Apple rethinks its movie strategy after repeated misses

Business Business: When Apple won a bidding war for the rights to make the action comedy “Wolves” with George Clooney and Brad Pitt in 2021, it did so partly because it promised the stars it would show the film in a large number of movie theaters. “Brad and I had made a deal to do that movie in which we made money back by making sure our movie was released in theaters,” Mr. Clooney said in an interview with the Hollywood trade publication Deadline last year. But this month, just six weeks before the film was set to appear in thousands of theaters across the United States, Apple announced a significant change in plans. “Wolves” will now be shown on a limited number of movie screens for a week before becoming available on the company’s streaming service on Sept. 27. (Internationally, it will not be shown in theaters at all, with the exception of the Venice Film Festival, where it will premiere on Sept. 1.)

“‘Wolves’ is the kind of big event movie that makes Apple TV+ the best place to be in terms of entertainment,” Matt Dentler, Apple Original Films’ head of features, said in a statement. “Releasing the film in theaters before making it widely available to Apple TV+ subscribers gives audiences the best of both worlds.” The film’s director, Jon Watts, told Vanity Fair that he learned of the change in plans just days before the announcement. “The theatrical experience really made an impression on me, how valuable and important this thing is,” Mr. Watts said. “I always thought of it as a theatrical movie. We made it to be shown in theaters and I think that’s the best way to see it.” Despite the wishes of filmmakers, the change follows a mediocre box office performance for Apple, which in October began releasing movies in theaters nationwide through partnerships with traditional studios.