Cinemark Backs $111 Billion Paramount-Warner Merger as All 3 Major Chains Line Up
Updated
Updated · Variety · Aug 18
Cinemark Backs $111 Billion Paramount-Warner Merger as All 3 Major Chains Line Up
3 articles · Updated · Variety · Aug 18
Summary
Cinemark endorsed the $111 billion Paramount-Warner Bros. Discovery merger, making AMC, Regal and Cinemark the three major U.S. theater chains now publicly behind the deal.
30 films a year and 45-day theatrical runs helped win that support, with Cinemark saying Paramount is ready to put those pledges into written commitments and consent decrees.
Cinema United still opposes a Warner sale in principle, warning consolidation could cut film supply and close theaters, but it also called for settlement talks with Paramount minutes after Cinemark's statement.
12 state attorneys general are suing to block the merger, which is on hold pending a 2027 trial, while David Ellison has threatened to pull Paramount out of California as soon as October without negotiations.
The stakes are high for exhibitors because domestic summer box office has already topped $4 billion for only the second time since COVID, with annual revenue potentially reaching $10 billion for the first time since 2019.