And Canadian exhibition giant Cineplex saw its shares close at $8.00, up 4 percent, after reaching an intra-day high earlier in the day at $8.17.Īs with Amazon, Apple is expected to use theaters to market upcoming releases on its Apple TV+ platform. Stock in Imax, which jumped to a high of $18.66 on Thursday morning after news of the $1 billion theatrical movie splash, ended the day up 2 percent at $17.98. Rival AMC Entertainment Holdings, parent of AMC Theatres, also jumped to an intra-day high of $4.66, before ending the day up 3 percent at $4.47 a share. Shares in Cinemark closed at $13.24, up nearly 6 percent, after at one point trading at $13.88 on Thursday. Since Apple doesn’t own a legacy Hollywood studio with a vast distribution operation, it intends to partner with major studios on the release of its films.Īs likely beneficiaries of a theatrical push by Apple, cinema stocks got a lift from the news.

Amazon always intended to have MGM keep making movies. MGM is home of big-screen franchises, including the James Bond series, which is part of the studio’s 4,000 film title library.

The tech giant recently hired former Disney marketing and content exec Ricky Strauss to join Apple TV+, which suggests Apple is serious about growing its streaming division and potentially its theatrical film efforts. And Apple, in recent discussions with major exhibitors, has indicated it wants to follow Amazon with its own $1 billion theatrical movie push.Īmazon’s theatrical plan, which includes releasing 12 to 15 movies a year, follows its purchase last year of MGM Studios for $8.45 billion.

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