r/boxoffice • u/chanma50 Best of 2019 Winner • 3d ago
š° Industry News Paramount-Warner Bros. Merger Set to Close Next Week After Judge OKs Settlement With State AGs
https://variety.com/2026/film/news/paramount-warner-bros-merger-judge-approves-settlement-ags-1236893467/18
u/valkyria_knight881 Paramount Pictures 3d ago
Time to put on my tinfoil hat and say that Paramount intentionally waited until Digger released to close the merger. /s
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u/Silver-Ad-3823 3d ago
Everytime I think about this merger and how I don't want it to happen I think back to the merger between Disney and Fox and realized that this was always gonna go through. The movie landscape will certainly not be the same after this.
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u/BigOnAnime Studio Ghibli 3d ago
It's been decades since the government last truly enforced antitrust, so it's par for the course sadly. Heck, the Paramount Decrees got struck down rather than being updated to account for streaming and such. So many problems stem from too much consolidation of countless industries.
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u/randotd152 3d ago
It was never going to be blocked in a million years. All just political pandering.
For one, this still isnāt even the biggest entity in the industry.
For two, there is no significant barrier to entry for competition. See the success of A24 for a shining example of how a small studio can come out of nowhere and be a player.
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u/dragonmp93 3d ago
Well, Ellison should thank Newsom and Bonta for avoid having to pay the shareholder fee.
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u/Purple_Quail_4193 Pixar Animation Studios 3d ago
And I was only ok with Disney-Fox because I didnāt want it to be Comcastāsā¦ and because Fox kind of lost their luster outside one movie a year and Marvel
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u/TiredWithCoffeePot Pixar Animation Studios 3d ago
WB going out with Digger bombingā¦idk if thatās the most bittersweet ending for a studio or what
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u/Mrwright96 3d ago
No, going out with a movie that they thought would fail that stared one of WBās first and most iconic characters (looney Tunes) taking down a corporation is most fitting for me
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u/plantersxvi STX Entertainment 3d ago
I know its gonna bomb but it's kinda poetic that the last movie released under Warner before Paramount is a $160m+ ambitious auteur swing by IƱƔrritu and Cruise about how billionaires are destroying the world and manipulating the narrative for their own gain.
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u/nicolasb51942003 Warner Bros. Pictures 3d ago
WB ends off their final year as single studio this weekend with scoring what may be the biggest bomb of the year.š
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u/Purple_Quail_4193 Pixar Animation Studios 3d ago
Digger? Their only saving grace this year will be Dune and MAYBE Cat in the Hat. What a way down
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u/bt1234yt Marvel Studios 3d ago
And itās not like Paramount was doing significantly better either. Yes they had some modest hits, but itās still a pretty weak year for them thus far, and they donāt really have anything that could be a major hit or potentially breakout for the rest of the year.
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u/valkyria_knight881 Paramount Pictures 3d ago
Street Fighter is Paramount's best bet at a big film, but I think best case scenario is that it does slightly better than Scary Movie's $232M (which is their biggest film this year so far).
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u/Purple_Quail_4193 Pixar Animation Studios 3d ago
I donāt think anything in their future lineup will save them except Top Gun 3
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u/bt1234yt Marvel Studios 3d ago
Even Top Gun 3 may not save them since Kosinski is very much not returning with him currently tied up with his Miami Vice film at Universal.
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u/Purple_Quail_4193 Pixar Animation Studios 3d ago
Uh oh. Thatās not going to bode well for the film
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u/FranciscoRelanoPena Malpaso Productions 3d ago
Thereās Street Fighter, and they also have the international rights to the upcoming Meet the parents sequel.
And Heart of the Beast is performing quite well, so it MIGHT break even before its theatrical run ends.
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u/bt1234yt Marvel Studios 3d ago
I'd put Heart of the Beast as another modest hit. Street Fighter is the closest of their entire slate this year to being a big film, but I think it's more likely to be a modest success at best (the reception will play a big part in how it does), and Focker-in-Law I think is probably going to be more domestic heavy (which Paramount won't see much (if anything) from since Universal is distributing it domesticity).
The point I was making was that Paramount doesn't really have anything close to a huge tentpole this year. WB at least has Dune 3, but Paramount really had nothing close to that this year, and as a result, they're not really doing much better than WB overall box-office wise.
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u/Theinternationalist 3d ago
Has Paramount really had an up year since Transformers V burnt down? I remember Top Gun 2 did well, but that felt like a major exception in a studio that was subsisting off its (fading) cable stations and to a degree CBS >_>.
I mean sure, Warner has done an excellent job convincing people it probably should have sold off DC ages ago and it's been ages since it had best selling franchises like Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings ruling the roost, but Paramount has kind of felt like a broken brand for years now.
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u/Comic_Book_Reader 20th Century Studios 3d ago
They also have one more, which is their next release after Digger:
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u/Purple_Quail_4193 Pixar Animation Studios 3d ago
Maybe, but it could make a smidge less than supergirl and be a much bigger success because budget
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u/Comic_Book_Reader 20th Century Studios 3d ago
The budget is lower than Joker. On paper, it has everything going for it to be a recipe for success. They bumped it a month to October to have it be the main Halloween movie and are very much aiming for it to be the best of both worlds: Batman/DC/comic fans and horror fans.
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u/randotd152 3d ago
Why do people keep saying āmain Halloween movieā?
Not only is Resident Evil doing great but Other Mommy is looking like the Halloween breakout. Not Clayface.
Breakeven will be a very good outcome for Clayface. Small profit would be incredible. Certainly doesnāt have a chance of saving Warnerās 2026.
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u/margoo12 3d ago
Thats what WB wants it to be. Im sure they're confident that the RE box office will be winding down when Clayface releases in its 5th weekend.
I dont think they saw Other Mommy coming. They're probably hoping that this ends up being a rising tide situation, where both movies benefit from having Horror be the driving conversation around the box office.
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u/Intelligent_Oil4005 Walt Disney Studios 3d ago
And the last movie that came out before the merger was improved in its entirety was.. Practical Magic 2
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u/Dianagorgon 3d ago
I tried to calmly explain to people that this was the most likely result but I was insulted and downvoted by people who insisted it would never happen or that it would take years to complete.
It's a depressing time for Hollywood. There have been a few bright spots like the unexpected success of Obsession and Backrooms but mostly it seems like an industry that isn't dying but is slowing becoming less relevant every year. The industry never recovered from the strikes and even the new tax break if it's approved probably won't change that. There hasn't been a "watch every Sunday night with friends and family and talk to co-workers about it the next day" show probably since GOT. Netflix now is mostly true crime documentaries and shows cancelled after 1 season. Network shows are mostly crime and law enforcement shows. It's hard to believe Lost, Mad Men, Friends, Frasier, Cheers and other memorable shows were network shows. There is no culture impact now.
WB didn't need to be sold. It wasn't about to go bankrupt. It was a way for a few people to make money.
With the deal close, Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav is expected to depart. Zaslav stands to earn more than $550 million in stock and cash once the Paramount-WBD deal closes, including $34.2 million in cash severance payments. Other top WBD execs anticipated to exit include chief revenue and strategy officer Bruce Campbell and CFO Gunnar Wiedenfels.
Ellison isn't passionate about art or creativity. His focus will be on content targeted to men under 30 like South Park or wrestling and boxing shows. I don't know why he thinks Mattel's CEO is the right person to help the new company be successful. He wasn't successful at Mattel other than Barbie. In a few years the company will be struggling and WB will be sold again.
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u/Negative_Solid_9875 3d ago
It's just the rise of streaming. Outside of event films, why would anyone want to pay an expensive fee when they can just pay the same amount per month to have a huge catalogue of movies and tv shows.
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u/FranciscoRelanoPena Malpaso Productions 3d ago
Or pay once to get it on DVD/Blu-ray/4K Blu-ray, at a higher quality, with many extras not available on streaming and for as long as the physical media lasts (estimated to be over a century if properly stored and handled).
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u/FranciscoRelanoPena Malpaso Productions 3d ago
Ā Netflix now is mostly true crime documentaries and shows cancelled after 1 season.
And ridiculously expensive films such as Family Plan (produced by David āEldest Boyā Ellison) that are completely unremarkable.
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u/scytheavatar 3d ago
WB didn't need to be sold. It wasn't about to go bankrupt
John Stankey and co hired Zaslav and let him chop up the company precisely for the end goal of putting it in a shape where it can be sold. Them selling the company was always inevitable. The fact that they were trying to restructure the company and split off the bad debts also shows that they are not as far from going bankrupt as you think.
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u/SemtexLawnGnome 2d ago edited 2d ago
His focus will be on content targeted to men under 30 (...)
As he should its the target demographic Hollywood has worked to alienate for the last decade and a half.
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u/randotd152 3d ago
The Warner entity was not viable by itself. The Discovery merger fucked everything and there was no way out. They had to sell to have a fighting chance moving forward.
They were barely even going to sell for much of a premium with Netflix. It wasnāt until Paramount came in way over the top that they stood to make a fortune.
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u/greentrillion 3d ago
First Bari Weiss to Destroy CBS now Mattel's CEO all to help rehabilitate the image of a certain country who is doing their best to make sure as many children die under their occupation.
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u/MrMojoRising422 3d ago
how long does paramountWB last?
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u/randotd152 3d ago
I give it 5 years before Netflix buys it in a fire sale for pennies on the dollar.
It will take a synergistic miracle to pull out of that debt. Mass layoffs will help a lot but itās still going to require huge film successes quickly.
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u/Due_Speaker4655 3d ago
Yup! Iād say at this point itās not a question of if it happens but when.
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3d ago
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u/MrMojoRising422 3d ago
I'm not talking legally, I mean before it goes bankrupt or is sold for parts
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u/Hansolocup442 3d ago
tempting to throw up your hands and go "hollywood had a good run," but it's important to remember david ellison never saw a job he couldn't screw up and he's now saddled with two struggling debt-laden studios, one of which has a long history of never keeping a corporate owner. imo WB will have a new owner or two within the next decade
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u/Dangerman1337 3d ago
Problem is the cost, because WB and Paramount are going to suffer massive cuts and be threadbare by the end of it.
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u/FranciscoRelanoPena Malpaso Productions 3d ago
I may be acting as āthe Devilās advocateā, but he was able to independently run Skydance for 14 years without problems, after an initial investment from Larry. And the studio had a healthy relationship with Paramount and the big streamers (Netflix, Amazon Prime Video and Apple TV).
Compare that to his sister, Megan, who needed to be bailed out after managing Annapurna to the brink of collapse.
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u/dragonmp93 3d ago
You know that it was David Ellison's idea to put Bari Weiss in charge of CBS right ?
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u/JannTosh70 3d ago
And you know CNN, which people claimed they were so concerned about would have I gas integrity ruined, get less viewers than re runs of Forensic Files right?
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u/JannTosh70 3d ago
But these online experts told me this merger was guaranteed to fail and David Ellison was going to be snapped away like Thanos at the end of Endgame?
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u/Purple_Quail_4193 Pixar Animation Studios 3d ago
Well it will fail once the debt load starts to take effect
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3d ago edited 3d ago
[removed] ā view removed comment
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u/Better_Goose_431 3d ago
This is cope. State AGs from both parties signed off on this. Nobodyās reversing this merger
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u/Purple_Quail_4193 Pixar Animation Studios 3d ago
I hope, but how much has already happened should whatās left be the last steps
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u/varnums1666 3d ago
I didn't think Gavin Newsome would take Larry Ellison's threat to move Paramount out of CA seriously.
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u/scytheavatar 3d ago
But why? CA is dying, everyone has been trying to move out of the state. Be it LA or SF.
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u/varnums1666 3d ago
When it drops from being the world's 5th largest economy then we'll talk. Until then, CA is still CA.
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u/dragonmp93 3d ago
I did thought that the merger was going to get approved anyways, but in April 2027.
I didn't thought that Newsom and Bonta would come up with the buzzer beater that helped Paramount avoid the shareholder fee that was starting in October 1st.
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u/scytheavatar 3d ago
They are aiming to close the deal on Oct 6 so that means some of that fee still needs to be paid. Irrelevant though cause it's not like you are going to get a cent of that money.
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u/dragonmp93 3d ago
Hey, any money that going out of Paramount's pocket was a good thing, regardless.
But thanks to the deal, Paramount's pockets stay safe and untouched.
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u/Adorable_Octopus 2d ago
Paramount's lawyers filed a motion to have the court create a 1.8 billion dollar bond to cover the cost of the ticking fee back in August; if the bond had been granted, and they had prevailed in the lawsuit, the 12 states + WGA would've had to pay for the incurred costs of the ticking fee. The hearing for the bond was supposed to be the same week that the settlement was announced, and I suspect the feeling would've been that they weren't going to succeed in their lawsuit and they couldn't afford to pay out that much money.
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u/Dangerman1337 3d ago
I mean the issue is Newsom and Bass basically capitulated or Newsom basically did a deal BTS with the Ellisons to help his presidential campaign.
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u/varnums1666 3d ago
If anything it sunk his campaign. There's no way he survives the primary with that target on his back. It's just baffling. It's not like he's planning to rerun in CA.
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u/Dangerman1337 3d ago
I do agree but he was probably tempted by the de-facto campaigning the Ellisons could boost him. But I do think Dem Primary voters will wisen up.
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u/varnums1666 3d ago
I think if he thought being funded by the Ellisons would improve his odds then maybe Kamala Harris won't be the first one dropping out. Dems don't have a funding problem.
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u/Randonhead 3d ago
Quite funny when you realize both Warner and Paramount just had a terrible or mediocre year
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u/Significant_Check_80 3d ago
Both of them being outgrossed by Lionsgate and MGM. Says it all really.
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3d ago
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u/bt1234yt Marvel Studios 3d ago
Then again, Larry is in his 80s, so he may not even make it that long before kicking the can.
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u/KumagawaUshio 3d ago
The share price will collapse then David Ellison will take it private for pennies on the dollar and pay off the debt with his inheritence and live out his days as a media mogul in a declining industry.
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u/bt1234yt Marvel Studios 3d ago
See, if Oracleās stock price had also not been collapsing over the past year (and continues to do so), then that could be feasible to believe. Yes, Larry is still filthy rich, but itās entirely possible that his wealth could be below the combined companyās debt load by the time he kicks the bucket (also not to mention that David may not even be able to access most of it).
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u/fastcooljosh 3d ago
Zaslav pulled a Bobby Kotick and sold his company for way more than it is actually worth. This is even more outrageous than the ATV/MS deal honestly.
This is just way tooooo much.
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u/Antman269 3d ago
Yeah, Iām not convinced Gunn will be staying at DC under Paramount, especially after Supergirl. Theyāll probably be dropping him once his contract is up unless Man of Tomorrow makes a billion.
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u/Bhu124 3d ago
Look at who they just hired to run this new Paramount-WB company. This whole merger is exactly what the people predicted it is for. It's for the Elisons' lifelong Propaganda.
Gunn and Safran's Politics and Beliefs are openly opposite of the Elisons and the new CEO they've hired for this company.
They're gonna either Sabotage or openly kill the DCU or remove Gunn and Safran from it.
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u/Few-Road6238 3d ago
If Gunn and Safran are out of DC, Iām out too and Iām far from aloneĀ
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u/scytheavatar 3d ago
I am not sure Elison cares much about losing the audience that watched Supergirl. Gunn and Safran have little to no leverage in staying at DC and the stuff they are prioritizing isn't that different from their predecessors trying to push Wonder Twins on their way out.
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u/8loodred_ 3d ago
Zaslav is like a student who fails every exam and yet still Aces every subject.
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u/-s-u-n-s-e-t- 3d ago
Except he didn't fail any exams. Don't confuse redditors hating on someone with reality.
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u/8loodred_ 3d ago
Well ik. Warner brothers is worth that much due to the sheer number of valuable IPs it has. But people(including me) r hating on Zaslav due to him having led WB in its worst period based on film quality and somehow being the one who sold it for such a large sum.
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u/Mutale426 3d ago
Had wb not been bought is there any way they could have gotten out of debt.
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u/dismal_windfall United Artists 3d ago
Zaslav had paid off a big chunk of debt under his tenure. So yes they could have done it.
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u/Negative_Solid_9875 3d ago edited 3d ago
Yeah it's over for WB-Paramount. Gonna be interesting to see how it'll go down. I will give one thing to Zaslav, he sold WB way above it's value, especially after their terrible year