Apple have announced it is set to unveil its Apple Plus TV streaming service in November. Apple said on Friday they will enter the business this fall with theatrical releases of three movies acquired this year. With expansion in 2020, when Apple plans to start producing its own films, some of which are being made in conjunction with the independent movie studio A24. Apple and A24 agreed last year to make movies together.
We will see the release of “Elephant Queen” from Apple as their first theatrical documentary, it will be centered on a 50-year old elephant! Selected cities are expected to show this first release in theatres on the 18th October. The company have said it will then appear on Apple TV plus on streaming platforms. Toronto International Film Festival screened this film just this month and is narrated by the actor Chiwetel Ejiofor.
Closely followed by the next coming-of-age drama production, “Hala”. Based around a Muslim teenager, played by Geraldine Viswanathan. Geraldine had a role in the 2018 comedy ‘Blockers’. It will make its debut in what the company described as ‘selected theatres’ on November 22nd, and then be available on the streaming service in December. Apple acquired ‘Hala’ after its debut at the Sundance Film Festival in February.
Apple will give its widest theatrical release to “The Banker,” a civil-rights drama set in the 1950s starring Samuel L. Jackson and Anthony Mackie. The company acquired worldwide distribution rights for the film in July and will put it in theatres on December 6th. While wider than the others, the release will still involve only a limited number of theatres. We can then expect “The Banker” to be available on Apple TV Plus in January.
Apple declined to comment on its plans for going into movie production. The company also did not specify which theatres, or theatre chains, if any, would screen the three movies it acquired this year.
