It’s official, Amazon has bought movie studio MGM for a reported $8.45 billion.
Further to reports last week, Amazon has closed a deal to buy MGM film studio for $8.45 billion. Whilst MGMs 2021 film slate remains as scheduled, the deal is expected to be complete by the end of this year, which could then see some simultaneous cinema and on demand releases.
The purchase is beneficial to both companies – MGM has been struggling financially with rumours circulating last year it needed to sell latest James Bond film No Time To Die in order to keep afloat. This purchase not only buys all existing IP, but also takes on the companies debt. For Amazon, it guarantees them a backlog of valuable IP streaming service. With competitors Disney+ and HBO Max launching successful platforms with vast back catalogues, streaming services like Amazon and Netflix have been left with a scramble to hold on to classic titles and customers.
Senior VP of Prime Video and Amazon Studios Mike Hopkins lays out the benefits of the merger clearly ‘MGM has a vast catalog with more than 4,000 films—12 Angry Men, Basic Instinct, Creed, James Bond, Legally Blonde, Moonstruck, Poltergeist, Raging Bull, Robocop, Rocky, Silence of the Lambs, Stargate, Thelma & Louise, Tomb Raider, The Magnificent Seven, The Pink Panther, The Thomas Crown Affair, and many other icons—as well as 17,000 TV shows—including Fargo, The Handmaid’s Tale, and Vikings—that have collectively won more than 180 Academy Awards and 100 Emmys,”.
Will we now see an inevitable slew of remakes, reboots, sequels and spin-offs based on high profile IP? Probably. 13 Angry Men? Rocky 6000? So many possibilities.
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