Business1 min read

Andy Jassy says Prime Video is on track to earn ‘tens of billions of dollars’

By · Via TechCrunch · Published by Everything Blog

In short

The entertainment division is independently profitable and generating significant momentum four years after the company completed its $8.5 billion MGM acquisition. Growth is largely propelled by major theatrical box office hits, popular original television franchises, and high-performing live sports broadcasts. This financial trajectory solidifies the streaming operation as an increasingly lucrative standalone business for the tech giant. Demonstrating this broad appeal, the fourth season of the television hit Reacher brought in 66 million global viewers during its initial 28 days on the platform.

Key points

  • Prime Video is successfully operating as a standalone profitable business supported by a…: Prime Video is successfully operating as a standalone profitable business supported by a multi-billion-dollar revenue run rate.
  • Studio investments, including the $8.5 billion MGM purchase, are paying off through recor…: Studio investments, including the $8.5 billion MGM purchase, are paying off through record-breaking global box office receipts.
  • Live sports and expanding television franchises continue to drive substantial global audi…: Live sports and expanding television franchises continue to drive substantial global audience gains across the streaming service.

Sources checked by our analysis pipeline: 1

It’s been four years since Amazon bought MGM for $8.5 billion. But coming off the blockbuster success of this year’s hit movie Project Hail Mary, Hollywood has become a lucrative business for the e-commerce giant.

Prime Video, Amazon’s streaming service, “has emerged as a significant business with a revenue run rate in the tens of billions of dollars and is now profitable in its own right,” Amazon CEO Andy Jassy said on the quarterly earnings call on Thursday. Jassy had previously told investors in May that Prime Video was profitable, but being on track to generate tens of billions is a new detail.

Amazon said its movie studio, Amazon MGM Studios, has brought in more than $1.2 billion in global box office sales so far this year, helped by hits like Project Hail Mary and Verity. Project Hail Mary grossed an estimated $684 million worldwide, according to The Numbers. Starring Ryan Gosling and based on Andy Weir’s novel, the film opened in theaters in March and became Amazon MGM Studios’ highest-grossing release, according to entertainment reports. (It also had at…

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