Last September, Apple TV+ brought together George Clooney and Brad Pitt for the first time since Ocean’s Thirteen in 2007. In front of Jon Watts’ camera, the two actors played opposite each other and played cleaners called on the same mission and forced to collaborate. Between the action comedy and the buddy movie, Wolfs had no trouble finding its audience on the platform’s shelves. The biggest success in the history of Apple TV+, the film was not however destined for such exploitation. It had to take over the big screen, like other Apple Studios productions before it. Killers of the Flower Moon, Napoleon or even For Argythe Cupertino company wanted to prove in 2023 that it had its rightful place alongside the giants of the film industry. She spared no expense, mobilizing no less than $700 million to produce the three films by Martin Scorsese, Ridley Scott and Matthew Vaughn.
If the critics were particularly enthusiastic for the first, the next two were less unanimous. The company’s investment was not profitable, with none managing to amortize its large budget. In 2024, the apple has not relaxed its efforts with Fly me to the moon worn by Scarlett Johansson and Channing Tatum and… Wolfs. The fact remains that unlike its predecessors, the action comedy did not benefit from real exploitation in cinemas around the world. In France, it was offered directly on the shelves of the American platform while its release on American soil was limited to a few days. A situation which was obviously not to the taste of director Jon Watts. Even though a sequel was officially announced ahead of the release, the director confided to Deadline having thrown in the towel.
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“I discreetly returned the money”
Asked what the future holds for the two characters, the one who will soon present his series Star Wars : Skeleton Crewexplains that the journey of the two friends will end here. After editing the final version of the film at the beginning of the year, the Apple Studios teams were reportedly so enthusiastic that an order for a sequel was made.
“But their last minute change from a promised theatrical release to a streaming release was a complete surprise to me. I didn’t even find out about it until less than a week before they announced it to everyone. I was so shocked and asked them to please not include the news that I was writing a sequel. They ignored my request and announced it in their press release anyway, apparently to create a positive spin on their shift to streaming. So I discreetly returned the money they had given me for the rest. I didn’t want to talk about it because I was proud of the film and didn’t want to generate negative press. I loved working with Brad and Geroge, and would happily do it again. But the truth is that Apple didn’t cancel the Wolfs sequel, I did, because I no longer trusted them as a creative partner.
The situation of Wolfs is reminiscent of that of Road House developed at MGM and confined to the shelves of the Prime Video platform after the studio’s takeover. Director Doug Liman, for his part, chose to materialize his dissatisfaction by refusing to attend the film’s premiere. The pandemic has made the boundaries between platforms and cinemas more porous, with some studios banking on exclusive streaming releases or accompanied by short cinema releases. Warner Bros opened the ball in 2020 with Wonder Woman 1984broadcast on Max and in some cinemas. This strategy had earned him the wrath of certain directors, starting with Christopher Nolan who has since ended a collaboration of several years to turn to Universal Pictures.
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