Scarlett Johansson Flop Cancels Wide Release For George Clooney And Brad Pitt

It is not just one disappointing movie that has Apple worrying enough to pivot in their tactics. Since the tech giant’s foray into movie production in 2019, they have invested quite a lot of money into producing films with big name, A-list actors.

But the returns simply have not been there theatrically, resulting in Fly Me to the Moon merely being the latest Apple flop rather than an anomaly.

It has been reported that since starting in 2019, the company has spent $20 billion in productions.

Since the pandemic, the movie going audience has clearly changed. What were once surefire winners at the box office like the latest superhero films have now had more middling results.

It has led Marvel to publicly state that they will be toning down their number of releases to focus more on quality versus quantity. It seems Apple’s flops have led them to realize they need to try something different as well.

What this means for Apple’s next release, Wolfs, is that it will have a very short one week release in theaters. After that, the movie will be available to stream on Apple TV+.

It appears the theatrical release will only be happening due to preexisting agreements with Brad Pitt and George Clooney guaranteeing it. Apple seems to feel Wolfs could be their next flop if they spend too much on giving the movie theater space and marketing, so they want to funnel audiences to their streaming platform instead.

Though Wolfs has not even released yet, Apple has already promised it will be getting a sequel. The belief is that this is to appease Pitt and Clooney in exchange for the first movie’s diminished theater time.

Though Apple will not have to worry as much about the theater box office, the first movie’s streaming numbers could also be telling if Wolfs succeeds or flops. Though Apple does not share streaming numbers publicly.

It should be noted that it is publicly shared which movies make it into the Nielson Streaming Top 10, and thus far, AppleTV+ has only gotten two of their releases onto the list—Martin Scorsese’s Best Picture winner Killers of the Flower Moon, and the TV show Lords of the Air. It remains to be seen whether Apple’s pivot to a stronger focus on prioritizing streaming results in fewer flops and more of the returns they are hoping for.

Source: El Pais