Amazon MGM Studios is an American film and television production and distribution company and the flagship namesake subsidiary of Amazon. Founded as Amazon Studios on November 16, 2010, the company adopted its current name on October 3, 2023, after its merger with MGM Holdings, which Amazon had acquired the year prior.
Productions from the studio are primarily distributed through theaters and Amazon's own streaming media service, Amazon Prime Video.
Alongside Amazon Prime Video, the company constitutes one half of Amazon's membership in the Motion Picture Association (MPA), which it joined in October 2024.
Contents
History
Formation and early success (2010–2021)
Scripts for television and films used to be submitted online to Amazon and read by staff; however, the website states they no longer accept submissions. Amazon aimed to review submitted scripts within 90 days (although the process may be longer). If a project was chosen for development, the writer was paid $10,000. If a developed script was selected for distribution as a full-budget movie, the creator was paid $200,000; if it was selected for distribution as a full-budget series, the creator was paid $55,000 as well as "up to 5 percent of Amazon's net receipts from toy and t-shirt licensing, and other royalties and bonuses."
In 2008, Amazon expanded into film production, producing the film The Stolen Child with 20th Century Fox. In July 2015, Amazon announced it had acquired Spike Lee's new film, Chi-Raq, as its first Amazon Original Movie.
In 2010, Amazon Studios started allowing people to submit screenplays, which Amazon Studios and its customers would vote on. The top scriptwriters were told that they would earn cash prizes. This was named as "the scientific studio" by Jeff Bezos. This program stopped eight years later as submitted scripts were of low quality.
Amazon Studios also released its only comic-book series, Blackburn Burrow, in 2012 as a free download. It contained a survey allowing Amazon to collect feedback to determine whether or not it was worthwhile to make the comic into a film.
Amazon Studios had received more than 10,000 feature screenplay submissions as of September 2012 and 2,700 television pilots as of March 2013; 23 films and 26 television series were in active development as of March 2013. In late 2016, it reorganized its film division into Prime Movies.
On July 27, 2017, it was announced that, starting with the December 2017 release Wonder Wheel, Amazon Studios would be its own self-distributing company. Previously, Amazon Studios had relied on multiple external studios to distribute their projects. The company also acquired global television rights to The Lord of the Rings for $250 million. However, Amazon still has external distribution clients outside of the United States, such as Elevation Pictures in Canada, as well as Warner Bros. and StudioCanal in the United Kingdom and France.
Acquisition of MGM and rebranding (2021–present)
In May 2021, Amazon (parent company of Amazon Studios) entered negotiations to acquire Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM). On May 26, 2021, it was announced that the studio would be acquired by Amazon for $8.45 billion, subject to regulatory approval, continuing to operate as a label alongside Amazon Studios and Amazon Prime Video. Amazon will continue to partner with United Artists Releasing (MGM and Annapurna Pictures' joint distribution venture), which will continue to operate and release MGM titles theatrically "on a case-by-case basis."
In August 2021, it was reported that Steven Prinz signed an overall television deal and a first-look deal with the studio. In September 2021, it was reported that Brian Otaño had signed a deal with Amazon Studios. Also in September, Eddie Murphy had signed a first-look film deal with Amazon Studios.
In January 2022, Westbrook signed a multi-year first-look deal with Amazon Studios. That same month, Amazon Studios signed a ten-figure deal with 87North Productions.
In November 2022, it was announced that Jennifer Salke, in addition to Amazon Studios, will be given full control of MGM's film and television divisions, with Brearton stepping down as COO to become the Vice President of PVS Corporate Strategy for MGM+ and MGM Alternative Television.
In December 2022, Intrepid Pictures signed a multi-year overall television deal with Amazon Studios. The studio is one of the largest employers in Culver City with roughly 2,700 staffing their headquarters and production facilities. In January 2023, Critical Role Productions signed a multi-year overall television and first-look film deal with Amazon Studios.
In March 2023, it was announced in response to the decision to release Air into theaters worldwide instead of Prime Video, that Amazon had shut down United Artists Releasing and folded the distributor's operations into MGM, making Creed III the first film to be distributed by the latter studio itself under Amazon's ownership. Also in March, Joe Quesada signed an exclusive first-look deal with Amazon Studios, and the studio also signed a multi-year first-look film deal with Imagine Entertainment.
Accolades
In 2015, Transparent was the first show produced by Amazon Studios to win a major award and the first show produced by a streaming media service to win the Golden Globe Award for Best Television Series – Musical or Comedy (a.k.a. "Golden Globe for Best Series").
In 2017, for Manchester by the Sea, Amazon Studios became the first streaming media service to be nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture; the film was nominated for a total of six Academy Awards, winning two: Best Actor for Casey Affleck and Best Original Screenplay for Kenneth Lonergan.
The film The Salesman (2016) won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film; it was directed by Asghar Farhadi and distributed in the US by Amazon Studios.
In 2018, the period comedy-drama television series The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, starring Rachel Brosnahan, won two Golden Globe Awards (Best Television Series – Musical or Comedy and Best Actress – Musical or Comedy for Brosnahan) and five Primetime Emmy Awards, including Outstanding Comedy Series and Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series for Brosnahan.
United Artists Releasing's Women Talking earned a nomination for Best Picture at the 95th Academy Awards and won the award for Best Adapted Screenplay.
In 2023, Orion Pictures' American Fiction earned Amazon MGM Studios its first win for the People's Choice Award at the Toronto International Film Festival following the studio's rebrand. The film went on to receive five nominations at the 96th Academy Awards; including Best Picture, and won the award for Best Adapted Screenplay.
Assets
Film production and distribution
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
United Artists
Orion Pictures
Orion Classics
American International Pictures
Prime Movies
Amazon Content Services
Amazon MGM Studios Distribution
Television
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Television
MGM Alternative Television
MGM International Television
MGM On Demand
MGM/UA Television
Big Fish Entertainment LLC
Half Moon Pictures
Evolution Media
Gato Grande Productions (joint venture with Mexican entrepreneurs Miguel Aleman and Antonio Cué)
Lightworkers Media
MGM+
MGM+ Marquee
MGM+ Hits
MGM+ Drive-In
MGM+ On Demand
ScreenPix
ScreenPix Action
ScreenPix Westerns
ScreenPix Voices
ScreenPix On Demand
MGM Sci-Fi (Roku linear channel)
Others
Amazon MGM Studios Consumer Products
MGM Home Entertainment
MGM Music
Prime Video Sport
MGM On Stage