After endless rumors, it was officially announced on Wednesday that Amazon will be acquiring MGM for $8.45B. This is the second large-scale Hollywood acquisition this month following the announcement of the WarnerMedia and Discovery deal.
This new deal will see Amazon acquire over 4,000 film titles and 17,000 hours of TV material which it can now add to its Amazon Prime Video offerings. This includes films such as the Rocky/Creed series, The Hobbit, and, possibly most importantly, the James Bond film franchise. It should be noted that the Bond franchise is co-owned by Eon Productions, run by Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli which retain final say on how the James Bond material is handled.
On the television side, current MGM properties include the likes of The Handmaids Tale on Hulu, FX’s Fargo, History’s Vikings, and Shark Tank.
“The real financial value behind this deal is the treasure trove of IP in the deep catalog that we plan to reimagine and develop together with MGM’s talented team. It’s very exciting and provides so many opportunities for high-quality storytelling,” said Mike Hopkins, senior VP of Prime Video and Amazon Studios, said in a statement.
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer was founded in 1924 and has changed hands many times over the years as it continually faced financial troubles. Beyond its larger film franchises, it’s catalog also contains landmark films such as 1939’s The Wizard of Oz, 1960’s The Apartment, 1961’s West Side Story, and – adjusted for inflation – the biggest film of all time, 1939’s Gone With The Wind.
No word as of yet as to when the deal is expected to close.
