Warner Bros might have swept the Oscars with Sinners and One Battle After Another, but the impending merger has those in the industry worried about the future
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n Sunday, Warner Bros snared 11 Oscars for One Battle After Another, Sinners and Weapons, equalling the record for most wins for a single film studio. Paramount, by contrast, did not earn a single nomination.
Yet in an apparent case of a minnow swallowing a whale, Paramount is poised to gobble up Warner Bros in a deal worth $111bn. If approved by regulators, the two studios would be consolidated into one, redrawing the Hollywood map and sowing uncertainty for actors, directors and writers as well as millions of viewers.
Analysts warn that such a merger could result in thousands of job losses, stifle creative innovation and, given the influence of Paramount head David Ellison – whose father, Larry, is a friend and ally of Donald Trump – make it harder to bring overtly political movies such as One Battle After Another and Sinners to the screen.
