Amazon MGM Studios, formerly Amazon Studios in some markets, is an American

film A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere ...

and

television Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertisin ...

production Production may refer to: Economics and business * Production (economics) * Production, the act of manufacturing goods * Production, in the outline of industrial organization, the act of making products (goods and services) * Production as a stati ...

and

distribution Distribution may refer to: Mathematics *Distribution (mathematics), generalized functions used to formulate solutions of partial differential equations * Probability distribution, the probability of a particular value or value range of a vari ...

studio owned by

Amazon Amazon most often refers to: * Amazons, a tribe of female warriors in Greek mythology * Amazon rainforest, a rainforest covering most of the Amazon basin * Amazon River, in South America * Amazon (company), an American multinational technology c ...

and launched on November 16, 2010. It took its current name on October 3, 2023, following its merger with

MGM Holdings MGM Holdings, Inc. is an American holding company incorporated in Delaware and headquartered in Beverly Hills, California, launched on February 11, 2005 by a creditor-oriented consortium as the parent company of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (from which ...

, which Amazon had acquired the year prior. Productions from this studio, as of September 2023, are primarily distributed under the

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures and abbreviated as MGM, is an American film, television production, distribution and media company owned by amazon (company), Amazon through MGM Holdings, founded o ...

banner through movie theaters/cinemas and Amazon's own

streaming media Streaming media is multimedia that is delivered and consumed in a continuous manner from a source, with little or no intermediate storage in network elements. ''Streaming'' refers to the delivery method of content, rather than the content it ...

service,

Amazon Prime Video Amazon Prime Video, also known simply as Prime Video, is an American Video on demand#Subscription models, subscription video on-demand Over-the-top media service, over-the-top Streaming media, streaming and Renting, rental service of Amazon (c ...

Overview

Formation and early success (2008–2021)

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." AMZN_STUDIOS

In 2008, Amazon expanded into

film production Filmmaking (film production) is the process by which a motion picture is produced. Filmmaking involves a number of complex and discrete stages, starting with an initial story, idea, or commission. It then continues through screenwriting, casti ...

, producing the film ''The Stolen Child'' with

20th Century Studios 20th Century Studios, Inc. (previously known as 20th Century Fox) is an American film production company headquartered at the Fox Studio Lot in the Century City area of Los Angeles. As of 2019, it serves as a film production arm of Walt Disn ...

. In July 2015, Amazon announced it had acquired

Spike Lee Shelton Jackson "Spike" Lee (born March 20, 1957) is an American film director, producer, screenwriter, and actor. His production company, 40 Acres and a Mule Filmworks, has produced more than 35 films since 1983. He made his directorial debut ...

's new film, ''

Chi-Raq ''Chi-Raq'' () is a 2015 American musical crime comedy drama film, directed and produced by Spike Lee and co-written by Lee and Kevin Willmott. Set in Chicago, the film focuses on the gang violence prevalent in neighborhoods on the city's sou ...

'', 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 Jeffrey Preston Bezos ( ;; and Robinson (2010), p. 7. ''né'' Jorgensen; born January 12, 1964) is an American entrepreneur, media proprietor, investor, and commercial astronaut. He is the founder, executive chairman, and former preside ...

. 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 The Wonder Wheel is a eccentric Ferris wheel at Deno's Wonder Wheel Amusement Park at Coney Island in the New York City borough of Brooklyn. The wheel is located on a plot bounded by West 12th Street to the west, Bowery Street to the north, ...

'', 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 TV rights to ''

The Lord of the Rings ''The Lord of the Rings'' is an epic high-fantasy novel by English author and scholar J. R. R. Tolkien. Set in Middle-earth, intended to be Earth at some time in the distant past, the story began as a sequel to Tolkien's 1937 children's boo ...

'' for $250 million. However, Amazon still has external distribution clients outside of the United States, such as

Elevation Pictures Elevation Pictures is a Canadian film distribution and production company founded in 2013 by Laurie May and co-led by Noah Segal. The company made its debut at the 2013 Toronto International Film Festival. Distribution Since its debut in late 20 ...

in Canada, as well as

Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Di ...

and

StudioCanal StudioCanal S.A.S. (formerly known as Le Studio Canal+, Canal Plus, Canal+ Distribution, Canal+ D.A., Canal+ Production, and Canal+ Image and also known as StudioCanal International) is a French film production and distribution company that owns ...

in the United Kingdom and France. In April 2018, Amazon Studios announced that they would no longer accept open submissions of screenplays to limit the filmmakers they work with to those whom the studio has established working relationships with and turn away up-and-comers from pitching their projects, deeming them as "unsolicited material" and "not notable and talented enough to work with them."

Acquisition of MGM and rebranding (2021–present)

In May 2021, Amazon (parent company of Amazon Studios) entered negotiations to acquire

(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 will continue to partner with

United Artists Releasing United Artists Corporation (UA), currently doing business as United Artists Digital Studios, is an American digital production company. Founded in 1919 by D. W. Griffith, Charlie Chaplin, Mary Pickford, and Douglas Fairbanks, the studio ...

(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 inked an overall TV 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 Edward Regan Murphy (born April 3, 1961) is an American actor, comedian, writer, producer, and singer. He rose to fame on the sketch comedy show ''Saturday Night Live'', for which he was a regular cast member from 1980 to 1984. Murphy has als ...

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 87North Productions is an American film production company focused on the production of action films and founded by David Leitch and Kelly McCormick. Their credited productions include ''Nobody'' starring Bob Odenkirk and ''Bullet Train'', starr ...

. 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+ Epix (pronounced ''epics'' and stylized as P) is an American premium cable and satellite television network owned by the Epix Entertainment LLC subsidiary of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM), a subsidiary of Amazon's MGM Holdings, Inc. The channel's pr ...

and MGM Alternative Television. In December 2022,

Intrepid Pictures Intrepid Pictures is an American independent film and television production company dedicated to producing elevated commercial content for global mainstream audiences. It was founded in 2004 by Trevor Macy and Marc D. Evans, and is currently run ...

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 Critical Role Productions, LLC is a multimedia production company incorporated in 2015 by the members of the creator-owned streaming show ''Critical Role''. The first two shows from the company, ''Critical Role'' and ''Talks Machina'', originally ...

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 ''Creed III'' is an upcoming American sports drama film directed by Michael B. Jordan (in his feature directorial debut) with a screenplay by Keenan Coogler and Zach Baylin from a story they co-wrote with Ryan Coogler. The sequel to ''Creed II ...

'' the first film to be distributed by the latter studio itself under Amazon's ownership. Also in March,

Joe Quesada Joseph Quesada (; born January 12, 1962'' Comics Buyer's Guide'' #1650; February 2009; page 107) is an American comic book artist, writer, editor, and television producer. He became known in the 1990s for his work on various Valiant Comics books ...

signed an exclusive first-look deal with Amazon Studios, and the studio also signed a multi-year first-look film deal with

Imagine Entertainment Imagine Entertainment (formerly Imagine Films Entertainment), also known simply as Imagine, is an American film and television production company founded in November 1985 by producer Brian Grazer and director Ron Howard. Background Brian Gra ...

. In May 2023, Amazon Studios created Amazon MGM Studios Distribution, an international film and television distribution unit for Amazon and MGM projects. The distributor's first films were ''

Saltburn Saltburn-by-the-Sea, commonly referred to as Saltburn, is a seaside town in Redcar and Cleveland, North Yorkshire, England, around south-east of Hartlepool and southeast of Redcar. It lies within the historic boundaries of the North Rid ...

'', which premiered at the

Telluride Film Festival The Telluride Film Festival (TFF) is a film festival held annually in Telluride, Colorado during Labor Day weekend (the first Monday in September). The 49th edition took place on September 2 -6, 2022. History First held on 30 August 1974, th ...

on August 30, 2023, '' Sitting in Bars with Cake'', which was released on Prime Video on September 8, 2023 and '' A Million Miles Away'' which was released on Prime Video on September 15, 2023, all 3 films were released through the MGM banner. On October 4, 2023, Pablo Iacoviello, the studio's director of monetization for local originals, announced at the TV forum Iberseries & Platino Industria in

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...

that Amazon Studios would merge with

and would be renamed to Amazon MGM Studios itself to reflect this. This would also result in all films from the studio, as of September 2023, to open with the 2021 MGM logo designed by Baked Studios. In December 2023, Amazon MGM Studios secured a deal with

Games Workshop Games Workshop Group (often abbreviated as GW) is a British manufacturer of miniature wargames, based in Nottingham, England. Its best-known products are ''Warhammer Age of Sigmar'' and ''Warhammer 40,000''. Founded in 1975 by John Peake (gam ...

, the creator of ''

Warhammer 40,000 ''Warhammer 40,000'' is a miniature wargame produced by Games Workshop. It is the most popular miniature wargame in the world, and is particularly popular in the United Kingdom. The first edition of the rulebook was published in September 1987, ...

'', to adapt its characters and stories for film and television. The agreement, involving British actor

Henry Cavill Henry William Dalgliesh Cavill ( ; born 5 May 1983) is a British actor. He is known for his portrayal of Charles Brandon in Showtime's ''The Tudors'' (2007–2010), DC Comics character Superman in the DC Extended Universe (2013–2022), Gera ...

as an executive producer and actor, enables Amazon MGM to produce ''Warhammer 40,000'' themed movies and TV shows. In January 2024, Amazon announced hundreds of layoffs across Amazon MGM Studios, Prime Video and

Twitch Twitch may refer to: Biology * Muscle contraction ** Convulsion, rapid and repeated muscle contraction and relaxation ** Fasciculation, a small, local, involuntary muscle contraction ** Myoclonic twitch, a jerk usually caused by sudden muscle con ...

in order to "prioritize our investments for the long-term success of our business, while relentlessly focusing on what we know matters most to our customers," according to Mike Hopkins.

Accolades

In 2015, ''

Transparent Transparency, transparence or transparent most often refer to: * Transparency (optics), the physical property of allowing the transmission of light through a material They may also refer to: Literal uses * Transparency (photography), a still, ...

'' was the first show produced by Amazon Studios to win a major award and the first show produced by a

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 Academy Award for Best Picture is one of the Academy Awards presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) since the awards debuted in 1929. This award goes to the producers of the film and is the only category ...

; the film was nominated for a total of six

Academy Awards The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

, winning two:

Best Actor Best Actor is the name of an award which is presented by various film, television and theatre organizations, festivals, and people's awards to leading actors in a film, television series, television film or play. The term most often refers to th ...

for Casey Affleck and Best Original Screenplay for

Kenneth Lonergan Kenneth Lonergan (born October 16, 1962) is an American film director, playwright, and screenwriter. He is the co-writer of the film ''Gangs of New York'' (2002), and wrote and directed '' You Can Count on Me'' (2000), ''Margaret'' (2011), and ' ...

. The film '' The Salesman'' (2016) won the

Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film The Academy Award for Best International Feature Film (known as Best Foreign Language Film prior to 2020) is one of the Academy Awards handed out annually by the U.S.-based Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). It is given to a ...

; it was directed by

Asghar Farhadi Asghar Farhadi ( fa, اصغر فرهادی, ; born 7 May 1972)Soureh Movie Database

and distributed in the US by Amazon Studios. In 2018, the

period Period may refer to: Common uses * Era, a length or span of time * Full stop (or period), a punctuation mark Arts, entertainment, and media * Period (music), a concept in musical composition * Periodic sentence (or rhetorical period), a concept ...

comedy-drama Comedy drama, also known by the portmanteau ''dramedy'', is a genre of dramatic works that combines elements of comedy and drama. The modern, scripted-television examples tend to have more humorous bits than simple comic relief seen in a typical ...

television series ''

The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel ''The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel'' is an American period comedy-drama television series, created by Amy Sherman-Palladino, that premiered on March 17, 2017, on Amazon Prime Video. Set in the late 1950s and early 1960s, it stars Rachel Brosnahan as M ...

'', starring

Rachel Brosnahan Rachel Elizabeth Brosnahan (born July 12, 1990) is an American actress. She stars as aspiring stand-up comedian Miriam "Midge" Maisel in the Amazon Prime Video period comedy series ''The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel'' (2017–present), for which she w ...

, won two

Golden Globe Award The Golden Globe Awards are accolades bestowed by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association beginning in January 1944, recognizing excellence in both American and international film and television. Beginning in 2022, there are 105 members of t ...

s ( Best Television Series – Musical or Comedy and Best Actress – Musical or Comedy for Brosnahan) and five

Primetime Emmy Awards The Primetime Emmy Awards, or Primetime Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Bestowed by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS), the Primetime ...

, including Outstanding Comedy Series and Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series for Brosnahan. In 2023,

Orion Pictures Orion Pictures (legal name Orion Releasing, LLC) is an American film production and distribution company owned by Amazon through its Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) subsidiary. In its original operating period, the company produced and released films ...

' ''

American Fiction American literature is literature written or produced in the United States of America and in the colonies that preceded it. The American literary tradition thus is part of the broader tradition of English-language literature, but also inc ...

'' earned Amazon MGM Studios its first win for the

People's Choice Award The People's Choice Awards is an American awards show, recognizing people in entertainment, voted online by the general public and fans. The show has been held annually since 1975, with the winners originally determined using Gallup Polls until ...

at the

Toronto International Film Festival The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF, often stylized as tiff) is one of the largest publicly attended film festivals in the world, attracting over 480,000 people annually. Since its founding in 1976, TIFF has grown to become a permane ...

following the studio's rebrand.

Assets

Film production and distribution

Orion Classics Orion Classics started in 1982 as the distribution label for the then independent film production company Orion Pictures, now owned by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. It was relaunched in 2018. The original focus of 1980-era Orion Classics was on acquirin ...

* American International Pictures

Television

MGM Television MGM Television Worldwide Group and Digital (alternatively Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Television Group and Digital, commonly known as MGM Television and then-known as MGM/UA Television; common metonym: Lion) is an American television production/dis ...

** Big Fish Entertainment LLC *** Half Moon Pictures ** Evolution Media (Evolution Film & Tape, Inc.) ** Gato Grande Productions (joint venture with Mexican entrepreneurs Miguel Aleman and Antonio Cué) ** Orion TV Productions, Inc. **

Lightworkers Media Lightworkers Media is an American Christian media and film production company helmed by President Roma Downey and her husband Mark Burnett and owned by MGM Holdings through MGM Television. LightWorkers Media produced the Emmy-nominated ''The Bib ...

* Amazon Originals

Channels

** MGM+ Marquee ** MGM+ Hits ** MGM+ Drive-In ** MGM+ On Demand * ScreenPix ** ScreenPix Action ** ScreenPix Westerns ** ScreenPix Voices ** ScreenPix On Demand *

Impact Impact may refer to: * Impact (mechanics), a high force or shock (mechanics) over a short time period * Impact, Texas, a town in Taylor County, Texas, US Science and technology * Impact crater, a meteor crater caused by an impact event * Impact ...

(joint venture with

Comcast Comcast Corporation (formerly known as American Cable Systems and Comcast Holdings),Before the AT&T merger in 2001, the parent company was Comcast Holdings Corporation. Comcast Holdings Corporation now refers to a subsidiary of Comcast Corpora ...

) *

Telecine Telecine ( or ) is the process of transferring film into video and is performed in a color suite. The term is also used to refer to the equipment used in the post-production process. Telecine enables a motion picture, captured originally on f ...

(Brazilian joint venture with Canais Globo, Walt Disney Studios,

Paramount Pictures Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film and television production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the main namesake division of Paramount Global (formerly ViacomCBS). It is the fifth-oldes ...

and

Universal Pictures Universal Pictures (legally Universal City Studios LLC, also known as Universal Studios, or simply Universal; common metonym: Uni, and formerly named Universal Film Manufacturing Company and Universal-International Pictures Inc.) is an Ameri ...

) ** Telecine Action ** Telecine Cult ** Telecine Fun ** Telecine Pipoca ** Telecine Premium ** Telecine Touch ** Telecine Productions ** Telecine On Demand ** Telecine Play * MGM Sci-Fi (Roku linear channel)

Others

* MGM Consumer Products *

MGM Home Entertainment Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Home Entertainment LLC (d/b/a MGM Home Entertainment and formerly known as MGM Home Video, MGM/CBS Home Video and MGM/UA Home Video) is the home video division of the American media company Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. History 1 ...

* MGM Music * MGM Sports * MGM On Stage

Productions library

Television series

Films

References

External links

Official website
{{Authority control Amazon (company) Film production companies of the United States Television production companies of the United States Comic book publishing companies of the United States Companies based in Culver City, California Companies based in Seattle Film distributors of the United States American companies established in 2010 Mass media companies established in 2010