Apple may spend $1 billion a year on films to improve profile in Hollywood

Apple is reportedly gearing up to invest a whopping $1 billion on film production for theatrical release every year. Moreover, the Cupertino-based tech behemoth could be on the verge of teaming up with film studios for titles that are slated to hit the theatres this year and in the coming years.

The American tech firm will be on a launch spree this year if rumours making the rounds online turn out to be true. Apparently, Apple is prepping to unveil a slew of new products including the iPhone 5 series, Apple Watch 9, and the highly anticipated Apple VR headset in 2023. Regrettably, the exact launch dates of these Apple devices are still a mystery.

In the meantime, a report by Bloomberg suggests Apple is planning to screen films in a myriad of theatres for at least 30 days. This report does not align with the company's earlier approach which involves limiting box office releases and streaming original content. Moreover, Apple has neither confirmed nor denied this speculation yet.

Apple collaborates with top film production houses

Still, the report suggests Apple could soon release Ridley Scott's Napoleon, Matthew Vaughn's Argylle, and Martin Scorsese's Killers of the Flower Moon theatrically. Aside from this, Apple is expected to release more movies in theaters. This move will enable the company to magnify its profile in the booming movie industry of the United States while luring more consumers to its streaming service, Apple TV+.

Notably, Apple has a reputation for directly releasing films to its streaming platform. Alternatively, the company has previously allowed a few runs of its films in theatres to ensure that they qualify for Academy Awards nominations. To those unaware, an Apple-produced film titled "CODA" won the Best Picture award at the Oscars last year.

Apple is reportedly planning to collaborate with companies that are at the forefront of film production. These companies could handle Apple's global theatrical distribution. This is an understandable strategy given that Apple does not have the required expertise in this field. Moreover, this will give the company much-needed time to focus more on the implementation of the Made for iPhone certification process, although it could break EU rules.

The company is reportedly in the process of finalising agreements that include distribution commissions for the studios it will be partnering up with and commercialising budget sizes. Aside from this, Apple is reportedly working on the Apple Original Films unit. To recap, a contract with Paramount stemmed from previous agreements when the studio sold the development rights to "Killers of the Flower Moon" to Apple.

Apple spent nearly $200 million on Martin Scorsese's highly anticipated crime drama film. "Killers of the Flower Moon" is likely to premiere in May at the Cannes Film Festival. The film will probably see a wide theatrical release before eventually streaming on Apple TV+. Apple will be relying on its talented employees to ensure things go as planned.

In February 2023, the company made some big changes to its Covid-19 policy, which required its employees to undergo a Covid test before coming to the office. This announcement came after work-from-home ended. Now, Apple wants to ensure its staff comes to the office.

Apple says working from the office is mandatory

Apple said it will not shy away from taking necessary action against staff members who are not coming to the office three days a week. News website Platformer's managing editor Zoë Schiffer recently shared this piece of information via a tweet. Notably, the tech firm uses badge records to monitor employee attendance.

Contrary to what some organisations are stating, Schiffer believes terminating staff who do not come to the office to work 3x per week can't be a "company-wide policy." Interestingly, Apple did not respond to the issue last year. Nevertheless, it confirmed that all corporate employees will be working from the office at least three days a week from September 5.

Also, two of these days should be Tuesday and Thursday, Apple authorised the team leader to select the third day. According to a report by Money Control, Apple CEO Tim Cook previously stated that remote work isn't a lowly way of working. However, Cook referred to the working-from-home practice as the "mother of all experiments."