Amazon Bought Borat Sequel For $80 Million After Plans For Theater Release Were Scrapped
Amazon bought the rights to Borat Subsequent Moviefilm for a reported $80 million, making the movie the biggest-ever Amazon Original so far.
The film was set to be released in theaters by Universal Studios but the coronavirus pandemic foiled those plans, leaving Amazon to swoop in and get it as an exclusive. The company paid a pretty penny for the movie, however, shelling out the aforementioned figure to secure a deal, per Deadline.
The publication reports that Sacha Baron Cohen, who both produced and stars in the movie, was bent on getting it out to theaters before the U.S election but, following the COVID-19 breakout, Universal was reluctant to take it on. He was given permission to offer it to streamers as a result, and Amazon won out with an $80 million bid.
The report doesn't name any other streaming services but it's quite likely Netflix and Apple also bid on the sequel. It does note that different versions were shown to the companies as Baron was still shooting during the pandemic.
Cohen is said to have wanted the movie released via stream as opposed to Premium Video On-Demand (PVOD) in order to get it out to the largest possible audience for no extra money. The movie went straight to Amazon's Prime Video lineup and was released on October 23.
It's considered to be a huge success for Amazon despite stirring up some political controversy, with one scene, in particular, portraying New York mayor Rudy Giuliani in a pretty disturbing bit.
The reviews were mostly positive, though.
Borat Subsequent Moviefilm is currently streaming on Amazon Prime Video.
Source: Deadline (H/T Screenrant)
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