After we factor in the movie’s overall box office, eventual VOD run, and the value it will bring to Apple TV+, it will come closer to breaking even. Does a company of this size really care all that much about, say, $20 million in losses in the short term? Maybe not. We need look no further than Martin Scorsese’s “Killers of the Flower Moon” or Ridley Scott’s “Napoleon,” both of which were $200 million movies that didn’t come close to breaking even. Yet, they brought a certain level of prestige and credibility to Apple Studios. If Apple wants to be a serious player in the streaming game, it might be worth losing money for a bit. The company can handle it rather easily. For studios such as Paramount or Universal? It’s harder to stomach such losses.

“Fly Me to the Moon” takes place during the Apollo 11 moon landing and centers on marketing expert Kelly Jones (Johansson), who is brought in to fix NASA’s public image. She butts up against launch director Cole Davis (Tatum) as they work together to stage a fake moon landing as backup in case the mission fails. 

Sony is distributing the film, and it’s a win-win for them. They get a distribution fee and get to attach their name to a well-reviewed movie with two huge stars. Apple is assuming all of the financial risk. Theaters, meanwhile, get a new movie that is likely to have strong word-of-mouth to help fill auditoriums. For the industry as a whole, Apple’s continued involvement in projects like this is a huge win. In the case of something like the $200 million “Argylle” from earlier this year, it doesn’t always pan out. But for the time being, Apple seems content to play the price to stay in the game. For as long as that’s true, it’s a good thing. It complicates the math for sure, but it’s a net positive for moviegoers.

“Fly Me to the Moon” is in theaters now.