Amazon plans to pour $1 billion annually on theater movies

Amazon.com Inc.
AMZN,
+1.00%
will spend more than $1 billion annually on 12 to 15 movies that initially play in theaters, according to a Bloomberg report Wednesday. The ambitious outlay, believed to be the most by an internet company on theater-first movies, comes as Amazon dukes it out with video-streaming rivals Walt Disney Co.
DIS,
+2.78%,
Apple Inc.
AAPL,
+0.59%,
and Netflix Inc.
NFLX,
+1.68%
who are plowing billions of dollars a year to create movie and episodic content. Amazon had no immediate comment.