Logo text
Cinema United and other organizations that have opposed Paramount’s attempted mega-merger with Warner Bros. Discovery applauded the move by 12 state attorneys general on Monday to sue to block the $111 billion deal.
Cinema United, the trade organization that advocates on behalf of movie theaters across the country and internationally, took a victory lap on the challenge to a deal it vociferously opposed, arguing that small businesses across the country would suffer. “The ramifications of further movie studio consolidation will be significant and lasting, not just in Hollywood, but on Main Streets across this nation where local movie theaters serve as cultural and financial cornerstones for communities of all sizes,” president and CEO Michael O’Leary said in a statement.
Cinema United has long opposed a mega-merger of another major Hollywood entity with Warner Bros., claiming that such a transaction would concentrate too much power in the hands of a single distributor. The group is not only concerned about bargaining power, but about the diversity and number of films that would be released each year were two major distributors to merge. (Paramount Skydance CEO Ellison has promised to release at least 30 films theatrically a year across Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery, which he says will operate as studios independently, if the merger is consummated.)
