Amazon.com said on Monday Amazon Studios would produce and buy original movies to be released in theaters and fordistribution on Prime Instant Video. The movies will premiere on Prime Instant Video in the United States in four-eight weeks after their theatrical debut. Whereas it typically takes 39 to 52 weeks for theatrical movies to premiere on subscription video services, Amazon Original Movies will premiere on Prime Instant Video in the U.S. 4 to 8 weeks after their theatrical debut.

Amazon Original Movies creative development will be led by independent film visionary Ted Hope. Hope co-founded and ran production company Good Machine, which produced Academy Award-nominated films such as Eat Drink Man Woman and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.

The video service serves up thousands of movies and TV programs in direct competition with Netflix. But unlike Netflix, Amazon's Prime video service comes bundled with the Internet retailer's two-day delivery for items purchased on the site, which costs $99 a year, a key driver of revenue for the company.

Amazon.com has been investing in digital media, hoping to draw traffic and drive sales as the interest in on-demand content has been increasing.