Amazon MGM’s Mike Hopkins Cozies Up To Theater Owners, Promises “When Amazon Commits To Something, We Tend To Do It Big — CinemaCon

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Mike Hopkins, Head of Prime Video & Amazon MGM Studios, made his debut at his first CinemaCon tonight, breaking the ice with de rigueur anecdote of how he fell in love with cinema – going to see Stars Wars as a kid with his brother, both in jammies, “even though I was a bit too old to wear pajamas in public.” Applause for that in the auditorium of Caesars Palace Las Vegas, and even more for his promise to deliver 15 feature films a year to theaters by 2027, and for years to come.

The studio will begin with 12-14 films starting next year, Courtenay Valenti, head of Film, Streaming and Theatrical, said recently. “We are committed to doing this for the long terms and when Amazon commits to something, we tend to do it big.” The company is putting together a distribution team to roll out films globally. “Tonight, our job is to convince you that commitment [to theatrical] is real… and to prove to all of you how bullish we are on theatrical – both here in the U.S.

and overseas,” he said. Amazon acquired MGM in 2022 and Hopkins said, “I’ve had my eye on this ever since.” The deal, while rooted in expanding Amazon’s massive Prime loyalty program, also “really speaks to our excitement about the feature film business.” It’s become even more exciting now that the company is in the clear to ramp up its James Bond franchise after making a deal to gain creative control from rights-holder and producers Michael G.

Wilson and Barbara Broccoli. Amy Pascal and David Heyman have signed on to produce the next James Bond film. “It’s still early days for us, and we have a ton of work to do,” he said.