Amazon looks to be moving away from arthouse with departure of studio chief

Amazon said on Tuesday that Jason Ropell, the executive in charge of its film division, plans to leave the company, in what could signal a shift toward commercial projects and away from independent films. Ropell, who oversaw the young movie studio’s first Oscar wins since taking the job in 2015, will stay with the company for several months to help with the transition. Ted Hope and Matt Newman will both run the division as interim co-heads while the company searches for a replacement, Amazon said. Ropell helped the streaming media service capture its first Academy Awards in 2017 for the drama Manchester by the Sea, which won two Oscars. Amazon’s The Big Sick was an Oscar nominee this year, and another project championed by Ropell, the upcoming film Beautiful Boy, starring actor Steve Carell, has already generated Oscar buzz for 2019. While artistic fare put Amazon on the map in Hollywood and helped it attract top talent, the company is increasingly seeking a wider audience as it pursues its central business goal: attracting more members to Prime, its subscription-based video streaming and shopping club. Amazon’s 100 million Prime members globally buy more goods on average than those who are not in the club, which in the United States costs $119 (Dh575) per year. Reuters reported earlier this year that Amazon expected to go after films with budgets in the $50 million range at the expense of indie projects costing around $5 million.