Amazon Officially Acquires MGM!

It’s official, folks! Over the past week, we’ve previously reported that Amazon was in serious negotiations to acquire Metro Goldwyn Mayer for a sum of $9 billion. Now, according to The Hollywood Reporter, the deal was officialized at $8.45 billion. Prime Video and Amazon Studios senior Vice President said of the deal that its real financial value is “the treasure trove of IP in the deep catalog that we plan to reimagine and develop together with MGM’s talented team. It’s very exciting and provides so many opportunities for high-quality storytelling.”

The deal will permit Amazon to add MGM’s already existing library of 4,000 titles and 17,000 hours of TV programming on Prime Video, whilst being able to create new and original stories for their streaming service and theaters. The James Bond film, for example, No Time to Die, is likely to hit theaters first before Prime Video, as Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson’s EON Productions need to approve everything, from marketing, casting and distribution. New MGM films that are also slated to release this year are Ridley Scott’s House of Gucci, Julius Onah’s Samaritan, Channing Tatum and Reid Carolin’s Dog, Lisel Tommy’s Respect and Paul Thomas Anderson’s Soggy Bottom to name a few. It’s unclear how those films will be distributed after Amazon’s acquisition, but they could all be released as they were intended to be, which is in theaters and MGM’s restructuring could happen later. 

Whilst there are still many questions that still need answering, it’s no secret that Amazon wants to get ahead in streaming game, trying to beat Netflix and Disney+ as the giant of the “Streaming Wars.” With MGM’s acquisitions, the possibilities are endless to craft new and exciting original stories for the streamer, while also being able to use pre-existing IP, such as the Rocky, Child’s Play (and possibly James Bond…who knows!) franchises to create compelling content with them. Who knows what the future holds for streaming, but it’s certainly an industry that’s exponentially growing and took advantage of the COVID-19 pandemic to solidify itself as a force to be reckoned with. 

Source: The Hollywood Reporter, Variety