Old-school way: Apple will showcase its movies in cinemas to attract producers & beat rivals

Tech giant Apple plans to show its own feature-length films in cinemas before they appear on its new streaming TV service in order to attract big names to the company’s new venture, according to reports.

The Wall Street Journal reported on Friday that Apple’s management arrived at the decision in an attempt to attract top directors and producers, as well as to strike a blow in the competition with the established streaming giant, Netflix.

Citing anonymous sources within the company, the report states that Apple representatives have already made proposals to the management of several large American cinema chains. They have also held consultations on the matter with leading experts in the entertainment industry.

The company’s board, headquartered in Cupertino, California, is planning to run films produced by Apple for several weeks in theaters before they appear on its streaming service, Apple TV+, which was announced earlier this month.

The WSJ states that Netflix, Apple’s main rival in the field, often faces difficulties in negotiating with cinema networks because it insists that its movie premieres are held simultaneously in cinemas and on the online platform – an approach with which large US film distributors fundamentally disagree. Apple, on the other hand, is unlikely to face any such problems if it agrees to give cinemas an exclusive run of its productions.

During its presentation on September 10, the company management announced that the Apple TV+ streaming video service would be available from November 1. Apple expects to broadcast films, shows and series of its own production on this platform.

Excerpts from some of these productions were shown at the TV+ presentation. Among Apple’s first major theatrical releases will be Sofia Coppola’s ‘On the Rocks,’ starring Rashida Jones and Bill Murray. The company expects a mid-2020 release after a potential premiere at a high-profile event like the Cannes Film Festival.

The tech giant has also been in talks with distributors about a documentary called ‘The Elephant Queen,’ which it plans to release later this year. Apple wants it to air in cinemas so that it is eligible for awards consideration.

Although Apple TV+ will reportedly initially offer a rather small number of original shows, unlike rivals Netflix, Amazon and Walt Disney Co., it plans to compete with the established players by charging lower prices.

TV+ is the latest addition to Apple’s extensive line of products and services, ranging from iPhone smartphones and iPad tablets to iMac computers, MacBook laptops, iPod music players and other high-tech equipment. The digital corporation is one of the largest in the world. Its market capitalization in the fall of 2018 exceeded $1 trillion, before slightly decreasing since to some $990 billion amid market instability.

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