Major Theater Owner Reveals Who The Film Industry Is Really Supporting In Battle For Warner Bros.

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Warner Bros. Discovery is caught in a fierce competition with Paramount and Netflix, as both companies are vying to acquire the major Hollywood production company.

As a huge movie buff, I’ve been following this drama closely! Ever since Netflix and Warner Bros. Discovery started talking about merging last year, Paramount’s CEO, David Ellison, has been trying to come up with a competing deal. Netflix is offering about $27.75 per share, valuing the whole company at around $82.7 billion. Now, Paramount has sweetened its own offer, and it’s put a bit of pressure on Warner Bros. Discovery shareholders. They’ve got until February 23rd to really consider what Paramount’s bringing to the table, and it gives Paramount one last chance to put forward their absolute best and final offer.

As a long-time observer of the cinema world, I’ve been following the potential merger between Warner Bros. Discovery, Netflix, and Paramount with intense interest. Tim Richards, the CEO of Vue International – Europe’s biggest privately-owned cinema chain – recently sat down with Deadline to discuss this game-changing deal. He offered a really insightful perspective, specifically on who should be the one to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery, cutting through a lot of the industry noise and giving us a clearer picture of what’s at stake for the future of movie theaters.

It seems like the whole film industry, both publicly and behind the scenes, is backing Paramount. Netflix has always been different, and for 15 years, theaters have tried, without success, to collaborate with them – it’s been really frustrating. Now, suddenly, Netflix is interested in theatrical releases, while someone like David Ellison has consistently delivered successful, popular films around the world for the past 15 years. Ultimately, who will better support the future of our industry: someone with a proven 15-year history, or someone who’s just started exploring theatrical releases in the last few weeks?

It’s really disappointing to see Warner Brothers in this situation. It’s a fantastic studio – I worked there for seven years, and it’s hard to believe they’re facing these challenges. They actually had a very successful year last year, earning $4.2 billion at the box office, so they weren’t a studio that seemed to be struggling.

As a follower of this whole situation, it’s become really clear that Netflix thinks Paramount and Skydance have been playing games with Warner Bros. Discovery and its investors. Netflix has emphasized they’ve been open and helpful throughout the discussions with WBD, especially when compared to what Paramount and Skydance have been doing. Meanwhile, Paramount has been pretty aggressive, even claiming the original deal between WBD and Netflix was illegal. They’ve actually filed a lawsuit to try and force everything about the deal to be made public, which feels like a major escalation to me.

Warner Bros. initially turned down Paramount’s offer eight times, preferring the deal with Netflix. They were concerned about how Ellison planned to finance the acquisition, and previously explained in writing that the Netflix agreement would provide better value and certainty for shareholders, avoiding the potential risks and expenses associated with the Paramount offer.

The outcome of the ongoing acquisition battle is uncertain, but most major players in the film industry seem to be supporting Paramount. It’s still unknown which way Warner Bros. Discovery and its board will go, but the future of the movie business is at stake.

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2026-02-20 16:29