Mike Hopkins, Head of Prime Video & Amazon MGM Studios, made his debut at his first CinemaCon tonight, breaking the ice with de rigeur anecdote of how fell in love with cinema – going to see Stars Wars as a child together with his brother, each in jammies, “though I used to be a bit to previous to put on pajamas in public.”
Applause for that within the auditorium of Caesars Palace Las Vegas, and much more for his promise to ship 15 function movies a 12 months to theaters by 2027, and for years to return. The studio will begin with 12-14 movies beginning subsequent 12 months, Courtenay Valenti, head of Movie, Streaming and Theatrical, mentioned lately.
“We’re dedicated to doing this for the lengthy phrases and when Amazon commits to one thing, we are likely to do it huge.” The corporate is placing collectively a distribution crew to rollout movies globally.
“Tonight our job is to persuade you that dedication [to theatrical] is actual… and to show to all of you the way bullish we’re on theatrical – each right here within the U.S. and abroad,” he mentioned.
Amazon acquired MGM in 2022 and Hopkins mentioned, “I’ve had my eye on this ever since.” The deal, whereas rooted in increasing Amazon’s large Prime loyalty program, additionally “actually speaks to our pleasure in regards to the function movie enterprise.” It’s grow to be much more thrilling now that the corporate is within the clear for to ramp up its James Bond franchise after making a deal to realize inventive management from rights-holder and producers Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli.
“It’s nonetheless early days for us, and we now have a ton of labor to do,” he mentioned. However the studio is dedicated to “epic, culturally, relative storytelling that must be seen on big screens just like the one behind me.”
Hopkins took the stage simply days after Jennifer Salke’s shock exit as head of Amazon MGM Studios after seven years. She is not going to get replaced, with Valenti, and Head of TV Vernon Sanders, now reporting to him.
