Apple seems deadest to expand its business, venturing into the world of video streaming. That said, the Cupertino company has reportedly already acquired two films – a documentary and an animated movie – with more likely to follow moving forward.
According to Deadline, Apple has bought the rights to the two films – “The Elephant Queen” and “Wolfwalkers”. Though critics see the move as long overdue, some see it as a wise investment that could rake in up to $4.4 billion in streaming sales by 2025.
Apple’s streaming service is believed to be launching in March 2019 as the company tries to see if offering the service will entice users to spend more time on their devices. Aside from video, augmented reality is another area that could open the doors for added revenue.
Although the company has garnered success pushing its iPhone and iPad line, Apple had already invested close to $1 billion the past months to purchase and develop original content for the upcoming service. Prior to the two films, they had already purchased the rights to Steven Spielberg’s “Amazing Stories” anthology and “Battlestar Galactica,” Tech Times said.
At the forefront of Apple’s streaming service are Jamie Erlicht and Zack Van Amburg, former Sony Pictures Television heads. Both are best known for spearheading popular shows for Sony like “Breaking Bad.”
While most of those titles come from the past, the two latest films should be interesting. “The Elephant Queen” is a documentary directed by Emmy Award-winning filmmakers Victoria Stone and Mark Deeble.
The movie tells the tale of Athena the elephant who tries to lead her herd to a new home. The documentary is narrated by British actor Chiwetel Ejiofor and took four years to produce. It was shown at the Toronto International Film Festival with the creators later revealing Apple’s acquisition, MSN said.
The other one, “Wolfwalkers”, is an animated movie from Irish director Tomm Moore. It tells the story of a father and a daughter traveling to destroy a pack of wolves. The film is written by Will Collins, produced by Nora Twomey, Paul Young, and Stéphan Roelants and co-produced with Luxembourg’s Melusine Productions.
Although most remain skeptical at the timing of Apple’s decision to crash the video streaming service, their attractive and sticky customer set combined with a low friction sign-up and payment system are seen as critical factors to make it a success. Apple CEO Tim Cook said back in August that cord cutting is going to accelerate faster than widely thought and likely the reason behind the build of their own video streaming service.
