The Directors Guild of America (DGA) is set to meet with Netflix as theater owners call its acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery an “unprecedented threat” to the movie business.
“The news that Netflix had secured exclusive rights to negotiate for WBD [Warner Bros. Discovery] raises significant concerns for the DGA,” the labor union said in a statement to TheWrap.
“We believe that a vibrant, competitive industry — one that fosters creativity and encourages genuine competition for talent — is essential to safeguarding the careers and creative rights of directors and their teams,” the guild said in a statement,” the DGA added.
The labor organization went on to say that it plans to meet with the streaming giant so that it can address its concerns with Netflix’s intentions for one of Hollywood’s most prominent studios.
“We will be meeting with Netflix to outline our concerns and better understand their vision for the future of the company. While we undertake this due diligence we will not be commenting further,” the statement continued.
Theater owners, meanwhile, are blasting the acquisition as an “unprecedented threat” to the film industry, TheWrap reported.
“The proposed acquisition of Warner Bros. by Netflix poses an unprecedented threat to the global exhibition business,” Cinema United President and CEO Michael O’Leary told the outlet.
“The negative impact of this acquisition will impact theatres from the biggest circuits to one-screen independents in small towns in the United States and around the world,” O’Leary continued.
The CEO of Cinema United, the world’s largest exhibition trade association, added that the organization is “ready to support industry changes that lead to increased movie production and give consumers more opportunities to enjoy a day at the local theatre.”
“But Netflix’s stated business model does not support theatrical exhibition. In fact, it is the opposite,” O’Leary asserted, before urging regulators to “look closely at the specifics of this proposed transaction and understand the negative impact it will have.”
Cinema United reportedly believes that Netflix acquiring Warner Bros. Discovery could risk axing roughly 25 percent of the annual domestic box office, due to the streaming giant having a tendency to release only a few films in theaters, with most being hosted on its platform.
O’Leary pointed out that “Netflix success is television, not movies on the big screen,” adding that “sporadic and truncated theatrical releases to meet awards criteria in a handful of theatres is not a commitment to exhibition.”
The Cinema United CEO also suggested the acquisition could harm local businesses in communities across the country.
“Research shows that for each dollar spent in a local movie theatre, an additional $1.50 is spent in surrounding businesses in the community — restaurants, bars, shopping centers, transportation,” he said.
“That is what is at risk here if we sanction fewer movies in the marketplace. Theatres will close, communities will suffer, jobs will be lost,” O’Leary warned.
California Attorney General Robert Bonta has also raised concerns over a potential Warner Bros. Discovery acquisition deal, telling TheWrap, “Further consolidation in markets that are central to American economic life” will not serve the U.S. economy, consumers, or competition.
Alana Mastrangelo is a reporter for Breitbart News. You can follow her on Facebook and X at @ARmastrangelo, and on Instagram.
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