it’s how they did it. A last-minute bait-and-switch. And done with not only no discussion but almost no heads up. And then the ultimate dagger in the back: trying to spin the move with the sequel talk (which immediately seemed fishy to everyone when paired with the pull-back news – obviously) after Watts explicitly asked them not to do that.
The New York Times reported in August that Apple pulled the theatrical run for Wolfs because it was concerned it was spending too much on films after suffering multiple high-profile box office disappointments.
Previously:
- Questioning EU Geo-Blocking Restrictions
- Apple TV+ in Amazon Prime Video
- Scaling Back Apple TV+ Content
- Apple’s Problem With Lina Khan
- The Problem With China and AI
Update (2024-12-10): M.G. Siegler:
Now I feel like I fully understand why Apple shifted it from theaters to streaming. It’s not that the movie is bad, it’s not. But it’s not nearly good enough to transcend what it is and become a huge box office hit. It would have been a middling movie at the box office at best. Yes, even with George Clooney and Brad Pitt. And at worst, it would have been an outright flop.
It would have been the latest in a string of high-profile failures at the box office for Apple. But it wouldn’t have looked good for Clooney or Pitt either.
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But as a launch on Apple TV+, it’s leveraging two of the biggest movie stars in the world teaming up for an Apple exclusive film to watch in the comfort of your living room.
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In a vacuum, Apple made the right call. And it’s one that other studios will need to follow going forward. Of course, we don’t live in a vacuum.
3 Comments RSS · Twitter · Mastodon
Wolfs is a terrible movie, emblematic of the declining quality of content that prioritizes big name stars and high production values over quality writing and direction.
It's impressive how little hype there's been doing this film.
Have the old days list all their star power or is it something else?
I had to laugh at the Doug Liman one. That movie they called Road House was straight-to-VHS quality. The only reason it got any attention at all is the name and the large amount of advertising.
Apple should not be telling directors one thing and then doing another, but they also need to be realistic in their expectations. Is a theatrical release still really that important? As far as I can tell it's only important because the "legacy" rules around it get the actors etc paid a lot more than the new streaming deals.
As usual, the real problem just seems to be about money and contracts.
