Apple TV Plus has expanded its movie catalog with over 50 licensed titles from studios such as Universal, Sony, and Warner Bros. Pictures.
Last Friday (March 1), the tech behemoth unveiled its Great Movie feature, a collection of third-party films now available through its streaming service’s back catalogue. Apple TV Plus’ movie selection now includes award-winning and legendary films such as Titanic, Tobey Maguire’s first two Spider-Man films, Saving Private Ryan, and Kill Bill volumes one and two. To learn what other titles are available, visit Apple’s Great Movies website.
Subscribers to one of the world’s greatest streaming services can also enjoy the aforementioned titles, as well as many others, for free. So, if you’ve been looking for a cause to use your Apple TV Plus free trial, or if you’ve exhausted all of the Apple TV Plus film options available, there’s plenty more entertainment to stream right now.
Unfortunately, there are two significant limitations to Apple’s Great Movies project. According to the X/Twitter post (above), these 50+ films are exclusively available for streaming in the United States on Apple TV Plus. They’re also only available for a limited time, with Variety stating that certain films will leave the platform just a few weeks after their release, while the others will go sometime in April.
TechRadar has contacted Apple for an official response on whether the Great Movies feature would be carried out internationally in the future. We’ve also inquired whether other licensed films will replace the initial lineup after they leave the service. We’ll update this article if we get a response.
A step in the right direction, but Netflix will not be worried
It’s encouraging to see that Apple is willing to broaden its film library beyond its own in-house originals. Indeed, until recently, the digital juggernaut appeared to have no interest in licensing rival studios’ films for its streaming platform. To be completely honest, our best Apple TV Plus movies list was and continues to be home to Apple TV film originals.
As Variety’s article points out, Apple has already featured several licensed titles on Apple TV Plus. When Jennifer Lawrence’s Apple-produced picture Causeway was released, it added a modest selection of Jennifer Lawrence-starring films to its film catalogue. It did the same with a modest collection of Sidney Poitier films when the documentary Sidney was released on the site.
Apple has a history of introducing third-party movies to its users. However, due to the nature of its ‘limited time only’ arrangements, it will continue to struggle to compete with some of its biggest streaming rivals, such as Netflix and Prime Video, in the film category.
Indeed, while Apple TV Plus can claim about its highly rated collection of movies, including 2022 Best Picture Oscar winner CODA, which made it, rather than Netflix, the first streamer to win this prestigious prize, its noticeable lack of licensed content is holding it back. Why would potential subscribers sign up for an Apple TV Plus service for $9.99 / ₹948.15 / AU$12.99 per month when the selection is so little compared to Netflix and Prime Video? These streaming titans provide significantly greater value for money – although on their cheaper ad-supported rates – than Apple, which has thousands of films and TV shows. A short look at our best Netflix movies and greatest Prime Video movie guides demonstrates this.
Unless Apple commits to delivering more licensed films and TV shows to its streaming platform, it will continue to fall behind the aforementioned trio, as well as Max, Disney Plus, and Hulu, all of which have considerably larger film catalogs. Sure, it deserves credit for developing an impressive suite of first-party content, but if Apple wants to replace Netflix as the world’s most popular platform, it must bite the bullet and provide its users with additional stuff to watch, even if it is licensed.
