Apple reportedly spent US$700 million ‘Killers of the Flower Moon,’ ‘Napoleon,’ ‘Argylle’

Apple reportedly spent US$700 million on three films: “Killers of the Flower Moon,” “Napoleon,” and “Argylle.” Was it money well spent?

 A studio source told Variety that “Killers of the Flower Moon” and “Napoleon” are profitable, buoyed by ancillary revenue streams. Both ranked among the 10 highest-grossing films of the past year on the Apple app store, with “Killers” holding the top spot for four weeks. \

Variety notes that it’s too early to tell how “Napoleon” is faring on Apple+ TV — it debuted March 1 — but “Killers” is off to a strong start as the most-viewed film on the platform over its first 45 days of release, driving new subscriptions in the process.

The article says that Apple sees the value of releasing films theatrically to raise their profile. “Killers” and “Napoleon” both enjoyed a 58% peak U.S. awareness score, according to NRG analytics, while “Argylle” had a 45% score. 

Yet, Variety points out, neither “Killers” nor “Napoleon” moved the needle as much as many industry observers expected. “Argylle,” with its US$200 million price tag, is an “unmitigated disaster,” the article ads. Variety says that Wall Street is wondering if the studio’s reported $1 billion annual spend on films would have been better served by pumping up the volume of product rather than taking a few nine-figure swings.

“The quality of the films has been extremely impressive and has attracted significant demand for the Apple TV+ service,” Wedbush Securities’ Dan Ives told Variety. “But the Achilles’ heel is not the quality. They just don’t have enough [product]. I think that’s been the tug of war with Apple: They’ve achieved high quality and won Oscars, yet they lack the library in this content arms race.”

About Apple TV+

Apple TV+ is available on the Apple TV app in over 100 countries and regions, on over 1 billion screens, including iPhone, iPad, Apple TV, Mac, popular smart TVs from Samsung, LG, Sony, VIZIO, TCL and others, Roku and Amazon Fire TV devices, Chromecast with Google TV, PlayStation and Xbox gaming consoles, and at tv.apple.com, for $9.99 per month with a seven-day free trial.