The chief executive of Regal Cinemas, one of the largest theatre chains in the United States, has said he supports the proposed merger of Paramount Skydance and Warner Bros. Discovery, adding his voice to a growing but divided debate over the future of Hollywood.
Regal's Eduardo Acuna and AMC's Adam Aron are the two most prominent theatre executives to back the $110 billion tie-up, which would bring together two of the industry's oldest studios under the control of David Ellison, the Paramount Skydance chief and son of Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison.
Promises of more films and protected theatrical windows
Acuna said his support followed direct conversations with Ellison about what the combined company would mean for cinema owners, telling Deadline and TheWrap: "I've spoken directly with Skydance Paramount CEO David Ellison and his team about what a combined company would mean for exhibition, and he has made some specific commitments."
“"At least 30 theatrical films a year, a protected theatrical window with 45 days for TVOD and 90 days for SVOD for a minimum of three years, and a $30 billion annual investment in media content."”
TVOD and SVOD refer to transactional and subscription video-on-demand, the pay-per-title and streaming-subscription models that have increasingly competed with cinema releases since the pandemic. A protected theatrical window guarantees a film stays exclusively in cinemas before it moves to those platforms, a commitment exhibitors have pushed for as streaming has eroded box office exclusivity.
Acuna added that he believed Ellison was sincere in making these commitments, and that Ellison had offered to formalise the pledges through a consent decree with the state attorneys general pursuing the case against the deal.
A split industry and a looming trial
The endorsements from Regal and AMC break with the exhibition trade group Cinema United, whose president Michael O'Leary has repeatedly opposed the acquisition and backed the lawsuit filed by a coalition of state attorneys general, led by California's Rob Bonta, seeking to block it. The states argue the merger would further concentrate control of major film studios and streaming platforms, including HBO Max and Paramount+, in fewer hands.
Acuna argued that a prolonged legal fight carries its own costs, saying a court battle stretching into next spring or summer would not put more films in theatres and would not benefit studios, filmmakers, moviegoers, or theatre businesses.
AMC's Adam Aron struck a similar note earlier this year at CinemaCon, the annual convention for cinema owners, saying he trusted Ellison to deliver on the 30-film pledge and was 'rooting for his success.' AMC also operates Odeon, Europe's largest cinema chain, giving the US executive a direct stake in how the merger plays out for European audiences and independent cinema operators.
Regulators worldwide, and a trial still to come
The deal has already received clearance from competition regulators in the European Union and dozens of other countries, alongside approval from the US Department of Justice, even as opposition persists domestically from unions including the Writers Guild of America and from Democratic lawmakers who have raised concerns about market concentration and Ellison's ties to the Trump administration.
Warner Bros. Discovery shareholders approved the merger in April. The deal now awaits the outcome of the state attorneys general's antitrust case, expected to go to trial next spring, before it can be completed.
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