Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery are one step closer to becoming a merged powerhouse. After a fierce year-long battle and Netflix’s subsequent surprising withdrawal from the bidding war, a federal judge has approved the former’s takeover, which is expected to close on 6 October.
The US$111 billion mega-deal will be the most expensive in Hollywood history, ahead of Disney’s 2019 acquisition of 21st Century Fox (US$71.3 billion). In light of this latest court decision, antitrust concerns — one of the biggest obstacles to finalising the merger — have been resolved, with affected platforms including the HBO Max and Paramount+ streaming services, as well as TV businesses such as CBS, CNN, MTV, TBS, Comedy Central, and Food Network, among others.
“The Court therefore finds that the proposed consent decree reflects a settlement between the parties that is a fair, reasonable, and good faith approach to address the competitive harms alleged in the Complaint, and does not violate the law or public policy,” wrote Araceli Martinez-Olguin (via The Hollywood Reporter), who oversaw the procedure.
Under the agreement, both studios must release at least 30 theatrical films a year for the first two years, then 32 in the next three, and maintain the minimum quota of wide and independent titles, half of which are to be produced or jointly produced. The movies will also keep the 45-day theatrical window and a 90-day delay for subscription video-on-demand platforms, with a penalty of US$30 million per film assessed for missing the annual output.
With the deal greenlit, Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav is expected to depart after earning more than US$550 million in stock and cash. Mattel CEO Ynon Kreiz has been appointed as co-CEO of the combined entity and will step down from his current role, succeeded by board member and former Condé Nast CEO Roger Lynch.
Alongside the 2023 box office hit Barbie, the company has produced films and TV shows based on several of its well-known brands, including Masters of the Universe, starring Nicholas Galitzine, Camila Mendes, Jared Leto, Alison Brie, Idris Elba, and more. Next on the slate is Matchbox: The Movie, scheduled to hit Apple TV on 9 October — just one of the many toy-based projects in the works.
Si Jia is a casual geek at heart – or as casual as someone with Sephiroth’s theme on her Spotify playlist can get. A fan of movies, games, and Japanese culture, Si Jia’s greatest weakness is the Steam Summer Sale. Or any Steam sale, really.
Kevin Low
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