Last year, Apple released Greyhound, a nautical war movie starring Tom Hanks, to mostly positive reviews. This November, Apple TV+ viewers will be treated to the second movie with Hanks, Finch, a sci-fi story about a robotics engineer who travels the American wasteland with his dog and an android companion. The film has some big names attached to it besides Hanks, too, as it’s directed by Emmy-winning Game of Thrones lead Miguel Sapochnik and co-written by Alien scriptwriter Ivor Powell.
Aside from original series like See, The Morning Show, and For All Mankind, the arrival of a mega star like Tom Hanks in an exclusive film in 2020 was a signal that Apple would spare no expense in its content push as it competes in a fierce streaming battle with Netflix, Disney+, and others. Indeed, Apple has gone on to sign content deals with Leonardo DiCaprio, Martin Scorsese, Bill Murray, Tom Holland, Jon Stewart, Seth Rogen, Joaquin Phoenix, Will Smith, and more.
Even with free trials having been extended for many Apple customers, Apple TV+ is now at a critical point since the company stopped providing a free year as of July. Apple is going to need the right content to satisfy their viewers’ interests and to keep subscribers paying the $4.99 monthly fee. Ted Lasso is arguably the most popular show on Apple TV+ to date, and the arrival of The Problem with Jon Stewart is another comedy show that many viewers are anticipating.
According to Interpret’s VideoWatch™, comedy is the favorite TV genre among Apple TV+ subscribers with nearly three-quarters choosing it, but sci-fi is another top pick among subscribers, as 54% prefer the genre compared to 48% of the general population. Tom Hanks’ second Apple TV+ film should fit the bill nicely for those viewers, as will Foundation, a new series based on the works of Isaac Asimov.
Apple still hasn’t disclosed how many subscribers it has for Apple TV+ but the company revealed recently that its entire services division, including Apple TV+, music, games, and other products, has 700 million paid subscribers, which represents a 25% jump over last year.
