That was the looming question for movie theater owners before Netflix bowed out of the bidding war for Warner Bros. and paved the way for Paramount Skydance to take over the media giant. There’s been fear that any merger — no matter which bidder prevailed — would bring the kind of consolidation that results in fewer new films on the big screen. It’s a major concern because the box office has yet to recover from the pandemic and Hollywood’s 2023 labor strikes, with domestic ticket sales down roughly 20% from pre-covid times.
“It’s a case of pick your poison,” says an exhibition consultant. “The extended battle over which terrible deal would happen will result in fewer major studio releases.”
With the sale to Netflix, exhibitors were worried the streaming behemoth would take a sledgehammer to the theatrical window — the term for the amount…
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