Meanwhile, the presentation space had stadium-like seating for hundreds of attendees, making room for the droves of people lining several blocks waiting to get in.
Once inside, each seat had an Amazon-themed beach tote full of towels for The Summer I Turned Pretty, Amazon Fire Sticks, a Thursday Night Football BrüMate tumbler and a Wondery-themed speaker, among other things.
Unboxing the content
Amazon kicked off the show with Alicia Keys doing a surprise performance of “No One” and “New York” before the company jumped into a slew of announcements for new and renewed shows coming to Prime Video.
As opposed to the star-starved presentations last year amid Hollywood strikes, the event featured more than a dozen actors and celebrities joining in person, as the company highlighted its 200 million average monthly ad-supported reach through Prime Video—115 million of which are in the U.S., according to Mike Hopkins, svp of Prime Video and Amazon Studios.
Prime Video has acquired the rights to Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s Tomb Raider, vp head of Amazon and MGM Studios Jennifer Salke announced from the stage. Jake Gyllenhaal also joined Salke to announce a sequel to Road House, followed by an appearance by Alan Ritchson, star of the hit series Reacher. Ritchson announced a new holiday film, Man With the Bag, that he’ll be starring in alongside Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Aldis Hodge, star of the yet-to-be-released Amazon Original Series Cross, based on James Patterson’s novels, also joined Salke to announce that the show has already been renewed for a second season.