DVDs have largely given way to digital downloads of movies, but that process too often involves purchasing movies and keeping them in different ecosystems that don’t talk to each other. Enter Movies Anywhere.
The new app and website, which launches in the U.S. Thursday and is free of charge, allows consumers to access all their eligible movies by connecting their Movies Anywhere account with their participating digital retailer accounts. Movies Anywhere has agreements with five major studios: Sony, Disney, Universal, Fox and Warner Bros, and with digital video destinations Amazon Video, Google Play, iTunes and Vudu.
The platform, which works across most common devices including Amazon’s Fire TV, Apple TV, Roku, Android and move, will initially feature a library of more than 7,300 movies, as well as previews and film extras from the participating studios.
Movies Anywhere is launching with a special promotion that gives customers up to five free movies. After activating and connecting an account with one of the four supported digital retailers, users will get digital copies of Sony’s “Ghostbusters” and Fox’s “Ice Age.” Connecting with a second retailer unlocks Disney’s “Big Hero 6,” Universal’s “Jason Bourne” and Warner Bros.’ “The Lego Movie.”
“Movies Anywhere is a massive step forward for the consumer digital media experience, bringing the incredible film libraries of five studios together in a virtual one-stop movie-watching shop,” Movies Anywhere General Manager Karin Gilford said in a statement. “Movies Anywhere means that consumers never have to remember where they purchased a film or which device they can watch it on, because all of their eligible movies will be centralized within their Movies Anywhere library and available across platforms through the Movie Anywhere app and website and also available at their connected digital retailers. And as Movies Anywhere continues to add more studios, retailers and platforms, the entertainment possibilities are endless.”