The trial is set to begin roughly five months after Paramount starts paying a ticking fee of roughly $7 million per day to Warners shareholders.

With free cash flow at just $96 million, the $110 billion Warner Bros. bid faces a ticking fee Paramount can barely afford as states want a 2027 trial.

Vince Lombardi once said “We didn’t lose the game; we just ran out of time.” Hollywood has seen this movie before, and only a decade ago.

Paramount said Tuesday that it generated $6.91 billion in revenue for the second quarter, up 1% from the same period a year ago.