At CinemaCon, movie theater owners have come out swinging against Paramount’s merger with Warner Bros., worrying that a sale will lead to fewer films. This week, A-list stars from Ben Stiller to Javier Bardem and Kristen Stewart signed a petition opposing the sale and arguing it would lead “fewer opportunities for creators, fewer jobs across the production ecosystem, higher costs and less choice for audiences.” You might think that as the head of AMC, the world’s largest movie chain, Adam Aron is ready to join them on the barricades.
You would be wrong. Aron doesn’t seem concerned about what David Ellison, the Skydance founder who has rolled up Paramount and then turned his eyes towards Warner Bros., is building in Hollywood. Instead, he thinks the mogul’s days as a movie producer on films like “Top Gun: Maverick” means he will be a big booster of the theatrical experience. And that’s the most important thing for Aron.
“It is time for AMC to make known our favorable view about Paramount’s desire to acquire Warner,” Aron said in a statement to the press on Thursday. “I greatly appreciate David Ellison’s track record of success and his passion to make movies that will dazzle audiences the world over. In just the short time he has owned Paramount Pictures, he already has begun to assemble a superb team around him and already has been increasing the number of movies being greenlit at Paramount.”
