Started at the iPod now we here (the movie theater)

“Apple is going to the movies.” That’s a headline from 2019, when the tech giant released its first three movies in theaters. By 2022, one of its films, CODA, had won the Oscar for Best Picture.

So what’s next for Apple and movie theaters?

From the looks of yesterday’s news, it’s looking a lot like – to steal a line from Casablanca – “the beginning of a beautiful friendship.” According to a Bloomberg report, Apple is planning to invest $1 billion/year into releasing 12-15 movies theatrically, each for at least a month.

• This will likely include three high profile films already slated for a 2023 Apple TV+ release: Martin Scorsese's Killers of the Flower Moon (starring Leonardo DiCaprio), Ridley Scott’s Napoleon (starring Joaqin Phoenix), and the spy thriller Argylle (starring Henry Cavill and Dua Lipa).

🍏🍿 Behind the move: Apple hopes to drive awareness to its streaming platform, Apple TV+, by turning movie releases into cultural events – a strategy the company’s definitely had success with before (anyone remember the “1984” ad Apple ran for its original Apple Macintosh computer?).

And Apple’s not the only streamer getting into the theater game. Amazon, Disney, Warner Bros. Discovery, and Paramount have also committed to increase their theatrical output in the years to come. Though notably absent from the theatrical homecoming is Netflix, which has only ran limited theatrical releases, even for its biggest films (ex: Knives Out: Glass Onion).