Amazon will reportedly be placing a focus on larger budget films going forward, according to a report from Reuters.
Amazon Studios has traditionally acquired ‘art-house’ style films at the Sundance Film Festival, such as 2016’s Manchester by the Sea, which the company purchased for $10 million.
According to Reuters, Amazon expects to go after films with budgets in the $50 million range, as opposed to indie projects that normally cost around $5 million. However, the report also states that Amazon is still figuring out how much of its film budget will go to these larger projects.
Notably, Reuters reports that Amazon will not be moving fully into blockbuster film territory in the way that rival Netflix has. In December, Netflix released the Will Smith-starring science-fiction film Bright, on which the company spent an estimated $90 million — a budget that’s comparable to what is normally spent on many wide theatrical releases.
Bright is only the first of many big budget films Netflix has in the pipeline, including 2019’s Martin Scorsese gangster film The Irishman, which has a reported production price tag of $100 million.
In any case, Amazon’s broader film strategy should become clearer before too long, as this year’s Sundance festival has officially kicked off and will run until January 28th.
In general, the company has been investing more heavily in bigger budget entertainment as of late. The company also confirmed last year that it’s developing a Lord of the Rings TV series set before the events of The Fellowship of the Ring.
No other details are known about the project, although reports suggest that Amazon spent close to $250 million to acquire the global TV rights to the franchise.
Image credit: Vimeo
Source: Reuters
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