Cinema United has called on Paramount CEO David Ellison and California attorney general Rob Bonta to settle the antitrust lawsuit scheduled for spring 2027.
The exhibition lobbyist wrote to Ellison and Bonta on Tuesday in a move that effectively reverses its previously-stated opposition to the proposed $111bn merger between Paramount and Warner Bros Discovery (WBD).
A letter signed by Cinema United CEO Michael O’Leary and 16 US exhibition leaders including Sean Gamble, the CEO and president of Cinemark which on Tuesday officially endorsed the merger, called exhibition “a Main Street industry” that currently has “the wind at its back”.
It noted: “We write to encourage you both to meet in the immediate future and discuss all possible avenues for resolving the state of California’s pending challenge to Paramount’s proposed acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery.”
The letter continued, ”Our industry is familiar with the impact of legacy studio consolidation on moviegoers and exhibition, and those facts are well documented […] At the same time, we have remained open to tangible and enforceable guardrails that can offer our industry some measure of certainty in the face of an evolving and otherwise challenging future.”
The group has called for a long-term commitment to wide-release production supported by theatrical exclusivity; no increase in rental terms should the merger go through; safeguards to ensure broad access to films and cinemas of all sizes; and continued access to the Paramount and Warner Bros libraries.
In a separate statement, Cinemark said: “[W]e join those who have recently called for an expedited resolution of the proposed Paramount Skydance and Warner Bros. Discovery merger as prolonged uncertainty runs the risk of diverting time and resources away from achieving these priorities.”
AMC and Regal have previously come out in support of the merger. Screen has reached out to Mexico-based Latin American giant Cinepolis who declined to comment.
The antitrust trial is scheduled for March 2, 2027. This week Paramount filed a legal request that the state attorneys general and Writers Guild of America pay a $1.9bn bond to cover financial harm caused by the delay in closing the merg
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