Scarlett Johansson’s new film flops, prompting Apple to rethink its film strategy | Culture

The romantic comedy Fly me to the moonstarring Scarlett Johansson, cost a whopping $100 million (91.5 million euros). To put that into perspective, Anyone but you, The genre’s biggest hit of 2024 cost around 25 million. The salary of its star and the historic location in the middle of NASA’s space race (which doesn’t sound too attractive to young audiences) made budget logic go beyond it. After the extravagance, reality sets in. The film has barely grossed 40 million, and has been crowned one of the biggest economic failures of the summer. Losses add up to hundreds of millions, as yet another blow to Apple’s short career in the cinema.

Since it began releasing original series and films in 2019, Tim Cook’s tech giant has spent around $20 billion on its own production, journalist Lucas Shaw recalled. In a report in Bloomberg. Silicon Valley has never skimped on expenses or stars. In five years, they have signed Martin Scorsese, Ridley Scott, Joaquin Phoenix, Leonardo DiCaprio, Chris Evans, Ana de Armas, Sofia Coppola, Gary Oldman, Will Smith, Jared Leto, Ryan Reynolds, Harrison Ford and Nicole Kidman. But the company is already thinking that the extra costs must end and this bad publicity requires a new strategy.

The first question is: was Apple’s foray into the audiovisual industry necessary? “Yes, it is not limited to being a technology company that sells products, it is a service company; many of them are deeply linked to the arts. The world of cinema was a natural step,” he says. Company expert Victor Abarca (964 thousand subscribers on YouTube). The company, he says, “has always been linked to culture. With Steve Jobs, music was a central pillar, and now, with the iPad or the Apple Vision Pro glasses, it is reasonable that it offers content with high production standards.” On the other hand, there was the competitive logic, recalls Fernando del Moral, responsible for the website The bitten apple (with 1.3 million followers on YouTube): “We had to diversify the business beyond the hardwarebecause the mobile market is mature and they had to look for new sources of income. streaming and subscriptions are an area with growth potential and they did not want to be left out of the war. Having their series would retain the user, giving them value and loyalty.”

The strategy to attract so many names was always money. Jennifer Aniston and Reese Witherspoon charged a million per episode in the first season of The Morning Show. Bloomberg reports that in the fourth season the salary has doubled, and that it spends 50 million just to pay its cast, which includes Jeremy Irons and Marion Cotillard. Some criticize that Tim Cook was perhaps attracted by the sirens of the parties, being photographed with celebrities at every Hollywood party, going to Cannes… replicating Jeff Bezos of Amazon. Abarca believes that it is not something so banal: “Apple’s strategy is to continue surrounding itself with personalities, actors and artists who help maintain the relevance of the brand in various areas. The world of cinema has always had an aura of mystery and glamour. It contributes to the company remaining relevant within the cultural environment.”

Despite spending so much and releasing thirty films so far, so far in 2024, AppleTV+ has only managed to sneak two titles into the ranking weekly audience of the streaming in the US, published by the audience measurement agency Nielsen: the film The Moon Killersby Martin Scorsese, and the series The masters of the air. Two titles among the 278 films and series that have appeared among the most watched these eight months. On Netflix, the clear winner of the platform war, 204 are watched. Nielsen also estimates that only 0.2% of American viewers watch the platform. As many people watch Apple in a month as Netflix in a day. The only title that really stood out, in 2023, was Ted Lasso.

The company does not publish data and the number of subscribers is secret. Christos Nikou, director of the film This is going to hurtwhich Apple released in 2023, complained in July that he wasn’t even given a copy of his work: “I don’t even have the archive, I don’t have an Apple TV and most of my friends in Europe don’t either, so I can’t even show the film. It was a lesson: films don’t belong to platforms. It was only released in two or three theaters in the US.”

And when they are released in theaters, the result is no better. Apple spent 200 million dollars (about 180 million euros) on the rights to ArgylleMatthew Vaughn’s spy action film starring Henry Cavill and Dua Lipa. The project did not even reach 100 million in its landing in theaters in early 2024. Neither did the aforementioned reunion of Scorsese with De Niro or Napoleonon which they spent 200 million (not including marketing and distribution, which usually doubles the figure). Those, at least, provided a certain aura of prestige. “Apple is so big that even a 200 million project is relatively small. They have plenty of resources to afford these experiments. But there may be a broader problem; Apple has been looking for ‘the next big thing’ for some time, and it just can’t find it. The bet on the streaming “It can be seen as another attempt to find new avenues for growth. The problem is that they are not managing to stand out in a very competitive market,” reflects Del Moral. Stars and an original idea have long since ceased to be synonymous with success.

George Clooney will no longer be in theaters

After these setbacks, the strategy has suddenly changed: it is time to retreat and not bet on the rooms. The first step has been to relegate Wolfsstarring Brad Pitt and George Clooney, to a seven-day release in the US after its presentation in Venice and before reaching platforms on September 27. Sony, which distributes it in theaters as it has done with Fly me to the moon, confirms to EL PAÍS that the announced release in Spain is also cancelled. To compensate, the company has signed for a sequel, although it seems like an agreement to please its stars and stop the bad publicity. Because if there is one thing that Apple hates, it is bad headlines. For now, this August they have released The instigators, with Matt Damon and Casey Affleck, direct to home, but the Formula 1 film with Pitt and Javier Bardem is being kept for theaters, as it attracted the actors in that capacity.

It is precisely good publicity that makes AppleTV+ continue to make sense, and its series have been nominated for 72 Emmys this year, including Slow Horses either Cooking with chemistryand are often applauded by critics. What’s more, Coda It was the first (and still only) film from a platform to win the Oscar for Best Picture. “It reminds me of the beginnings of HBO with its curated series. It’s the only platform you trust when you give the play without looking. It plays a very important role in an industry that is more focused on algorithms and blockbusters. It has one of the best catalogues,” Abarca believes. “It wants to pave the way, as it did in music. Apple always plays in the medium and long term, which is why it is not so worried, it reinforces the strategy towards creators and takes advantage of the screens of its devices,” although it does not take sufficient advantage of its direct alerts to the user to make invasive, but simple and differentiating advertising.

Quality is one thing, business is another. On television, Foundation and Separationwhich premieres its second season in January 2025 after several creative disagreements with Ben Stiller, is preparing to cut costs. Like all companies in the industry, streamingApple is also commissioning fewer projects. Nobody wants shareholders to revolt: “Criticism will increase if results do not improve. Apple has a lot of cash, but nobody wants to see money being thrown away. If they do not manage to make these investments profitable, the pressure will be ever greater. They will have to prove that this bet makes sense,” says Del Moral. The takeoff to the Moon is not being easy.