Going to the cinema is kind of a “rare” thing these days. With so many streaming options, staying at home looks like a comfortable choice. Although the seventh art is fighting against it, watching films in the cinema is an immersive moment that you can share with others and, mostly, be free of distractions.
All this magic is in danger with the negotiations of Warner Bros. Let’s find out more about it!
Who’s Warner Bros.?
All of this started with four brothers, Harry Warner, Albert Warner, Samuel Warner, and Jack Warner. They traveled throughout the country to exhibit films, and later they bought theaters to distribute them. In 1923, Warner Brothers Pictures was founded in New York.
Since then, the company has managed to overcome market crises and achieved thousands of successes, such as Harry Potter, Casablanca, and Looney Tunes, all of them turned into classics in the entertainment world. They expanded their business into music, video games, and HQs. In the 90s, Warner began merging with other companies, and now they incorporate CNN, HBO, the Discovery Channel, TNT, and some streaming services.
Last year was a massive deal for the company with Sinners, Superman, and other films, guaranteeing $4 billion in box office revenue. Even with good results, the debt and recurring crises in this industry wouldn’t consolidate the company.
The deal
In September 2025, after a merger with Skydance, Paramount made an offer to buy Warner Inc., which was willing to be acquired. The speculations believe that if the deal were made, it would be one of the most powerful entertainment companies.
Although other offers emerged, in December, WBD and Netflix made an agreement. The deal was almost made up, but, as in the movies, a plot twist came to the scene, and Paramount made an aggressive offer of US$ 110 billion, compared to Netflix’s offer, which was “only” US$ 82,7 billion. After that, the negotiations were abandoned.
Now, everything is prepared for WBD and Paramount to become a single company.
How’s the cinema industry?
When Netflix was still in the “game”, the main question was “ Will theaters survive?” Warner is used to exhibiting movies in the theaters for a long time, but with Netflix, the hypercontraction of content and their being available to watch at home could make cinemas decay even more.
In the agreement with Paramount, there’s a condition of producing 30 movies with a 45-day release window for streaming. A clear attempt to keep this industry alive. But the main problem is about the centralization of power. Having an almost monopoly on worldwide media is the same as having the power to manipulate society, which can directly affect democracy and promote polarization and hate speech, which certainly isn’t missing these days.
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The article above was edited by Isabelle Bignardi.
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