After acquiring MGM in early 2022, Amazon Studios is now shaping to become a theatrical force in the film landscape for some of its biggest productions. While streaming services frequently release some of their high-profile movies in select theatres to qualify for awards consideration, Ben Affleck’s “Air” will be the first movie distributed by a streaming service to have a wide and long theatrical release. Unlike Netflix, which pulled the plug on “Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery” a week after its theatrical debut, Amazon plans to release “Air” in theatres for a substantial amount of time.
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The movie will play in 3,000 theatres before hitting the streaming service about 45 days after its theatrical release. It’s unheard of in the streaming world, but it seems as though Amazon will be the first streaming service to release some of its movies in a traditional theatrical pattern before it makes their way on Prime Video. They certainly will not be the last if “Air” ends up being profitable for the studio.
“Air” marks Ben Affleck’s first directorial effort since 2016’s “Live By Night” and marks his latest collaboration with Matt Damon as they star as Phil Knight and Sonny Vaccaro, respectively. With a screenplay by Alex Convery, the movie will also star Jason Bateman, Viola Davis, Chris Messina, Marlon Wayans, Chris Tucker, Matthew Maher, and Tom Papa. Here’s the official synopsis:
From award-winning director Ben Affleck, AIR reveals the unbelievable game-changing partnership between a then-rookie Michael Jordan and Nike’s fledgling basketball division, which revolutionized the world of sports and contemporary culture with the Air Jordan brand. This moving story follows the career-defining gamble of an unconventional team with everything on the line, the uncompromising vision of a mother who knows the worth of her son’s immense talent, and the basketball phenom who would become the greatest of all time.
Produced by Affleck, Damon, Peter Guber, Jason Michael Berman, Jeff Robinov, Madison Ainley, and David Ellison, “Air” will release exclusively in theatres on April 5.
Update: A big Game Day TV spot was also released.