'Greyhound': Why Apple TV+ Paid $70 Million for Tom Hanks' WWII Movie

Tom Hanks' 'Greyhound' will arguably thrive more on streaming with Apple TV+ than it ever would in theatres under Sony, despite it's planned Father's Day weekend opening

Tom Hanks stars in 'Greyhound' (CREDIT: Sony Pictures)

by Jack Linsdell

We just received news that Sony Pictures will no longer release Tom Hanks' WWII flick Greyhound into theatres on June 12th (in US) this year for obvious reasons. Yes, this makes the Aaron Schneider-directed movie the latest theatrical release to fall victim to the coronavirus pandemic, however unlike Trolls: World Tour and Scoob (both of which were still released by their respective studios but on PVOD), Greyhound will go straight to streaming. Yes, Sony has made a deal with the relatively new streaming service Apple TV+ for Greyhound, which will be released on a to-be-determined date by the platform worldwide later this year. 

For Sony, this is a sensible move. First, Greyhound is the type of movie that no longer pulls in the audiences it once did, due to the whole "no one goes to the movies just to go to the movies" trend. It's a period-drama, aimed at/made for adults and meant to be counterprogramming to the kid-targeted/friendly blockbusters and animations that would've been kicking box office butt this summer had coronavirus not had a say about it. Yes, it would've opened on Father's Day weekend, and "Tom Hanks as real life American hero" is a recent commercial winner (think Sully, Captain Phillips etc.) at the box office, but even if theatres had remained open, it's $50 million budget might have prevented it being a "hit". So, it's understandable why Sony looked at the current theatre closures and thought let's just make some money (they sold it for $70 million, having done very little marketing for it) and move on. Sure, it's a shame that more and more theatrical releases are skipping theatres for home viewing alternative releases instead, but, what can you do in times like this?

However, for Apple TV+, this acquisition is a godsend. Firstly, the streaming service has suffered from very little media attention (unlike Disney+ or HBO Max) since it's debut last fall, which is really annoying considering how good it's original content has been. So, this is by far their biggest project yet (save for maybe The Morning Show), which hopefully will pull in more attention/subscribers for the service. Added to that, Greyhound actually fits perfectly into their release schedule. Apple TV+ have distinguished themselves with original, often unique projects centred around a "big" star (or two). Therefore, a WWII drama based on the widely unknown Battle of Atlantic, starring Tom Hanks makes Greyhound exactly the sort of original movie the service would produce themselves. So, that's why they've paid $70 million for it's release. 

Furthermore, it also gives them greater credibility for winning the streaming rights battle against giants like Netflix or Amazon Prime. Indeed, it's no different to Netflix paying the $125 million budget of Dwayne Johnson/Ryan Reynolds' Red Notice after Universal got cold feet, or Amazon gobbling up the domestic distribution rights for the Emma Thompson/Mindy Kaling comedy Late Night for a record $13 million. Both of those films are far bigger deals on their streaming platforms than they would've been in theatres. And, for Apple TV+, Greyhound is not different. They've beaten their much bigger rivals to a big Hollywood movie, which is only going to give them a greater seat at the streaming table. 

For the film, it's gone from being one of a handful mid-budget releases in the summer movie season, to being the highest-profile project on Apple TV+. Greyhound was a C/B project in theatres at best. Now, it's A++. What's more, it's audience reach will be greater on streaming because that's the way it's all going at the moment. So, yes, it may be yet another disappointing example of how the coronavirus is only accelerating the crush of theatrical movie industry. But, for Sony, Apple TV+ and the movie itself, it's move out of theatres and onto streaming is actually beneficial. 

Written by and starring Tom Hanks (having been a long in-development passion project for him), Greyhound is based on the true story of the WWII Battle of Atlantic. Also starring Elisabeth Shue and Stephen Graham (amongst others), Greyhound will be released on Apple TV+ at a to-be-determined date later this year.