James Bond was on the brain even before the lights went down on Amazon MGM’s inaugural CinemaCon presentation.
As the audience took their seats, the familiar 007 theme song played over the loudspeakers before segueing into Shirley Bassey’s immortal title track from Goldfinger—a pairing that teased fresh details about the storied spy franchise’s future under its new owners.
Bond was also the last thing that audiences saw nearly 90 minutes later as part of an event-closing video tribute to MGM’s pre- and post-Amazon acquisition future. In between those two bookends, the studio confirmed that MI6’s most wanted agent would be back on the big screen soon… although exactly how soon was left an open question.
“We are committed to honoring the legacy of this iconic character while bringing a fresh, exotic new chapter to audiences around the world,” said Courtenay Valenti, Amazon MGM head of theatrical and streaming film.
The executive added that Amy Pascal and David Heyman—the producing team taking over the Bond series after Amazon acquired full creative control from previous owners Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson—were in London actively working on 007’s next chapter. No timeline was given for the release of that next chapter, and the new face of Bond remains a mystery for now.
But Amazon did seek to clear up one major non-Bond related mystery: Why did a previously streaming-first company decide to make a hard pivot into theatrical exhibition? As with everything Amazon-related, the explanation comes down to customer satisfaction.
“We look at everything through the lens of our customers,” Mike Hopkins, head of Prime Video and MGM Studios, emphasized in his opening remarks. “We want to give audiences every entertainment experience they’re looking for, [including] the communal experience that can’t be replicated at home.”
Hopkins also vowed to exhibitors that Amazon is in the theatrical game “for the long term,” promising a slate of 15 theatrical releases by 2027—a vow that inspired cheers among the exhibition executives in the room.
“When Amazon commits to something, we tend to do it big,” he noted. (Amazon parted ways with Amazon MGM head Jen Salke last week ahead of CinemaCon. She will not be replaced, with Valenti and head of TV Vernon Sanders now reporting to Hopkins.)
