EXCLUSIVE: With the Paramount-Warner Bros Discovery merger hung up in a pending antitrust trial that’s set for March 2027, Regal Global Entertainment’s Eduardo Acuna, CEO of the No. 2 theater chain, is throwing his support behind the union of the two historic studios, saying tonight, “It is time for all parties to sit down and work out how to formalize these commitments.
“A long fight in court that extends into spring or summer doesn’t put more films in theaters, and is not beneficial to studios, filmmakers, the guests who go to the movies, or theater businesses like Regal and the people who work for them,” writes Acuna in a statement.
“It just creates more uncertainty and distraction that could be damaging to our industry as we build on our current success,” adds the No. 2 circuit boss.
This is the first time that Regal has made its support of a Paramount-Warner Bros Discovery merger public. Essentially the belief here is that a prolonged legal trial would cost Paramount hundreds of millions of dollars which would be better spent on movies. For Regal, the reason why Paramount-Warner Bros Discovery isn’t Disney-Fox 2.0 stems from the firm promises that Paramount CEO David Ellison is giving exhibition of at least 30 movies annually with a 45 day PVOD window and 90 days to SVOD for at least three years.
Says Acuna, “I believe David is sincere in making these commitments, and he has offered to execute a consent decree to the State AGs to that effect.”
With the 2026 year-to-date domestic box office at $6 billion plus-strong, at the best levels we’ve seen since 2019, throwing a monkey wrench into the pending Paramount-Warner Bros Discovery marriage is bad for business is the thinking of the top two global exhibitors, AMC and now Regal. Acuna follows No. 1 circuit Boss, AMC’s Adam Aron, who also publicly rallied around a Paramount-WBD merger in a July 29 Variety column, writing, “The AG’s lawsuit argues, in part, that this merger needs to be prevented to protect companies like mine. Well thanks, but no thanks. Their complaint simply gets the economics of our business backwards.”
Note the top two global circuits don’t see eye-to-eye on the merger with senior U.S. exhibitor trade org, Cinema United, whose CEO Michael O’Leary has been vehemently against Paramount’s pending acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery, believing that a collapse of theatrical product and box office is imminent, just like what occurred with the Disney-Fox combo. Cinema United believes that the merger would be detrimental to exhibitors of all sizes. “We mutually committed to talking further to see if we could align on enforceable commitments that would allay our concerns about the merger,” O’Leary has written in a previous statement to Variety, “On July 1, after what Cinema United believed were additional constructive conversations with Paramount, we provided them with a comprehensive list of our concerns to move the discussions forward. We have not heard from them since.”
You can read Acuna’s full statement below:
This year has been an important one for our industry. Attendance is up, younger audiences are coming out in numbers we haven’t seen in years, and the upcoming release schedule looks just as strong. While there is real momentum, we need a thriving studio system to ensure that the industry has a platform from which to grow.
This is why, after much consideration, we believe it’s time for Paramount Skydance’s acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery to move forward. 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. I believe David is sincere in making these commitments, and he has offered to execute a consent decree to the State AGs to that effect. These are tangible and important commitments that will benefit the industry and which can be measured.
A long fight in court that extends into spring or summer doesn’t put more films in theaters, and is not beneficial to studios, filmmakers, the guests who go to the movies, or theater businesses like Regal and the people who work for them. It just creates more uncertainty and distraction that could be damaging to our industry as we build on our current success. It is time for all parties to sit down and work out how to formalize these commitments. With these measures in place, we believe that Paramount can be an effective steward of these studios that mean an enormous amount to people who love movies.
While Cinemark hasn’t issued a statement of late in favor of the merger, the No. 3’s CEO and President Sean Gamble has been upbeat about the potential marriage, speaking in favor of it at the Morgan Stanley Technology, Media & Telecom Conference 2026, saying, “Anything that leads to sustained or increased levels of investment in the number and scale of releases theatrically, that continue to have a robust theatrical window and comprehensive marketing campaigns is viewed as a positive for the industry. I think we’re hearing all the right things.”
Also shouting out their support of late for the merger is CEO of TKO Group Holdings, Ari Emanuel, who in a WSJ column called the antitrust lawsuit “trash,” arguing the merger “could save Hollywood”.
While there’s a division among creatives out there about the merger, with 4x Oscar nominated actor Mark Ruffalo leading an opposition letter, there are others such as Top Gun: Maverick producer Jerry Bruckheimer, who told us at the PGAs, he’s “optimistic” about the pending Paramount-Warner Bros Discovery merger and Ellison’s promise of 30 movies annually. “David loves movies. He’s gonna make a lot of movies. You just gotta give him good scripts.”
Bruckheimer further added in an appearance at April’s CinemaCon that when it came to the merger, “Look, I think the train has left the station. I think this is well on its way. You can sign all the petitions you want, but [the merger is] already being approved by European countries. It’s happening. So there’s not much we can do about it other than take [Paramount’s] David [Ellison] at his word that he’s going to make 30 movies [a year], and that would be fantastic.”