The Flower Moon Assassins, Martin Scorses’ next film, will be released in October. There is still no availability date on Apple TV+.
Apple’s long-awaited next Martin Scorsese movie finally has a release date… in darkrooms. The Cupertino-based company has revealed that Killers of the Flower Moon will hit theaters on October 20th, after previewing in select theaters on October 6th. The Apple brand hasn’t specified when the film will be available on Apple TV+, but it will certainly be after the end of the cinema’s exclusivity period. This is the first Apple movie to pass through a theater before streaming.
‘The Flower Moon Killers’, Martin Scorses’ next film, will be released in October
The Flower Moon Killers is an adaptation of the book of the same name by David Grann. We follow an FBI rookie’s investigation into several murders of Osage members in the early 1920s after the tribe reclaimed their oil rights on their land. Martin Scorsese directed and co-wrote the film along with Eric Roth, to whom we owe Dune and Munk. The casting involves many big names in cinema, among the director’s favorites: Robert De Niro, Leonardo DiCaprio and Lily Gladstone.
In the spring of 2020, Martin Scorsese signed a multi-year deal with Apple that covered both movies and TV shows. While the exact terms of this contract are unknown, Killers of the Flower Moon’s budget was approximately $180 million. The deal was signed just months after his previous film, The Irishman, released on Netflix, was a huge success but failed to win an Oscar.
Still no availability date on Apple TV+
The strategy of launching a film in theaters before streaming is not new. Claiming industry awards often means visiting darkrooms, and it’s no secret that streaming giants Apple, Amazon, and Netflix are chasing those promotional awards they bring. Apple’s CODA, for example, became the streaming giant’s first film to win the Best Picture Oscar. That being said, the launch period is new for Apple. The Cupertino-based company is betting heavily on this rich roster of talent to try and rebuild the statuettes and boost its credibility in the eyes of Hollywood.