MGM Has Been Acquired by Amazon for $8.45 Billion
Another multi-billion dollar deal is shaking the industry for the second time this month, as it looks like Amazon has officially acquired MGM for $8.45 billion.
The first reports of this possibly happening came out a couple of weeks ago, and ever since Collider cited a very reliable source, the deal started looking more and more clear. And indeed, early this morning Amazon announced the acquisition (pending regulatory approval). This comes only a few days after AT&T announced the merger between Discovery and WarnerMedia.
This represents yet another landmark moment in the streaming wars that are taking place right now between the several platforms. Even though Amazon has not been one of the most prominent players in terms of original content, things may be about to change. With the MGM acquisition, Amazon Prime is now adding one of the largest and also richest libraries in the business, and will now be the home of both the James Bond franchise and the Rocky movies (including the upcoming Creed III, which will be directed by Michael B. Jordan himself).
MGM movies coming out this year include Bond’s No Time to Die and Ridley Scott’s House of Gucci. The former has been delayed multiple times, but it looks like it could now make its October 8 date, while the latter is filming right now and is scheduled for a theatrical release on November 24. It will be interesting to see whether or not Amazon decides to alter any of the release plans for MGM’s upcoming movies (Gucci, for example, has Lady Gaga playing the lead role, which could represent a major deal for the streaming service). According to Variety, however, James Bond producers Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson are saying that No Time to Die will receive its planned worldwide theatrical release.
As far as television goes, MGM TV also produces Hulu’s The Handmaid’s Tale, FX’s Fargo, and History’s Vikings. All of these shows could represent a major deal in the current streaming wars, although they probably have distribution deals in place for the next few years with their respective platforms.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Amazon said in April that 175 million of their Prime subscribers watched movies or TV shows on Prime Video last year. This would place Prime Video as the runner-up in the competition, with Netflix leading the charts with its 207 million subscribers, and Disney Plus striking hard with its 103 million user base, although it should be said that its “new subs” rate has dropped significantly over the past few weeks.
Miguel Fernández is a Spanish student that has movies as his second passion in life. His favorite movie of all time is The Lord of the Rings, but he is also a huge Star Wars fan. However, fantasy movies are not his only cup of tea, as authors like Scorsese, Fincher, Kubrick or Hitchcock have been an obsession for him since he started to understand the language of filmmaking. He is that guy who will watch a black and white movie, just because it is in black and white.
