A delegation from European cinema trade body the International Union of Cinemas (UNIC) met with senior European Commission officials yesterday (January 15) to raise cinema operators’ concerns about the impending sale of Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD).
The meeting comes as lobbying about Netflix or Paramount Skydance’s proposed acquisition of WBD heats up in Europe.
Netflix and Paramount executives separately met with Commission officials on Tuesday, setting out their cases for regulatory approval. This week, Paramount CEO David Ellison also met with UK culture secretary Lisa Nandy.
UNIC CEO Laura Houlgatte and UNIC president Phil Clapp, as well as several European cinema operators, held talks on Thursday with officials from the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Competition, including head of unit Annemiek Wilpshaar and deputy head Marc Zedler, and their team from DG Competition Unit C5 – Mergers: Information, Communication and Media.
A WBD takeover has raised fears that fewer Warner Bros films would be released theatrically, impacting cinemas throughout Europe. Netflix has bid $82.7bn for WBD’s studios and streaming businesses, while Paramount has made a $108.4bn hostile takeover offer for the entire company.
In December, UNIC issued a strongly worded statement about Netflix’s proposed takeover of WBD, warning that a sale to the streamer could lead to significant cinema closures.
But UNIC is clearly worried about a Paramount deal too. In its European Commission meeting this week, UNIC flagged the impact of the 2019 merger of the Disney and Fox studios, saying it resulted in fewer film releases.
UNIC also talked up the EU cinema exhibition market, which was worth €5bn in 2024, and cited investments by cinemas and their contribution to GDP, job creation, taxes and rental payments. It highlighted the box office value of WBD titles for cinemas, including 2025 hits A Minecraft Movie, Sinners, One Battle After Another, Weapons and Final Destination: Bloodlines, as well as WBD-backed local originals such as German hit Wunderschöne and Polish box-office success Dom Dobry. The organisation also noted the importance of significant, exclusive theatrical windows for cinemas.
UNIC underlined the point that cinemas create immeasurable value for the entire film industry, emphasisng the role that Europe’s cinemas play in bringing people together for a shared cultural experience.
“It is undeniable that the cinema industry in Europe strongly relies on US titles for its viability,” said Houlgatte. “In 21 EU countries, in 2024, US films accounted for a market share of over 50% in 21 European countries and a share of 70% in nine European countries.
“Europe’s cinemas play a unique role in the communities they serve, bringing people together for a shared cultural experience to watch diverse films in the format that filmmakers originally intended.”
She added. “UNIC is opposed to any deal that would lead to a loss of a significant proportion of future titles -both in terms of quantity and diversity - and that would undermine the key principles it relies on such as theatrical windows. What cinemas need – to continue to fulfil that role with audiences – is a reliable, consistent and diverse flow of content all year round, supported by significant exclusive theatrical windows and marketing.”
Clapp pointed to Warner Bros’s strong 2025 slate of films
“Its releases allowed European cinemas to attract audiences from all demographics,” he said. “UNIC will be involved every step of the way to ensure that the legitimate concerns of the cinema industry are heard and that they can continue to do what they do best: bringing all kinds of stories to life for all audiences on the big screen.”
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