Will Donald Trump Block The Netflix & Warner Bros Merger?

Is the movie theater industry at its breaking point?

President Donald Trump is rumored to be looking to block the Netflix acquisition of Warner Bros at the behest of his friend David Ellison, the CEO of Paramount, whose bid for the historic film studio was rejected for the Netflix offer.

A White House administrator has talked to the Wall Street Journal about how concerned Trump is, and he may try to have the DOJ antitrust chief implode the deal by investigating Netflix for antitrust laws and a streaming monopoly. (Which is funny cause last time Trump played Monopoly, he had Jeffrey Epstein arrested for stealing the horse game piece.)

Donald Trump, on the red carpet Sunday at the Kennedy Center Honors event in Washington, D.C., admitted he met with Sarandos last week at the White House. Trump said, “Sarandos is a fantastic man. I have a lot of respect for him, but it’s a lot of market share.”

Let me be clear, whether Netflix or Paramount buys Warner Bros, it will just be another death blow to the movie theater industry. Netflix wants films to either bypass movie theaters or shorten the theatrical release window. Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos has already walked back on his promise that Netflix wouldn't change the Warner Bros release model in a conference call.

“I wouldn’t look at this as a change in approach for Netflix movies or for Warner movies. I think, over time, the windows will evolve to be much more consumer friendly, to be able to meet the audience where they are quicker … I’d say right now, you should count on everything that is planned on going to the theater through Warner Bros. will continue to go to the theaters through Warner Bros., and Netflix movies will take the same strides they have, which is, some of them do have a short run in the theater beforehand. But our primary goal is to bring first-run movies to our members, because that’s what they’re looking for.”

Paramount, on the other hand, has rubbed the film industry and longtime employees with its cold, non-coddling Silicon Valley approach. The Hollywood Reporter said that Ramsey Naito, former head of Paramount Animation, was disrespected and talked down to in a meeting for devaluing the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles brand after the 2023 animated film 'TMNT: Mutant Mayhem' grossed $182 million worldwide on a $30 million budget and generated over a billion dollars in merchandise. When she stood up for herself, she was told to "get over it."

Do you want Netflix or Paramount to win the purchase of Warner Bros? Comment below with your thoughts.

Visit Dan Lalonde Films For All Technology And Entertainment News

Written By: Dan Lalonde

Photo Credit: Getty/Netflix/Warner Bros