The debate over the proposed Paramount–Warner Bros. merger has focused on a familiar concern: whether combining two major studios will eliminate jobs and reduce competition in Hollywood. Those concerns deserve serious consideration, but missing from the conversation is a bigger question: whether a stronger, better-capitalized studio could reverse the years-long decline in theatrical film production.
Paramount has committed to producing 30 movies a year, each with a 45-day exclusive theatrical window. To understand what that could mean for theaters and communities across the country, my colleagues Russ Kashian, Erik Bergren and I did an economic analysis of this commitment, and we found that it could generate almost $20 billion in annual U.S. economic activity and support over 90,000 jobs across the country.
Despite the Justice Department’s recent approval, several Democratic state attorneys general are reportedly preparing a potential lawsuit to block the deal. A recent report commissioned by Los Angeles County suggested that the transaction could place jobs in the Los Angeles region at risk due to consolidation. However, the analysis did not consider the broader job creation and economic activity across the entire country that would be generated by the combined company’s commitment to increased film production and a 45-day theatrical window.
