To subscribe or not to subscribe? Apple TV Plus films may hit the theatres before debuting on streaming service

SAN FRANCISCO: Users might not need an Apple TV Plus subscription to watch few of the iPhone maker’s upcoming original films as the company was expected to reportedly roll out its original movies in select theatres, weeks before they were scheduled to arrive on the forthcoming streaming service.

With the help of three boutique distribution companies, Apple would be taking titles including Anthony Mackie’s ‘The Banker’, Minhal Baig’s ‘Hala’ and the buzzy wildlife documentary ‘The Elephant Queen’ into selected American cities before the titles were uploaded to Apple TV Plus, Variety reported on Friday.

The tech giant was following a strategy similar to Amazon’s which gave the Oscar-winning ‘Manchester by the Sea’ a three-month theatrical run in 2016.