James Bond films 'committed to worldwide theatrical release' despite Amazon deal, producers say

Producers Barbara Broccoli and Michael G Wilson have said that they will keep making the James Bond movies for theatres even after Amazon has announced the takeover of 007 studio MGM. The studio’s next James Bond movie is Daniel Craig’s No Time to Die which will hit the theatres on 8 October this year.

Broccoli and Wilson, who run London-headquartered Eon Productions, in a statement, said, “We are committed to continuing to make James Bond films for the worldwide theatrical audience”.

Eon Productions is one of the production companies which has been bankrolling Bond movies since 1962’s Dr. No.

Under the deal, MGM has the right to finance and distribute all of the Bond movies, and the studio will split the profits with Eon. Both Broccoli and Wilson will have the final say on the film’s marketing and distribution plans.

Amazon.com Inc will buy the MGM studio for $8.45 billion which will give it an edge over other streaming rivals like Netflix and Disney+. The deal will give it a huge library of films and TV shows. Among the many hit series which come along with the deal are the Rocky and Tom Raider series. Some other popular films which have fallen in their kitty are Legally Blonde and Shark Tank.

Commenting on the deal, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos said in the company’s annual shareholder meeting, "MGM has a vast, deep catalogue of much-beloved intellectual property," he said. "With the talented people at MGM and the talented people at Amazon Studios, we can reimagine and develop that IP for the 21st century".