Apple TV+ and Skydance deal is one of the biggest in Hollywood

Apple TV+ and Skydance recently signed a content deal and it’s billed as one of the biggest in Hollywood, says variety.

Apple TV+ and Skydance, an agreement that stands out

The agreement between Apple TV+ and Skydance resembles a “put deal”, i.e. an increasingly rare arrangement in Hollywood that involves a distributor (Apple TV+ in this case) being forced to release the films chosen by his partner (Skydance here).

Thanks to this partnership, Skydance will produce at least two films a year with a budget of $125 million. In addition, the studio will be able to earn up to $25 million per film. Skydance movies won’t necessarily be released in theaters and may well be streaming exclusives.

Matt Dentler, head of film business at Apple, and Skydance officials are working together to identify films that will meet the criteria for having two feature films per year. The studio benefits from an advantageous agreement since it will retain the copyright on all the intellectual property that it produces through Apple. The two companies will share the downstream revenue and it is possible that Apple will get additional profits.

For information, Netflix and Amazon Prime Video initially wanted to obtain this agreement. But Apple managed to negotiate better, hence the deal on arrival. This came as a bit of a surprise to the Hollywood side, the movie industry actually thought Amazon was going to pull off the deal. But that was not the case.