It has been roughly four years since Amazon finalized its monumental $8.5 billion acquisition of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, a legacy studio famed for its roaring lion and cinematic history. At the time, skeptics wondered whether the e-commerce giant was overpaying for a traditional Hollywood asset in the middle of a shifting digital landscape. However, coming off the blockbuster success of this year’s sci-fi hit movie Project Hail Mary, the entertainment industry has definitively proven to be a deeply lucrative business for the retail and technology titan.
Prime Video, Amazon’s flagship streaming service, has officially emerged as a significant commercial juggernaut, boasting a revenue run rate sitting comfortably in the tens of billions of dollars. Furthermore, the platform is now fully profitable in its own right, according to revelations made by Amazon CEO Andy Jassy during the company’s quarterly earnings call on Thursday. While Jassy had previously touched upon the streaming service’s profitability during a conversation with investors earlier in May, the specific detail that Prime Video is on a trajectory to generate tens of billions of dollars in revenue highlights a dramatic scaling of the business.
The financial success is not restricted strictly to the streaming subscription ecosystem. Amazon announced that its dedicated theatrical movie division, Amazon MGM Studios, has successfully brought in more than $1.2 billion in global box office sales so far this year. This impressive haul has been heavily bolstered by major cinematic hits such as Project Hail Mary and Verity.
Project Hail Mary alone grossed an estimated $684 million worldwide, according to industry tracking data from The Numbers. Starring Ryan Gosling and adapted from Andy Weir’s acclaimed bestselling novel of the same name, the high-profile feature film opened in theaters worldwide in March. It quickly surpassed all internal and external expectations to become Amazon MGM Studios’ highest-grossing theatrical release to date, according to various entertainment media reports. The division’s stellar year was not entirely without turbulence, however, as the studio also weathered at least one notable and highly publicized box office misfire earlier in the year with the release of Melania.
Beyond the silver screen, Amazon’s television portfolio has continued to capture the attention of global audiences through a diverse slate of returning favorites and new hits. During his remarks, CEO Andy Jassy specifically highlighted a number of television series that have driven substantial viewership and engagement across the Prime Video platform. Among the titles driving cultural conversations and audience numbers are Carrie, The Summer I Turned Pretty, The Boys, Off Campus, Fallout, and Reacher.
The action-thriller series Reacher continues to be a massive ratings anchor for the network. According to metrics shared by the company, the fourth season of Reacher managed to draw an astonishing 66 million viewers globally within its first 28 days of availability on the streaming service. And the momentum for the character is showing no signs of slowing down anytime soon; production for the fifth season is currently underway, and Amazon has already officially renewed the hit series for a sixth season. The show’s visibility has also been amplified by its lead actor, Alan Ritchson, who has cultivated a dedicated digital following by engaging with fans online through witty and personable social media interactions.
Live sports have likewise proven to be an indispensable driver of both subscriber acquisition and sustained viewer engagement for Amazon’s media ecosystem. Prime Video currently holds broadcasting rights for a variety of premier sports properties, including NASCAR events, the Masters golf tournament, and UEFA Champions League soccer matches. However, Thursday Night Football has undeniably stood out as the crown jewel of Amazon’s sports strategy this year.
According to official Nielsen figures shared by Amazon during the earnings announcement, the first six games of the current National Football League season averaged an impressive 17.7 million viewers, marking a significant 16 percent increase compared to the same period last year. In addition to professional football, the streaming service has demonstrated a growing capability to capture basketball audiences, successfully attracting over 2 million viewers for the second season of its NBA programming on Prime, as reported by Nielsen.
As Amazon continues to integrate its massive studio acquisitions with its dominant distribution platforms, the company’s long-term investment in Hollywood has transitioned from an ambitious corporate experiment into a cornerstone of its overall business empire.
