Exhibitor Trade Group Warns Against Netflix or Paramount Acquiring Warner Bros. Studios
January 7, 2026
Cinema United, formerly called the National Association of Theatre Owners, Jan. 7 submitted written testimony to the House Judiciary Subcommittee for the Administrative State, Regulatory Reform, and Antitrust hearing on the alleged harms caused by the proposed acquisition of the Warner Bros. studio by Netflix or Paramount Skydance.
The trade group says it is “deeply concerned” that Netflix’s accepted $82.7 billion acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery’s studio and streaming assets would have a “direct and irreversible negative impact” on movie theaters around the world.
“Such an acquisition will further consolidate control over production and distribution of motion pictures in the hands of a single, dominant, global streaming platform in a market that is already highly concentrated,” read the statement. “The impact will not only be felt by theater owners, but by movie fans and surrounding businesses in communities of all sizes.”
Cinema United added that it is no less concerned about Paramount acquiring Warner Bros., which it says would consolidate upwards of 40% of each year’s domestic box office in the hands of a single studio.
Specifically, the trade group said the merger would result in fewer movies produced for theatrical distribution, increased marketplace leverage for studios over theater owners, reduced diversity of films for moviegoers, and job losses across the industry and in communities worldwide.
Paramount has said it would seek $9 billion in cost synergies from the merger. Netflix, which says it would honor Warner’s existing theatrical window agreements, says it would increase jobs through content spending.
“The number of films being produced for theatrical exhibition is slowly returning to pre-2019 levels,” said the trade group. “However, that growth is threatened by further consolidation. At best, an acquisition of Warner Bros. will stall the growth we have seen in the last four years. More realistically, however, it will result in a significant reduction of theatrical releases.”
The statement concluded, “We must heed the lessons of the past: further industry consolidation has consistently led to fewer movies being made, and there is no reason whatsoever to believe the outcome here would be any different, particularly given Netflix’s stated views of movie theaters over the past decade-plus.”
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