Author: Erik Gruenwedel

WBD Calls Paramount’s New Bid ‘Superior’ to Netflix’s Accepted Offer, Gives Streamer Four Days to Submit Counter Bid

Warner Bros. Discovery Feb. 26 announced that its board, following consultation with its independent financial and legal advisors, confirms that Paramount Skydance’s revised $110.9 billion all-cash offer for the entire company is superior to the existing accepted $82.7 billion all-cash offer from Netflix for the company’s studio and streaming assets.

Warner, which is on the hook to pay Netflix a $2.8 billion termination fee should the streamer walk away, has given Netflix four days to counter with another offer.

If the board determines in good faith, after consultation with its financial and legal advisors, that the Paramount proposal is still superior, WBD would be entitled to terminate the Dec. 5, 2025, Netflix merger agreement.

Until that decision has been made, the Netflix merger agreement remains in effect, and the WBD board continues to recommend in favor of the Netflix transaction and has not withdrawn or modified its recommendation.

As disclosed by WBD on Feb. 24, Paramount’s proposal includes a purchase price of $31 per WBD share in cash, plus a daily ticking fee equal to $0.25 per share per quarter, or $650 million total, beginning after Sept. 30, as well as a $7 billion termination fee payable by Paramount in the event the transaction does not close due to regulatory matters, payment by Paramount of Netflix’s $2.8 billion termination fee, an obligation of Larry J. Ellison, Paramount CEO David Ellison’s tech billionaire father, and an associated trust, to contribute additional equity funding to the extent needed to support the solvency certificate required by Paramount’s lending banks.

The new deal also excludes the performance of WBD’s pending Global Linear Networks TV segment spin-off.

Allen & Company, J.P. Morgan and Evercore are serving as financial advisors to Warner Bros. Discovery, and Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz and Debevoise & Plimpton LLP are serving as legal counsel.

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Starz Adds 890,000 Quarterly U.S. Streaming Subs, Narrows Loss to $20.7 Million

Multiplatform video distributor Starz Feb. 26 reported an increase of 890,000 U.S. streaming subscribers in the fourth quarter (ended Dec. 31, 2025). The platform ended the year with 12.7 million paid subscribers compared with 11.8 million in the previous-year period.

Starz linear-TV subscribers lost 940,000 customers, ending the year with 4.97 million, down from 5.91 million in the prior-year period.

Total U.S. subscribers remained flat at 17.63 million, from 17.68 million at the end of 2024.

In the quarter, Starz, which separated from Lionsgate nine months ago, reported a net loss of $20.7 million on revenue of $322.8 million. That compared with a loss of $33.2 million on revenue of $344 million in the previous-year period.

Across nine months, the fiscal loss increased to $115.8 million from $$61.3 million on revenue of $963.4 million, which was down from revenue of more than $1 billion during the prior-year period.

“Just nine months after our separation, we are beginning to see the full impact of operating as a standalone company,” CEO Jeffrey Hirsch said in a statement. “We exceeded all our financial guidance in 2025 and expect 2026 to be a positive financial inflection point for the company as we enter the year with record-high OTT subscribers and a balance sheet that outperformed our deleveraging expectations.”

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WBD Expanding HBO Max Password-Sharing Crackdown Across Foreign Markets

Ahead of the launch of HBO Max in the United Kingdom and Ireland next month, Warner Bros. Discovery is expanding a foreign crackdown on password sharing among non-subscribers.

WBD, which announced the move Feb. 26 on the fiscal call, rolled out HBO Max service in eight countries in January, primarily focusing on major economies in Central and Southern Europe.

The crackdown notifies subscribers found to be sharing their HBO Max or Discovery+ passwords the option to add out-of-household users for an additional $7.99 per month for the less-expensive ad-supported tier.

Users identified as sharing passwords will see increasingly “fixed” or “assertive” messages requiring action, replacing the previous “soft” notifications that could be easily dismissed, according to JB Perrette, CEO and president of global streaming.

WBD added more than 12 million foreign paid streaming subscribers in the fourth quarter (ended Dec. 31, 2025), to end the year with 72.4 million.

“We are in the second inning of our password sharing enforcement. It is just beginning to get scale,” Perrette said on the company’s fiscal call. “It has not expanded globally at all. That will start in 2026.”

“We are still launching in new markets with our ad tiers, and we think there is further upside,” Perrette added. “Based on the fact that our fill rates are still relatively low internationally, we feel great about the next couple years and the years to come. We have great visibility to a strengthening content slate, which is at the core of everything we do, and the launches in big markets. It all flows together to drive that growth.”

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Warner Bros. Studios Q4 Home Entertainment Revenue Increased 4% to $280 Million

Warner Bros. Studios “other” business segment, which includes legacy home entertainment (such as physical media and digital release) and consumer products, Feb. 26 reported a 4% increase in revenue to $280 million in the fourth quarter (ended Dec. 31, 2025), from $269 million in the prior-year period.

Top-selling retail titles in the quarter included Superman (released via digital in August, and on 4K/Blu-ray Disc/DVD in September); The Conjuring: Last Rites (released on 4K/Blu-ray/DVD in November); One Battle After Another (digital release in November); and Weapons (released on 4K/Blu-ray/DVD in October).

Classic and holiday-themed titles also performed well at retail, led by Elf, The Polar Express, National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, and the “Lord of the Rings” and “Harry Potter” movies.

For the fiscal year, home entertainment and consumer products revenue topped $870 million, flat with $877 million in revenue in 2024.

Overall, despite a strong 2025 global box office reaching $4.4 billion in revenue — No. 2 behind Disney — the Warner Bros. Studios segment reported a 14% decline in fourth-quarter revenue to $3.18 billion, from $3.65 billion in the previous-year period.

The decline was attributed to the fact that Warner released zero theatrical titles in the quarter, compared with two releases in the previous-year period: Joker: Folie à Deux and the animated The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim.

The top-grossing theatrical release in the fourth quarter, the Oscar-nominated One Battle After Another, was released on Sept. 26, 2025, generating $208 million at the global box office. The Conjuring: Last Rites, which was released on Sept. 5, generated almost $500 million at the global box office.

Content revenue decreased 16% to $2.89 billion, from $3.39 billion in the prior year period. Theatrical revenue decreased 11%, as a result of lower content sales and lower box office revenue.

TV revenue decreased 18%, primarily driven by the timing of inter-segment content renewals. Video games revenue decreased 34%, primarily driven by higher carryover in the prior-year quarter.

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Warner Bros. Discovery Adds 3.1 Million Streaming Subs in Q4, Ended 2025 With 131.6 Million

Warner Bros. Discovery Feb. 26 reported a gain of 3.1 million streaming video subscribers in the fourth quarter (ended Dec. 31, 2025), concluding the period with 131.6 million subs. Streaming includes Discovery+, HBO premium linear television and HBO Max.

WBD had 128 million streaming subscribers through the end of the previous-year fiscal period ended Sept. 30, 2025. The media company had 116.9 million streaming subs at the end of 2024.

Domestic streaming subscribers added 2.1 million subscribers to end the year with 59.2 million subs, up from 57.1 million subs at the end of 2024. International subs added 12.6 million to reach 72.4 million, up from 59.8 million subs in 2025 as WBD continues the international rollout of HBO Max in Germany and Italy.

WBD, which said it remains on track to reach 150 million streaming subscribers by the end of the year, will stop reporting quarterly subscriber data beginning with the fiscal period ending March 30 — a trend begun by Netflix and now emulated by Disney.

Streaming segment revenue increased 5% to $2.8 billion, from $2.65 billion in the previous-year period. Fiscal year revenue inched up 5% to $10.8 billion, from $10.3 billion in 2024.

During the quarter, HBO Max released such original series  as”It: Welcome to Derry,” “The Chair Company,” “I Love LA” and “Heated Rivalry.”

“It: Welcome to Derry” averaged more than 27 million global viewers per episode. Additionally, “Heated Rivalry” became the No. 1 first-run acquired scripted series in HBO Max history with an average of 13 million global viewers per episode.

“We also continue to expand our original programming outside the U.S., demonstrated by the fourth quarter release of our scripted drama ‘Heaven’ in Poland, which is now the second most watched HBO Max local original series ever in the country,” read a WBD post.

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AMC Theatres CEO Adam Aron Lauds Netflix Relationship

State lawmakers, Hollywood guilds and noted directors may have reservations about Netflix’s $82.7 billion acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery’s studio and streaming assets, but the nation’s No.1 theatrical exhibitor is taking the opposite approach.

AMC Theatres, with a market share that represents more than 25% of all box office dollars generated in the United States, is positively giddy working with the world’s largest subscription streaming video platform, according to CEO Adam Aron.

Speaking Feb. 25 on AMC Entertainment’s fiscal call, Aron reiterated the success the chain had exclusively screening Netflix’s smash feature film KPop Demon Hunters, in addition to the finale episode of “Stranger Things” on New Year’s Eve.

“You may recall that a few months ago, AMC and Netflix made the joint decision to partner together,” Aron said. “This was a significant departure from our two companies staying at arm’s length from each other over a period of many years.”

Indeed, AMC screens generated 35% of the movie’s total moviegoers during that holiday weekend time frame. The “Stranger Things” series finale saw more than 753,000 moviegoers, which enabled AMC to collect $15 million in concession revenue.

Per guild rules, AMC/Netflix were not allowed to charge admission to the “Stranger Things” screening, a mandate that saw the two companies create a requisite workaround charging attendees a mandatory $20 concession voucher.

“It was a powerful demonstration of the demand for shared theatrical experiences tied to culturally significant content,” Aron said.

Opponents of the Netflix/WBD deal allege the heretofore critic of the theatrical window could negatively impact the theatrical business going forward by concurrent global streaming of new release feature films.

In fact, Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos last April infamously characterized the legacy communal moviegoing experience and its exclusive release windows as an “outmoded idea.” Sarandos told a media event in New York that for most of the country, who could not get to a multiplex, the theatrical business model was out of step with how consumers actually want to watch movies.

With Netflix now committed to honoring Warner’s 45-day theatrical window should it emerge victorious in the acquisition, AMC is looking to expand that mindset.

Aron contends that the collaboration with Netflix underscored a strategic opportunity between exhibitors and the streaming behemoth.

“With roughly two-thirds of AMC Stubs loyalty members also subscribing to Netflix, the audience overlap between our two companies is both significant and compelling,” Aron said.

“As a result, our two companies should be the best of friends,” he said. “And I can confirm to you that AMC is enthusiastic about the prospects of expanding our relationship with Netflix. We look forward to working together to create innovative, mutually beneficial theatrical events that drive value for both companies.”

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Paramount Q4 Theatrical Revenue Plummets; Content Licensing Revenue Flat

Paramount Skydance Feb. 25 reported fourth-quarter (ended Dec. 31, 2025) theatrical revenue of $115 million, which is down from revenue of $414 million in the previous-year period.

Paramount Pictures’ top-grossing theatrical releases in the quarter included Regretting You, The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants and The Running Man. That compared with theatrical releases Smile 2, Sonic the Hedgehog 3 and Gladiator II in the previous-year period — the latter two among the top three grossing theatrical releases in the last 90 days of 2024.

Content licensing revenue — which includes fees earned from licensing film and television titles to third-party television stations, cable networks, and digital streaming platforms worldwide, as well as revenue from the retail distribution of movies and TV shows via digital download, video-on-demand (VOD), and physical media such as DVD and Blu-ray Disc — remained relatively flat at $2.1 billion, from $2.09 billion the year before.

Affiliate and subscription revenue increased 3% to $3.4 billion, from $3.3 billion.

Advertising revenue was $2.52 billion, down 10% from $2.77 billion.

For the fiscal year, theatrical revenue was $629 million, a drop of 22% from revenue of $813 million in 2024. Licensing revenue remained relatively flat at $5.9 billion, from $6 billion in 2024.

Speaking on the company’s fiscal call, CFO Dennis Cinelli said theatrical revenue in 2026 is expected to decline, adding that the studio business is in “a real rebuild phase,” with the box office not expected to improve until 2027.

“Even with the theatrical revenue up and down, we expect better cost management as well as more licensing deals to drive studio profitability up,” he said.

Paramount Skydance saw its overall quarterly operating loss balloon 155% to $573 million, from an operating loss of $223 million in the previous-year period. Revenue increased 2% to $8.1 billion, from $7.9 billion the year before.

Fiscal year revenue dipped 3% to $29.4 billion, from $30.3 billion in 2024.

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Paramount+ Loses 100,000 Subs in Q4, Narrows DTC Fiscal Loss 45%

Paramount Skydance Feb. 25 reported that it completed the fourth quarter (ended Dec. 31, 2025) with 79 million direct-to-consumer streaming subscribers, which was down 100,000 paid subs from the end of the fiscal period through Sept. 30.

Paramount+ quarterly revenue increased 17% to $1.84 billion, from $1.56 billion. DTC revenue increased marginally to $2.21 billion from $2.16 billion in the prior-year period. The operating loss narrowed 45% to $158 million, from a loss of $258 million in the prior year period.

Free ad-supported streaming television platform Pluto TV saw quarterly revenue decline 16%, due in part to monetization challenges, while user engagement increased.

For the fiscal year, the DTC unit posted an operating profit of $230 million on revenue of $8.35 billion, compared with a loss of $497 million on revenue of $8.12 billion in 2024.

“We expect DTC profitability to improve year-over-year as we both grow revenue and manage our investment,” CFO Dennis Cinelli said on the company’s fiscal call.

While Paramount is projecting total revenue of $30 billion in 2026, driven by DTC streaming, the media company says it expects “only modestly higher” paid Paramount+ subs this year due in part to the exit of 4 million to 5 million hard bundle customers with “unattractive economics” in 2025.

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Netflix’s Ted Sarandos to Meet Trump Officials at the White House on Feb. 26

Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos is reportedly meeting at the White House with Trump Administration officials on Feb. 26 to discuss issues surrounding the streamer’s accepted $82.7 billion all-cash acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery’s streaming and studio assets.

As first reported by Politico, the meetings will address President Trump’s social media call for the streamer to fire board member Susan Rice following her negative comments about corporations allegedly “bending at the knee” to the president.

It was not immediately clear if Sarandos would meet with Trump personally.

Sarandos apparently has a cordial relationship with the president, meeting with Trump before his inauguration and last November to discuss the Warner Bros. Discovery deal.

Trump, who initially said he would be personally involved in the transaction, later backed off saying he would remain an observer. That mindset changed on Feb. 21 after Trump saw a social media post from right-wing influencer Laura Loomer, in which she decried comments made by Rice, former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations and National Security Advisor in the Obama Administration.

“Fire racist, Trump Deranged Susan Rice, IMMEDIATELY, or pay the consequences,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social X account. “She’s got no talent or skills — Purely a political hack! HER POWER IS GONE, AND WILL NEVER BE BACK. How much is she being paid, and for what??? Thank you for your attention to this matter. President DJT.”

Sarandos, in response, downplayed Trump’s comments, arguing the Warner Bros. Discovery transaction is a business decision, not political.

Since then, rival suitor Paramount Skydance has upped its hostile all-cash bid to $110.9 billion, which includes WBD’s television networks. Paramount has also agreed to separately absorb upwards of $11.3 billion in termination fees, penalties and other charges — a stunning pledge considering Skydance Media acquired Paramount Global for $8 billion.

Speaking to British press over the weekend, Sarandos was asked if Netflix would counter a new bid. The executive said the streamer is not dependent upon WBD for its future success, and has a strong history of letting other companies overpay for third-party assets.

If WBD accepts the Paramount deal, Netflix is set to receive a $2.8 billion termination fee.

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Lionsgate’s ‘The Housemaid’ Remains Atop U.K. Weekly Home Entertainment Sales Chart Through Feb. 25

Lionsgate’s thriller The Housemaid remained No. 1 in its second week of release on the weekly U.K. home entertainment sales chart the week ended Feb. 25.

At No. 2 was Disney’s Zootopia 2, maintaining its runner-up status since its Jan. 27 digital retail release. The animated comedy added $2.6 million in ticket sales across its 13th week at the box office.

Signature’s Dracula entered the top three. It’s a reimagining of the legendary vampire tale.

The distributor’s horror film We Bury The Dead rose eight spots to No. 4. In the film, following a catastrophic military disaster, the dead don’t just rise, they hunt.

Dropping one spot to No. 5 was Warner’s Sinners. The horror flick from director Ryan Coogler stars Michael B. Jordan as twin brothers and former mob enforcers who return to their hometown to open a blues club, which is promptly attacked by vampires.

Warner’s A Minecraft Movie surged 10 spots to No. 6. Based on the “Minecraft” video game franchise, the movie continues to prove a hit with younger audiences and long-time video game players alike.

One of the week’s biggest climbers was Sony’s Sisu: Road to Revenge, which skyrocketed 18 spots to No. 7. The action-packed sequel continues the legacy of its wartime predecessor.

Falling five spots to No. 8 was 20th Century Studios’ Predator: Badlands, which finds the sci-fi franchise bringing the fearsome alien hunter into a harsh new landscape.

Re-entering the top 10 at No. 9 was the classic movie Dogma, director Kevin Smith’s cult fantasy-comedy blending irreverent humor with theological satire.

Rounding out the chart at No. 10 was Sony’s Anaconda (2025), which slipped from No. 5. In the film, Doug (Jack Black) and Griff (Paul Rudd) have been best friends since they were kids and have always dreamed of remaking their all-time favorite movie: the cinematic “classic” Anaconda. When a midlife crisis pushes them to finally go for it, they head deep into the Amazon to start filming. But things get real when an actual giant anaconda appears, turning their comically chaotic movie set into a deadly situation.

The Official Film Chart Top 10 – Feb. 25, 2026
Rank
Previous Week
Movie
Distributor
1
1
THE HOUSEMAID
LIONSGATE
2
2
ZOOTOPIA 2
DISNEY
3
7
DRACULA
SIGNATURE
4
12
WE BURY THE DEAD
SIGNATURE
5
4
SINNERS
WARNER
6
16
A MINECRAFT MOVIE
WARNER
7
25
SISU: ROAD TO REVENGE
SONY PICTURES
8
3
PREDATOR: BADLANDS
20TH CENTURY
9
29
DOGMA
VISIONS
10
5
ANACONDA (2025)
SONY PICTURES
 © Official Charts Company 2026

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