Apple TV+ has signed a new multi-year feature film deal with North Road Company’s Chernin Entertainment, the premier scripted label behind titles such as Hidden Figures, Ford v Ferrari, The Greatest Showman and Planet of the Apes.
On the television side, Chernin Entertainment is already a partner with the streaming platform, producing the upcoming historical miniseries War Chief starring Jason Momoa, about the unification and colonization of Hawaii at the turn of the 18th century, premiering August 1. It’s also behind the Emmy-nominated See Also starring Momoa; the NAACP Image Award- nominated Truth Be Told starring Octavia Spencer and Gabrielle Union; and the Emmy-winning doc The War for Football executive produced by North Road’s premium label Words + Pictures.
“We’ve had a great experience working with Apple on the series side, where they’ve been smart, bold and always supportive – we’re thrilled to build on that success by making films together,” said North Road Company President Peter Chernin.
Founded three years ago by Chernin, Global Content Studio has established itself as a production powerhouse spanning scripted, unscripted and documentary content. Its labels include Chernin Entertainment (Film, Television and Indie), North Road Television, Kinetic Content, Words + Images and others.
Chernin Entertainment’s recent film releases include the action comedy Back in Action starring Jamie Foxx and Cameron Diaz and Fear Street: Prom Queen, both of which debuted at No. 1 on Netflix’s most-watched list. Its upcoming film slate includes Apex starring Charlize Theron and Taron Egerton and the sci-fi 11817 starring Greta Lee and Wagner Moura — both Netflix projects. There’s also Altar starring Kyle Maclachlan and January Jones, as well as Backstage starring Chiwetel Ejiofor and Renate Reinsve — both A24 pics.
Momentum around Apple’s original film slate continues to build since the debut of Apple TV+ five years ago, with highly anticipated features including F1 starring Brad Pitt and Damson Idris and from director Joseph Kosinski and producer Jerry Bruckheimer, debuting in theaters on June 27. There’s also Higher 2 Lower , the latest feature reuniting Spike Lee with Denzel Washington for the fifth time, releasing in theaters on August 22 and on the streamer on September 5.
Apple also made history as the first streaming service to land a Best Picture Oscar with Coda . Its film expansion also includes Martin Scorsese’s Killers of the Flower Moon , which landed 10 Oscar nods, and other fare like The Gorge starring Miles Teller and Anya Taylor-Joy; Wolfs starring George Clooney and Pitt; and the recently released Echo Valley featuring Julianne Moore and Sydney Sweeney.
