Jake Gyllenhaal to Make Movies for Amazon MGM

After the release of Road House, star Jake Gyllenhaal’s Nine Stories banner has signed a three-year, first-look film deal with Amazon MGM.

Under the pact, Amazon MGM Studios will have a first look on narrative features Nine Stories intends to produce for both theatrical and streaming. 

Road House, according to Amazon MGM, is the most watched film debut for a studio-produced title. According to Amazon, Road House attracted 50 million viewers to date, though it did not clarify details on how it calculated that number (i.e., if watching just a few minutes of the movie and turning it off counts).

Gyllenhaal previously starred in Amazon MGM title Guy Ritchie’s The Covenant.

“I’ve worked with Amazon MGM on two films this past year, and they’ve been a wonderful partner both times,” said Gyllenhaal in a statement. “Their dedication to filmmaking is contagious, and I so admire their commitment to fans all over the world. I am thrilled to formalize what is an already fruitful collaboration — especially on the heels of Road House‘s outstanding debut.”

“Jake is a one-of-a-kind talent whose passion and eye for filmmaking makes him a powerful storyteller both in front of the camera and behind the scenes,” said Julie Rapaport, head of film production and development at Amazon MGM Studios. “Following the record-breaking success of Road House, we could not imagine a better time to officially cement our relationship.”

Nine Stories, which Gyllenhaal founded in 2015 with Riva Marker, most recently produced Antoine Fuqua’s Netflix feature The Guilty. Other titles are Paul Dano’s directorial debut Wildlife and David Gordon Green’s Stronger. Projects in development include an adaptation of Tony-winning musical Fun Home at Amazon.