Hollywood stars back Amazon's film frenzy

Actors support Prime Video at CinemaCon

LAS VEGAS:

Ryan Gosling, Chris Hemsworth, Halle Berry and other Hollywood stars turned on the charm in Las Vegas on Wednesday to showcase Amazon.com's expanded push into the film business.

Gosling appeared at the annual CinemaCon convention of theatre owners after the debut of a trailer for his coming science fiction epic Project Hail Mary, based on a popular novel by Andy Weir.

In the film, Gosling portrays a teacher-turned-astronaut who embarks on a long-shot mission to save the planet and meets an alien named Rocky.

"This is why we go to the movies," Gosling said.

"I'm not just saying that because I'm in it, but also because I'm a producer on the film," he said to laughter. "And it's also true."

Project Hail Mary is set for release next March as Amazon picks up the pace of film releases.

The online retailer, which also operates the Prime Video streaming service, has released a handful of films in cinemas each year over the past decade. The company now promises to increase that to at least 15 annually by 2027. It has already scheduled 14 releases for 2026.

Amazon bought the MGM studio and its vast film library in 2022. Wednesday's presentation was Amazon's first at CinemaCon.

"We are committed to doing this for the long term," said Mike Hopkins, head of Prime Video and Amazon MGM Studios. "When Amazon commits to something, we tend to do it big."

Theatre owners welcomed Amazon to their annual gathering, hoping the company will fill a void left when Walt Disney subsumed the Fox film studio in 2019. Box office returns in the United States and Canada remain below pre-pandemic levels.

During Amazon's pitch, Chris Pratt joked with the audience from a chair used as a prop in the film Mercy, the story of a murder suspect trying to prove his innocence. Andrew Garfield and Ayo Edebiri touted After the Hunt, a thriller about a scandal on a college campus. Hemsworth and Halle Berry teased their heist film Crime 101. Reuters