Is Apple Betting on the Big Screen for Future Profits?

For the first time, Apple (AAPL) financed and produced a major full-length movie, “Killers of the Flower Moon,” a 3-1/2 hour film that involved director Martin Scorsese and actors Leonardo DiCaprio and Robert De Niro.  The movie, due out in theaters on October 20, is the most expensive ever released by Apple’s four-year-old studio and a sign the company is expanding further into movie production.

Apple’s new strategy is to expand into movie-making and boost its presence in video streaming.  It plans to spend $1 billion a year on movies that will appear in theaters for weeks before they’re available on its streaming service.  Apple will release the new “Killers of the Flower Moon” movie in more than 10,000 theaters later this month and, at least 45 days later, put the movie on its Apple TV+ streaming service.  It plans a similar strategy with its Napolean movie in November and its Argylle movie in February.