After winning its first Golden Globe Award, Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) is all set to heighten its movie production efforts with ‘indie’ movies. It is a bold step from the company to move into the realm of movie production from merely distributing entertainment content.
The online retailer is planning to produce up to 12 movies per year aiming theatrical releases and these services would later be available on its video streaming service, Amazon Prime. According to Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) spokeswoman, Sally Fouts, the online retailer is likely to spend between $5 million to $25 million for each of these indie movies. This move is likely to pressure the profit margins of the company by adding to its existing expenses.
The initiative has attracted different opinions from analysts primarily because of the tough nature of these movies and the challenge to find interesting content every time. In fact, some of the major production houses including Warner Brothers and Paramount have acquitted this business because of the consistent demand for high quality content.
Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) earlier signed Woody Allen for creating a television series for the retailer. Woody Allen is not the only big name in the retailer’s camp as it signed Ted Hope, independent movies producer, to speed up its efforts. Amazon offers its video services to its premium Amazon Prime customers with an annual cost of $99.
According to Paul Dergarabedian, Rentrak analysts, hiring Ted Hope was an excellent step from the retailer and he added,
“He’s very much tuned into the indie world and the specialized film vibe. It’s just a way to get out the kind of edgy, interesting and sometimes enlightening content that these films sometimes provide.”
Unlike its primary rival in the video streaming industry, Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ:NFLX), Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) is not pushing for online releases and the company is aiming theatrical releases for its movies.
This article has been written by Prakash Pandey.
Amazon.com, Inc. (AMZN) Ventures Into Film Production for Theaters
