How the Warner Bros takeover could shake up France’s unique film industry

Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos may have tried to temporarily assuage fears of a collapse of the theatrical marketplace if the US streaming platform’s proposed takeover of Warner Bros film and TV assets goes through, but on the other side of the Atlantic, many in the French film industry are rattled.

The country’s film financing system is uniquely and intricately tied to theatrical ticket sales. France’s CNC administers film financing based on a multifaceted redistributive tax system that includes a percentage of proceeds from all theatrical ticket sales to every arm of the industry, from production to distribution. US films are key to this much-admired model, since their annual market share typically hovers around 40% of total films released.

The industry is convinced an acquisition of Warner Bros by either Net­flix or hostile bidder Paramount Skydance, poses a threat to the number of US films released in French cinemas. Marc-Olivier Sebbag, general delegate of France’s national exhibitors’ association FNCF, sums up the mood: “The issue is not only whether Net­flix or Paramount take over. Our main concern is the survival of Warner Bros as a major producer and distributor of films in cinemas with an immense catalogue, a strong identity and editorial strategy.”

Sebbag is not impressed by either potential owner. “Netflix has not demonstrated a very amicable relationship with movie theatres and Paramount may have a more traditional studio model, but any fusion of two studios means less films in the long run,” he says.

Should Netflix secure Warner Bros, “Exhibition isn’t their focus and even when they release films in cinemas in the US, they aren’t true theatrical runs,” continues Sebbag. “Even if they say for now they’ll proceed this way, they may change course in the future and that’s worrisome for our sector.”

French exhibitors have been struggling with ticket sales down 15.6% for the first 11 months of 2025. “Our priority in France is that the creativity and the number of films that Warner Bros produces continue to be released in cinemas,” says Sebbag.

CNC president Gaetan Bruel issued his own response to Sarandos’s remark that “over time, the windows will evolve to be much more consumer-­friendly” during a panel at Red Sea International Film Festival earlier this month.

“Netflix’s longtime ambivalent relationship with cinema, combined with a dramatic decline in theatrical attendance, could be devastating for the industry,” said Bruel.

“We should ask in return, ‘What about making the cinema windows more exhibitor-­friendly so they can just keep existing and doing what they do?’” added the CNC head. “If we all believe in movie theatres, we need to think about what they need.”

Everyone in the French industry who spoke to Screen International for this feature could only see the downsides of a Warner Bros takeover. “The more consolidated the industry becomes, the more creativity is threatened,” says Pierre Jolivet, filmmaker and president of producers’ union ARP. “The French film industry has remained strong because there is a real diversity that makes the market so dynamic.”

Olivier Henrard, deputy general manager at CNC, suggests: “Regardless of the outcome of the battle between Netflix and Paramount Skydance for control of Warner Bros Discovery, in both cases, this consolidation will lead to a major worsening of the industrial imbalance between the two sides of the Atlantic.

“Admittedly, this imbalance is longstanding,” he adds, “but the fact many of the American companies involved are now inherently outside the world of culture changes the game in terms of quality, for example, with regard to the relationship with cinemas.

“In this context, regulation will be more necessary than ever,” concludes Henrard, citing investment and broadcasting obligations under the EU’s audiovisual media services directive, tax credits and CNC support.

Box-office behemoth

As in most territories, Warner Bros films are key to the French box office. This year, three of the top 10 films are Warner Bros releases — F1 (3.3 million admissions), A Minecraft Movie (2.7 million) and The Conjuring: Last Rites (2.3 million). HBO Max launched in France in summer 2024 and Warner Bros films can start streaming on the platform 17 months after first playing in theatres.

Netflix, which has a 15-month window for its licensed films (including Warner Bros titles), has opted mostly for a straight-to-­streaming policy for its own films. It also remains the lone streamer non grata at Cannes Film Festival since a 2017-­initiated policy made it obligatory for all films playing in Competition to guarantee a full theatrical release in the country.

A spokesperson for Netflix France told Screen that “nothing will change” should the deal go through, and the company’s policy in France would remain the same — namely that it is committed to releasing Warner Bros films in cinemas, and will continue to release Netflix-produced films straight to streaming in the territory.

Netflix has recently requested a further contraction to its 15-month window, to reflect its investment of around $59m (€50m) per year, the most of any streamer in France. This represents some 85% of total investment in the territory by streamers, according to a recent report from audiovisual authority ARCOM.

Paramount+ content is available via Canal+ in France, which means all of Paramount Pictures’ theatrical releases in the territory become available on myCanal and Canal+ for subscribers six months after they hit cinemas.

Marc Missonnier, producer at Moana Films and president of the UPC independent producers guild, has been active in negotiations over the media chronology. “Anything that moves the industry towards a consolidation of major players means there are fewer financiers for films and the more problematic this becomes for diversity and for independence,” he argues. “Audiences having less choice in terms of the films proposed is never good news.”

For ARP’s Jolivet, the Warner Bros deal — whichever way it may go — highlights an existential threat to France’s concept of film as the seventh art form. “Hollywood is no longer Holly­wood,” he says. “Film producers are more and more condemned to make prototypes, which is not the same thing as making something original.

“My fear for US cinema is that films are becoming more uniform. Cinema is based on the desire of audiences to go and see films and to create this desire — we need originality and creativity.”

• French box office drops 21% in November as downward spiral intensifies