Four years after Amazon acquired MGM for $8.5 billion, the streaming division has evolved into a highly lucrative segment for the e-commerce giant. During Thursday's quarterly earnings call, CEO Andy Jassy stated that Prime Video is now profitable in its own right and is on track to generate tens of billions of dollars in revenue annually. While Jassy had previously confirmed the service's profitability in May, this latest disclosure marks the first time he has quantified the scale of its revenue run rate.
The financial success is bolstered by Amazon MGM Studios, which has secured over $1.2 billion in global box office sales so far this year. Leading this performance is the film "Project Hail Mary," starring Ryan Gosling and based on Andy Weir's novel. Released in March, the movie grossed an estimated $684 million worldwide, becoming the studio's highest-grossing release to date. Other notable contributors to the box office include the hit film "Verity," though the studio also experienced a significant setback with the release of "Melania."
Beyond cinema, Prime Video has capitalized on a slate of successful television series, including "Carrie," "The Summer I Turned Pretty," "The Boys," "Off Campus," and "Fallout." The action series "Reacher" has emerged as a particular standout; its fourth season attracted 66 million global viewers within the first 28 days. Due to this strong performance, production is currently underway on Season 5, and the show has been renewed for a sixth season.
Sports broadcasting remains a critical growth driver for the platform, which holds rights to NASCAR, the Masters, and UEFA Champions League soccer. However, Thursday Night Football has proven to be the most successful sports property this year. According to Nielsen figures shared by Amazon, the first six games of the current season averaged 17.7 million viewers, representing a 16% increase from the previous year. Additionally, the second season of the NBA on Prime drew over 2 million viewers.
Sources: TechCrunch.