Woody Allen Set To Team With Amazon For Distribution Of Next Film

After years of working with Sony's SNE Sony Pictures for his films, Woody Allen has decided to change things up. Amazon.com, Inc. AMZN has announced it will partner with the Oscar winning director to distribute his next film.

Under the terms of the deal with Allen, which was as Deadline.com reported to be in the “eight figure” range, Amazon will get the film after a theatrical run. Amazon will now need to find a partner to co-distribute the film as well as negotiate the in-theater exclusivity window.

This is a similar arrangement to the ones Amazon made with the teams behind its Sundance acquisitions and very much in line with its business model.

Amazon, like rival Netflix, has been looking to expand into the distribution of films, but has received push back from distributors that won’t budge from the traditional model. The studio’s first film, “Chi-Raq” was released last year via Roadside Attractions but had trouble securing mainstream bookings despite the pedigree of director Spike Lee.

The new untitled Allen film will star Steve Carell, Jeannie Berlin, Blake Lively and Jesse Eisenberg and is expected to be released later this year.