Apple (AAPL.US) joins hands with film mogul Cherning: New North Road movies are prioritized on Apple TV+

The Zhitong Finance App learned that the US consumer electronics giant Apple (AAPL.US) has reached an important agreement with North Road, a top Hollywood entertainment studio led by US media giant and film production mogul Peter Chernin (Peter Chernin), to prioritize the release of new movies produced by the latter studio. This also shows that the American tech giant's ambitions in the US film and television industry and its ambitions in the Hollywood production field are growing higher.

Apple's latest collaboration with Chernin means that the Hollywood superproducer team for “Back to Action” and “Speed Car King” is about to move from global streaming giant Netflix (Netflix) to Apple.

According to information, the agreement gives Apple priority purchasing and distribution rights for new projects being developed in Chernin. North Road has been partnering with streaming giant Netflix for the past five years. Chernin Entertainment, a subsidiary of Chernin, can continue to produce films already underway for other studios, including the two blockbusters that will soon be screened on Netflix's streaming platform: the action thriller “Apex” starring Charlize Theron, and the horror film “11817,” which co-stars Wagner Mora and Greta Lee.

“We are happy to work with Apple in the field of movies and TV series. The Apple streaming team is smart and bold, and always gives any support — we are excited to extend this success to film production,” Chernin said. He has previously produced the TV series “See: Seen” and “Truth Be Told” (Truth Be Told) exclusively for Apple. The next collaboration between the two sides will be the blockbuster drama “Chief of War” (Chief of War) starring Jason Momoa, which is scheduled to premiere in August.

As a new Hollywood player, Apple is expanding its movie business at an accelerated pace to continue to grow and expand its streaming platform Apple TV+ streaming service. Although Apple has released popular original series such as “Ted Russo” and “Severance” (Severance), it has yet to replicate the same success in top Hollywood movies. More importantly, on June 27th EST, Apple will release one of its most ambitious films to date — the racing movie “F1” starring Hollywood superstar Brad Pitt.

According to reports, Chernin is highly respected in the media industry as an investor and filmmaker. He worked with Rupert Murdoch at News Group for a long time, also headed Fox, and later established his own portal. The investment company under its name, Chernin Group, has invested in Barstool Sports, anime streaming media Crunchyroll, etc.; its entertainment company is mainly responsible for producing movies and TV series.

Chernin has integrated all of his entertainment assets, including the production teams of the hit reality shows “Love is Blind” (Love is Blind) and “The Ultimatum” (The Ultimatum), into North Road. The company will also produce dozens of projects this year, covering documentaries, feature films, reality shows, and series.

Chernin initially produced “Ford v Ferrari” (Ford v Ferrari) for Fox, the new “Rise of the Planet of the Planet” series, and the sitcom “New Girl”, which set off a worldwide movie boom. In 2020, he signed a film production agreement with Netflix to launch the “Fear Street” (Fear Street) series and the comedy “Back in Action” (Back in Action) starring Jamie Fox and Cameron Diaz. However, as the agreement expired, Chernin began looking for a place for the new owner.

Netflix has cut annual film production — although it is still one of the biggest Hollywood film companies — while Apple is expanding significantly. This year, Apple released the blockbuster action film “The Gorge” (The Gorge) and the heist film “Fountain of Youth.” The films are coming directly to Apple TV+; “F1” will first be screened in theaters around the world and then streamed online.

Apple CEO Tim Cook (Tim Cook) recently revealed more details about the company's streaming platform Apple TV+'s positioning and film and TV strategy, stressing that Apple is essentially a “tool maker,” highlighting that Apple TV+ is not an iPhone marketing tool, but strives to become a great business while telling great stories.

“We are a tool manufacturer,” Cook said in an interview with Variety while promoting the upcoming F1 film “F1: Fast & Furious.” He was referring to Apple's products such as computers, mobile phones, and tablets. “We're also capable of building tools for creatives to do things they couldn't do before. Therefore, before we officially entered the film and television streaming business, we had a lot of partnerships with Hollywood.”

Apple TV+ is Apple's global streaming subscription platform launched in 2019; Apple Original Films is Apple's internal film label/production division responsible for the production and distribution of feature films. The former is equivalent to a “cinema” and is responsible for consumer-facing broadcasting and member operations; the latter is similar to a “studio” and focuses on the entire production process of project establishment, investment, filming, theatrical promotion, and subsequent exclusive launch on Apple TV+ streaming.

Apple TV+ and Apple Original Films are two sides of the same coin: almost all feature films with the “Apple Original Films” logo will eventually land on Apple TV+, and the vast majority of Apple TV+ movie homemade content is also co-developed by Apple Original Films.

According to information, the high-profile film “F1: Fast & Furious”, starring Brad Pitt and scheduled to be screened in theaters around the world on June 27, is a large-scale collaboration between Apple Original Films and Hollywood film giant Warner Bros. (WBD). The film will be released in theaters first, then exclusively on the streaming platform Apple TV+.