Since the company entered the streaming war in November 2019, Apple’s Hollywood ambitions have been in the microscope and promised an advanced experience curated with curated original content rather than the sprawling library offered by competitors like Netflix. So far, the results are mixed together: Apple TV++ has received good praise among subscribers’ competitors, while reportedly accumulating over $1 billion in annual losses. However, in 2025, the narrative surrounding Apple TV+ and its original movie Slate can finally change.
This summer, Apple Original Films landed its first real huge blockbuster. F1a high-octane racing drama starring Brad Pitt, made its domestic debut of $55.6 million and a global roar of $144 million, surpassed expectations and gave Apple its largest dramatic opening to date. When it comes to streaming, Apple TV+ is also boosting its momentum. Season 2 of Dystopian Workplace Drama lay off Just received 27 Emmy nominations, the most nominations in any series this year.
Several of the platform’s most popular series are coming soon. Season 5 Slow horsea spy drama led by Gary Oldman, premieres on September 24. Season 4 of the fan favorite sports comedy is also being produced Ted Lasso. Among the main new entries this year are pluribusa science fiction drama from breaking Bad Creator Vince Gilligan made his debut on November 7.
“We’ve been studying it for years before we decided to do it,” Apple CEO Tim Cook recently told Variety. In an interview, he delayed the notion that Apple launched its streaming media just to strengthen its ecosystem. “I know there are a lot of different opinions about why we are involved,” Cook explained. “We love telling a great story and we hope it’s a great business as well. That’s why we love it, it’s just simple and simple.”
For six years, Apple TV+ remains a boutique in the market for Netflix and Disney+. Apple did not disclose the subscriber count, but estimated it will put its global payment base at about 45 million, lagging behind Netflix’s more than 300 million. Still, unlike Netflix, Apple doesn’t need streaming to be a profit engine, even if its high spending triggers eyebrows.
Cristofer Hamilton, industry insight manager at Parrot Analytics, said the approach was intentional. “These recent wins come from box office success F1 Recognition of awards lay offstrengthen its identity as a reputation-first platform,He said. Parrot data always suggests that Apple’s top champions have a lot of demand per capita, although the platform’s overall influence still lags behind Netflix and Amazon Prime videos.
Hamilton pointed out lay offThe first season brought in more than $200 million in global streaming revenue, suggesting that Apple’s prestige-centric model could also be delivered economically.
With its huge resources, Apple has more space than most people to define success based on its own opinions. “Apple TV+ (and Prime Video) has more freedom to define what it means to them than companies like Netflix, whose core businesses are streaming, and must consider content investments in more traditional ROIs [return on investment] Way,” Hamilton said.
This freedom allows Apple to continue investing in high-end, Auteur-powered projects, even if they don’t wield in the number of subscribers. The company has the ability to take creative risks of enhancing its brand and shows no signs of slowing down. After all, the annual loss of $1 billion is Apple’s $391 million in annual revenue. In other words, Apple has the ability to play long games in Hollywood – until it decides what it no longer wants.
