Hollywood Filmmakers Fearful as Paramount Wins Warner Bros: ‘Different Bidder, Same Anxiety’

As Hollywood grapples with Paramount Skydance’s comeback campaign to win the Warner Bros. Discovery bidding war over Netflix, the general sentiment among creatives, staffers and movie theater owners can be best summed up by one regional exhibitor:

“Different bidder, same anxiety,” the theater exec said. “Maybe we don’t have to deal with Netflix making sudden promises to go back on everything they’ve ever said about shorter theatrical windows, but I think nobody in our business believes that we’re better off with Warner Bros. under the ownership of any other major studio.”

After first being spurned by WBD in favor of Netflix in December and failing to force its deal through via a hostile takeover, Paramount reversed its fortunes after placing a sweetened $31 per share bid that is estimated to reach $111 billion, causing the streaming giant to walk away.

But the theater exec’s sentiments highlight the existential dread that remains both within Warner Bros. and across all of Hollywood despite the radically different circumstances the legendary studio finds itself in. It’s a situation in which there is no “good” scenario, with the new Paramount deal expected to lead to even more job losses, fewer films and a further consolidation of media power.

On Friday, WBD CEO David Zaslav held an online town hall with other studio leaders and rank-and-file employees to speak further on the pivot from Netflix to Paramount, but two employees who spoke to TheWrap described the atmosphere as one of “disappointment and fear” and leadership’s remarks as a “waste of time” as no one was given time to ask any questions.

The sources said that there was also a lot of frustration that WBD leaders did not acknowledge the thousands of layoffs that are expected to come from the merger with Paramount should it get regulatory approval. An estimated 2,000 employees at Paramount — 10% of its workforce — were laid off after Skydance’s acquisition was approved last year. Further layoffs are expected.

As one employee put it to TheWrap: “It’s a f–king s–t show, man.”

For creatives, there were many lamentations about what Paramount might do to Warner’s film division, which under the leadership of Mike De Luca and Pam Abdy has championed films with bold vision like Maggie Gyllenhaal’s Frankenstein reimagining “The Bride!” hitting theaters this Friday and Ryan Coogler’s “Sinners” and Paul Thomas Anderson’s “One Battle After Another” expected to make a splash at the March 15 Oscars.

“Warner had a banner year creatively. Can’t see any value in this potential merger for anyone,” fumed one director who decried the impact of consolidation on creative expression. “The movie industry continues to be run by people who hate movies. But it’s been that way for a long, long time.”

When Paramount first came forward with its bid to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery last fall, studio insiders said that a structure that Ellison was considering was to keep Warner Bros.’ creative heads out of any layoff plans and allow them to continue operating under Paramount Skydance’s ownership. That would include De Luca and Abdy, DC Studios’ James Gunn and Peter Safran and New Line Cinema’s Richard Brener.

In Friday’s memo outlining plans for the merged company, Paramount did not reveal how executive leadership at Warner Bros. will be impacted.

“Their political affiliations are unfortunate, but what Paramount gives you that Netflix doesn’t is the higher likelihood that WB assets won’t be divested and sold off for parts. It’s more likely that Paramount keeps WB intact, which is better for Hollywood,” said one director.

But one rival exec is skeptical that Paramount could sustain the entire marketing apparatus that enabled films like “Sinners” to be a hit, let alone maintain the theatrical output that Warner Bros. is putting out now along with Paramount’s own goal of at least 15 movies per year. The company, worth $15 billion, is taking on massive debt to buy WBD for $110 billion.

“Warner put a big bet on [‘Sinners’ director] Coogler even with everyone doubting them, and give them credit, it worked,” the exec said. “But with all that debt Skydance is taking on, they’ll have to cut people from Warner. So who gets the workload of figuring out how to sell all these big creative risks along with all the franchise film marketing that takes a lot of time and energy?”

For movie theater owners, the sentiment towards a Warner-Paramount merger is the same as it was back in October, with comparisons being made to the 2019 Disney-Fox merger that saw the number of films from 20th Century Studios reduced from 12-18 per year before its acquisition to no more than five per year under Disney.

On a call with analysts on Monday, Paramount CEO David Ellison reiterated his goal of releasing 30 movies theatrically per year through Paramount and Warner Bros., 15 from each studio.

“We’ve already demonstrated our ability to increase output with 15-plus films currently dated for 2026 from eight releases in 2025 when Paramount combined with Skydance,” Ellison said, adding that all of Paramount’s films would have a minimum 45-day theatrical window that could expand to as much as 90 days if a hit film shows box office staying power.

But nothing seems to be breaking the skepticism in exhibition.

“I already had doubts about their promises to deliver more movies before they raised their bid to something Netflix couldn’t match,” said one independent theater owner. “The only possible silver lining is that we probably don’t have to worry about windowing. But as much as the people who run Paramount now care about theatrical, what’s the variety and quantity going to look like after a couple of years running Warner while dealing with that debt?”

Two of the most vocal groups opposing the Warner sale, the Writers Guild of America and Cinema United, have insisted throughout the bidding process that any sale, regardless of the buyer, would be bad for filmmakers and exhibitors, and reasserted that in statements released on Thursday and Friday.

“The combination is different but the outcome is the same: the proposed Paramount-Warner merger would consolidate control of two major film and television studios and streaming services, and two of the largest employers of writers,” WGA said. “The loss of competition would be a disaster for writers, consumers and the entire entertainment industry.”

“Studio consolidation historically leads to fewer movies being made, and at this juncture, there is no reason to believe the outcome here will be any different,” concurred Cinema United President and CEO Michael O’Leary. “We continue to urge regulators to heed the lessons of the past.”

There’s still a regulatory battle to wage, but if all sails through, Paramount said it expects to close its deal to buy Warner Bros. by the end of September.

Drew Taylor and Umberto Gonzalez contributed reporting to this story.

The post Hollywood Filmmakers Fearful as Paramount Wins Warner Bros: ‘Different Bidder, Same Anxiety’ appeared first on TheWrap.