Prime video
Amazon Prime Video has taken another major step into the British film and TV industry by acquiring the 70-year-old studios where Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power is being filmed.
No financial details were disclosed about the deal for Bray Film Studios, which saw the first Amazon production roll cameras there for the Russo Brothers’ second season. Citadel series in September. Amazon MGM Studios was initially listed as Bray’s acquirer, before moving it to Prime Video.
Amazon, which already leases production facilities at Britain’s Shepperton Studios, will produce TV shows and feature films for streamer Prime Video from the Berkshire site – about 26 miles from central London. The acquisition includes about 53,600 square feet of sound studio space across five stages, 77,400 square feet of workshop space, 39,400 square feet of office space, 182,900 square feet of backlot space and 156,000 square feet of parking.
Prime Video has released the second season of The Rings of Power van Bray, which is widely regarded as the most expensive TV show of all time. Other projects recently filmed at the studio include Rocketman, Dracula And The king’s man.
“With Bray as our creative home in the UK, we’re committed to deepening our relationships with the UK’s creative community, which is rich in world-class storytellers and creative talent of all stripes,” said Mike Hopkins, head of Prime Video and Amazon MGM Studios. “Acquiring a studio with such an illustrious heritage not only allows us to produce more films and television in the UK, but also unlocks a wealth of opportunities in the local community with jobs and skills training at all levels of the production process.”
Bray is over 70 years old and was founded in 1951 by Hammer Film Productions before being sold 20 years later. It was sold again in 2014 and resumed filming five years later, landing The rings of power. Further back in time, the following events took place, among others: The Rocky Horror Picture Show, The Mummy, The Curse of Frankenstein and Terence Fisher’s Dracula.
Bray Chair Frank Burke said the studio had held “a significant place in the history of the British film industry” over the past 70 years. “During our ownership, my family and team have seen the rebirth of this iconic facility and we are extremely proud of the role we have played in putting it back on the map. We are now genuinely excited to hand over the studios to Amazon, who we believe share our commitment to quality and excellence and are perfectly placed to preserve the character of the studio while enhancing its world-class creative production spaces for future generations of filmmakers.”
Bray is only the second British site to be owned by a US studio, joining Warner Bros. Discovery’s Leaveseden. The move comes more than two years after Amazon signed a multi-million pound deal with Pinewood’s Shepperton Studios to lease facilities there for the next decade, placing it next to Netflix, which also has studio space on the site. Disney also leases space at Shinfield Studios.
Notably, the news comes six months after Amazon used a written submission to a parliamentary committee to warn the British government not to take for granted the country’s status as a production hub capable of rivaling Hollywood. The streaming giant had said that US studios could relocate shoots at “short notice” if the UK became a less competitive location in the coming years.
A bunfight has broken out over studio space in the UK of late, taking advantage of local tax relief and the wealth of talent now that US strikes and the worst effects of Covid-19 are over. James Corden’s Fulwell 73 is opening a £450 million ($578 million) film and TV studio in the northeast of England, while other locations have popped up in London, Scotland and Manchester. A $950 million James Cameron-backed studio in Buckinghamshire was recently denied planning permission.