Formation and early success (2010–2021) Scripts for television and films used to be submitted online to Amazon and read by staff; however, the website states they no longer accept submissions. Amazon aimed to review submitted scripts within 90 days (although the process may be longer). If a project was chosen for development, the writer was paid $10,000. In 2008, Amazon expanded into
film production, producing the film
The Stolen Child with
20th Century Fox. In July 2015, Amazon announced it had acquired
Spike Lee's new film,
Chi-Raq, as its first Amazon Original Movie. In 2010, Amazon Studios started allowing people to submit screenplays, which Amazon Studios and its customers would vote on. The top scriptwriters were told that they would earn cash prizes. This was named as "the scientific studio" by
Jeff Bezos. This program stopped eight years later as submitted scripts were of low quality. Amazon Studios also released its only comic-book series,
Blackburn Burrow, in 2012 as a free download. It contained a survey allowing Amazon to collect feedback to determine whether or not it was worthwhile to make the comic into a film. 23 films and 26 television series were in active development as of March 2013. In late 2016, it reorganized its film division into Prime Movies. On July 27, 2017, it was announced that, starting with the December 2017 release
Wonder Wheel, Amazon Studios would be its own self-distributing company. Previously, Amazon Studios had relied on multiple external studios to distribute their projects. The company also acquired global television rights to
The Lord of the Rings for $250 million. However, Amazon still has external distribution clients outside of the United States, such as
Elevation Pictures in Canada, as well as
Warner Bros. and
StudioCanal in the United Kingdom and France. In April 2018, Amazon Studios announced that they would no longer accept open submissions of screenplays.
Acquisition of MGM and rebranding (2021–present) In May 2021, Amazon (parent company of Amazon Studios) entered negotiations to acquire
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM). On May 26, 2021, it was announced that the studio would be acquired by Amazon for $8.45 billion, subject to regulatory approval, continuing to operate as a label alongside Amazon Studios and
Amazon Prime Video. In September 2021, it was reported that Brian Otaño had signed a deal with Amazon Studios. Also in September,
Eddie Murphy had signed a first-look film deal with Amazon Studios. In January 2022,
Westbrook signed a multi-year first-look deal with Amazon Studios. That same month, Amazon Studios signed a ten-figure deal with
87North Productions. In November 2022, it was announced that Jennifer Salke, in addition to Amazon Studios, will be given full control of MGM's film and television divisions, with Brearton stepping down as COO to become the Vice President of PVS Corporate Strategy for
MGM+ and MGM Alternative Television. In December 2022,
Intrepid Pictures signed a multi-year overall television deal with Amazon Studios. The studio is one of the largest employers in Culver City with roughly 2,700 staffing their headquarters and production facilities. In January 2023,
Critical Role Productions signed a multi-year overall television and first-look film deal with Amazon Studios. In March 2023, it was announced in response to the decision to release
Air into theaters worldwide instead of Prime Video, that Amazon had shut down United Artists Releasing and folded the distributor's operations into MGM, making
Creed III the first film to be distributed by the latter studio itself under Amazon's ownership. Also in March,
Joe Quesada signed an exclusive first-look deal with Amazon Studios, and the studio also signed a multi-year first-look film deal with
Imagine Entertainment. In May 2023, Amazon Studios created Amazon MGM Studios Distribution, an international
film and television distribution unit for Amazon and MGM projects. The distributor's first films were
Saltburn, which premiered at the
Telluride Film Festival on August 30, 2023,
Sitting in Bars with Cake, which was released on Prime Video on September 8, 2023, and
A Million Miles Away which was released on Prime Video on September 15, 2023, all 3 films were released through the MGM banner. On October 4, 2023, Pablo Iacoviello, the studio's director of monetization for local originals, announced at the TV forum Iberseries & Platino Industria in
Madrid that Amazon Studios would merge with
MGM Holdings and would be renamed to Amazon MGM Studios itself to reflect this. This would also result in the on-screen 2016 animated Amazon Studios logo designed by Monster Creative being retired, with all film productions going forward, as of September 2023, opening with the 2021 MGM
Leo the Lion logo designed by Baked Studios. In December 2023, Amazon MGM Studios secured a deal with
Games Workshop, the creator of
Warhammer 40,000, to adapt its characters and stories for film and television. The agreement, involving British actor
Henry Cavill as an executive producer and actor, enables Amazon MGM to produce
Warhammer 40,000 themed movies and TV shows. In January 2024, Amazon announced hundreds of layoffs across Amazon MGM Studios, Prime Video and
Twitch in order to "prioritize our investments for the long-term success of our business, while relentlessly focusing on what we know matters most to our customers," according to Mike Hopkins. In March 2024, beginning with the Prime Video release of the remake of
Road House, Amazon MGM Studios marked the
centennial anniversary celebration of the founding of MGM with a "100 Years" logo variant appearing on all films produced and released by the studio throughout the year. In April 2024, Amazon MGM, in collaboration with
Fandango at Home,
Rotten Tomatoes and
iTunes, offered customers a "100 Essential Movies" bundle of 100 films from the MGM library as part of the studio's centennial for a limited time. That same month, they signed a three-year first-look deal with
Jake Gyllenhaal's
Nine Stories Productions banner, for which they will have a first look on films the latter company intends to produce for theatrical and streaming releases, including a film adaptation of the musical
Fun Home. In July 2024, the company announced the revival of
United Artists after more than a decade of dormancy as a label, entering a multi-year partnership with
Scott Stuber, former Chief of Film at
Netflix and Vice Chairman at
Universal Pictures. Under the deal, Stuber will produce films under his newly formed production company for United Artists, with Stuber involved with all projects released by the freshly revived banner. In late-August 2024, Amazon MGM Studios announced they were planning to sell its unscripted production studio MGM Alternative as an independent company including its subsidiaries Evolution Media and Big Fish Entertainment. In September 2024, it was announced that Amazon MGM and Prime Video would join the
Motion Picture Association (MPA) as its seventh member starting October 1, the second non-studio to do so after Netflix in 2019; this would also mark a return to the MPA for MGM after it lost membership in 2005 following a buyout led by
Sony Pictures. In February 2025, Amazon MGM and
Michael G. Wilson and
Barbara Broccoli of
Eon Productions announced its intentions to form a joint venture to manage the franchise rights to
James Bond. Following the closing of the transaction, Amazon MGM would have full creative control over the
Bond film franchise. The deal cost Amazon MGM an estimated $1 billion for creative control, on top of what Amazon originally paid for MGM. According to reports, Bezos himself directed Amazon MGM executives to "get rid" of Broccoli "no matter how much it costs." In March 2025, it was announced that Jennifer Salke would step down from her role at the helm of Amazon MGM to become a producer instead. In April 2025, the studio made its first appearance at
CinemaCon in
Las Vegas, with the plan to release more films theatrically in 2026 than in previous years. In June 2025,
Sony Pictures and Amazon MGM Studios formed a multi-year deal in which Sony would handle the international theatrical distribution of titles from the latter studio following the conclusion of its four-year deal with Warner Bros. Pictures. However, this does not include home entertainment rights as
Warner Bros. Home Entertainment (and later on, Alliance Entertainment) will continue to distribute MGM's products. This deal would reunite Sony with MGM for the first time since 2020.
Accolades In 2015,
Transparent was the first show produced by Amazon Studios to win a major award and the first show produced by a
streaming media service to win the
Golden Globe Award for Best Television Series – Musical or Comedy (a.k.a. "Golden Globe for Best Series"). In 2017, for
Manchester by the Sea, Amazon Studios became the first streaming media service to be nominated for the
Academy Award for Best Picture; the film was nominated for a total of six
Academy Awards, winning two:
Best Actor for
Casey Affleck and
Best Original Screenplay for
Kenneth Lonergan. The film
The Salesman (2016) won the
Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film; it was directed by
Asghar Farhadi and distributed in the US by Amazon Studios. In 2018, the
period comedy-drama television series
The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, starring
Rachel Brosnahan, won two
Golden Globe Awards (
Best Television Series – Musical or Comedy and
Best Actress – Musical or Comedy for Brosnahan) and five
Primetime Emmy Awards, including
Outstanding Comedy Series and
Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series for Brosnahan. United Artists Releasing's
Women Talking earned a nomination for Best Picture at the
95th Academy Awards and won the award for
Best Adapted Screenplay. In 2023,
Orion Pictures'
American Fiction earned Amazon MGM Studios its first win for the
People's Choice Award at the
Toronto International Film Festival following the studio's rebrand. The film went on to receive five nominations at the
96th Academy Awards; including Best Picture, and won the award for Best Adapted Screenplay. ==Logo==