Apple, Oscar-Winning Studio Pair On Film Deal

Apple is partnering with movie studio A24 to create original films for the tech giant.

A24 has produced 2017’s Oscar winner “Moonlight,” as well as Oscar nominees “Lady Bird,” “Room” and “Ex Machina.”

According to the Financial Times, the multiyear agreement will result in A24 producing several original films for Apple, which is getting ready to launch a new video streaming service next year. Apple has already made moves in original television programming, with planned shows from Oscar-winning director Damien Chazelle, a reboot of Steven Spielberg’s science-fiction fantasy show “Amazing Stories,” and a drama starring Reese Witherspoon and Jennifer Aniston.

The move comes as Apple is focusing on services for growth while iPhone sales are slowing. Away from the core iPhone business, Apple CEO Tim Cook noted that all of the company’s services component parts — the App Store, Apple Music, iCloud storage and Apple Pay — posted record results in sales and growth of at least 25 percent year on year.

So the company will be taking on Netflix, which has also been producing its own original movies and television shows. Last month the streaming company posted $4 billion in revenue and earnings per share of 89 cents compared to 68 cents and $4 billion for Q3. At the same time, the company soared past its membership estimates: It reported net additions of 7 million customers, which marked a significant beat from its forecast of 5 million customers.

Going forward, Netflix said it hoped to capture more revenue and membership growth from its investments in original films, including romantic comedies. In its most recent letter, Netflix noted that it has “hundreds of people in physical production” working for the company on different scripted and unscripted titles. It also recently announced that it selected a new U.S. production hub — Albuquerque, New Mexico — and the company noted that its “internal studio is already the single largest supplier of content to Netflix (on a cash basis).”