Mark wahlberg’s ‘the family plan’ apple tv+’s most watched movie ever as ‘the morning show’ broke records for streamer’s tv drama series

EXCLUSIVE: Streamers are slowly coming around in supplying viewing results, especially when the news is good. Apple has some good news.   The December 15 premiere of the Mark

Wahlberg-starrer _The Family Plan _on Apple TV+ debuted as the most viewed movie ever for the service, and now stands as the most viewed movie in Apple TV+ history, per insiders. The

Jennifer Aniston–Reese Witherspoon _The Morning Show _is the service’s series record holder after its new season that began in September saw audience increases by 20% over its second season,

powered by growth in the U.S., and Canada, Australia, Germany, Brazil, Mexico, Spain, France and India.  The combination of those, Brie Larson’s _Lessons in Chemistry, Messi Meets America_,

Gary Oldman’s _Slow Horses_, Ron Moore’s _For All Mankind_, along with this year’s Rebecca Ferguson-starrer _Silo_, Idris Elba’s _Hijack_, Sharon Horgan’s_ Bad Sisters_ and Jason Sudeikis’

_Ted Lasso_, put Apple TV+’s viewership up by 42% year over year in 2023, in over 100 countries. The service doubled the total hours consumed, in year over year comparison. WATCH ON DEADLINE

Apple’s Monsterverse series _Monarch: Legacy of Monsters_ from Legendary Entertainment, premiered as the No. 1 first season drama on Apple TV, in November, and_ Lessons in Chemistry_ became

the #1 limited series on Apple TV+ to date, following its October 13 debut. The Lionel Messi docu _Messi in America_ is on course to net the distinction of becoming the biggest unscripted

sport series for the service after premiering October 11. Not surprisingly, much of that draw is powered by audiences in Australia, Germany, Mexico, Spain and Argentina. The Emmy-winning

space drama _For All Mankind _has beat its previous season numbers in its fourth season. And the Gary Oldman-starrer _Slow Horses _which just premiered its third season, is pacing to become

the largest returning drama in the UK, up 65% there over its second season. Apple has also taken the lead in partnering with theatrical studios in preceding its big ticket films with movie

house releases that go way beyond token or qualifying runs. That includes _Napoleon_ with Sony, and _Killers of the Flower Moon_ with Paramount; on _Family Plan_, it teamed with David

Ellison’s Skydance. Sony meanwhile just prevailed in a hotly contested auction for theatrical distribution deals for two substantial Apple Original Film efforts. Sony will do full theatrical

releases on the Jon Watts-directed George Clooney and Brad Pitt feature _Wolfs _(they are already talking sequel on that one), and the Scarlett Johansson and Channing Tatum pic _Project

Artemis_. It is becoming clear that on big-ticket pictures, product-starved theaters are good places to start, and with studios helping out on the P&A spend, these properties are more

valuable when they do make it to the streaming service. Ridley Scott’s _Napoleon _surging toward $200 million is an eye-opener. The film cost about that much to make and the theatrical

splits and distribution fees to Sony don’t cover the budget. But it defrays those costs and doesn’t harm the product when it becomes a big offering on Apple TV+. The next studio auction will

come on the untitled Formula One film that Joseph Kosinski is directing with Brad Pitt starring in the vehicle and Jerry Bruckheimer producing. That one is revving up again after being shut

down for the strike. There’s still enough Formula One races in the season for Kosinski to get the crowd-filled action shots that are needed.