Another classic film studio may be consolidated into a major corporation once again, as Amazon is currently in talks to acquire MGM Studios according to a report from CNN. Metro-Goldwyn-Meyer Studios was founded in 1924 and was one of the key names in the Golden Age of Hollywood.
Amazon has been developing its entertainment division with great success over the past several years, with many titles being frontrunners in the awards circuits including last year’s One Night in Miami. They were in talks in 2018 with Landmark Theaters in California to gain a foothold in physical theaters (via Bloomberg), and then with AMC Theaters in 2019 (via Daily Mail).
An acquisition of MGM would provide Amazon Studios a major boost in the main entertainment world outlet as of now, streaming. Titles under MGM include many classic films and the James Bond series, bringing the studio’s total value to $7-10 billion according to The Information.
This news follows on the heels of 20th Century Fox being acquired by Disney in 2019, which marked a major shaking up in Hollywood. This purchase by the major media conglomerate marked an expansion in the company’s streamable content to bring to their hit streaming platform Disney+.
The streaming wars have heated up significantly over the last year as theaters shut down around the world, and now several studios are all launching their own platforms to compete. Prime Video is already one of the frontrunners of this streaming war, alongside Disney+, Apple TV, Netflix, and Hulu. A deal with MGM would give them an edge amongst the other streamers, but would also mark the end of a classic Hollywood studio that is now approaching a century in age.
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