Theatre owners are still abuzz over the success of PROJECT HAIL MARY, which grossed $80.5M last weekend in its opening. Not only was this a great individual result, coming from an original, non-franchise movie, it could also be a harbinger of future success from its deep-pocketed studio backers at Amazon. Up until last weekend, Amazon MGM had yet to release an original film, which earned $200M worldwide. Amazon MGM has made a public commitment to release 10-15 new features annually, which would be a crucial source of new movies for exhibitors, especially after Paramount’s acquisition of Warner Bros. is completed later this year.
PROJECT HAIL MARY’s launch was the culmination of a years-long effort for the studio to build up its internal capacity to handle a blockbuster release. Amazon has experimented with theatrical releasing for roughly a decade, with its Amazon Studios division focusing on arthouse, independent pictures with modest ambitions. Even after acquiring MGM Studios for $8.5B in 2022, Amazon continued to focus on mid-budget films, such as AIR, CHALLENGERS, and THE BEEKKEEPER.
After a string of recent misfires, including AFTER THE HUNT, MERCY, and CRIME 101, some analysts began to wonder if Amazon would follow in Apple’s footsteps by pulling back on its commitment to theatrical releasing after several duds. The shining success of PROJECT HAIL MARY will give Amazon sufficient reason to stay the course in producing major theatrical event films. With its international distribution agreement with Sony now over, it will be interesting to watch how Amazon chooses to structure its worldwide rollouts, starting with its May 8th release of THE SHEEP DETECTIVES.
