Cinema was Never Meant to be a Subscription: Why you Should Care About Netflix Buying Warner Bros.
By Aoibhe McDaid-Nelis
Netflix’s latest press release announcing its $82.7bn acquisition of Warner Bros reads like a victory lap for modern entertainment. The deal promises to “strengthen the entertainment industry,” create “more choice and greater value for consumers” and herald in a new golden age, uniting Warner Bros. “iconic franchises” with Netflix’s “leading entertainment service.” [1]
Away from the investors and executives, the reaction in Hollywood and the rest of the world has been far darker. For movie theatres already hanging on by a thread due to the pandemic, or the declining interest in watching films in cinemas, this merger feels more like a death sentence.
Beneath the guise of opportunity and choice, lies a much simpler reality. A company which openly questions the necessity of cinemas is about to own one of the most important theatrical studios in history.
So, what is this Netflix deal really about?
Netflix insists this acquisition is a win for everyone.
In an email sent out to subscribers, Netflix stated that by combining Warner Bros.’ “iconic stories” – from Casablanca and Citizen Kane to Harry Potter, The Dark Knight, The Sopranos, and Game of Thrones – with Netflix originals like Stranger Things, Bridgerton, and Squid Game, the company says it will create an “extraordinary offering for consumers worldwide.” [2]
I wouldn’t consider myself a film critic by any means, however even I know that putting theatrical classics like Casablanca and Citizen Kane next to Bridgerton might not calm the fear of movie lovers across the world.
Executives have gone out of their way to get ahead of these worries. Netflix says it will maintain Warner Bros.’ current operations, including theatrical releases. It promises more jobs, more production, more opportunities for creatives, and billions in annual cost savings that will supposedly “strengthen the entire entertainment industry.” [3]
Ted Sarandos, current co-CEO of Netflix, (who recently stated in an interview with Variety that movie theatres are “outdated”), framed the deal as the natural evolution of storytelling itself, Netflix and Warner Bros. together defining “the next century of entertainment.” [4] [5]
But that vision depends on one crucial assumption: that cinema, as a physical, communal experience, still matters to the company buying it.
And history suggests otherwise.
For movie theatres, Netflix is not just another studio. It is the company most responsible for normalising the idea that films no longer need theatres at all.
Netflix’s streaming-first strategy has long clashed with film exhibitors. Many U.S. cinemas still refuse to screen Netflix films because of the company’s resistance to meaningful theatrical windows.
As one film exhibitor told the BBC:
“This is a company openly, proudly saying theatres aren’t necessary anymore. That’s scary. It’s a nightmare.” [6]
When Netflix says this deal offers “more choice”, what it really offers is more content in one place. And concentration has consequences.
Warner Bros.’ decline (and eventual sale) has already battered an industry still reeling from pandemic shutdowns, strikes, and a production slowdown that never rebounded. According to the BBC, the loss of Warner Bros. as an independent studio means fewer buyers for film and television projects, fewer green-lights for new projects, and far more job cuts. [7]
This reality cuts directly against Netflix’s promise of “more opportunities for the creative community.” [8]
This consolidation does not expand opportunity for filmmakers; it narrows it tremendously. When one company has the ability to control both the production and exhibition of a movie, power flows upward by default. Creators might gain access to famous IP, but they lose leverage. Cinemas lose negotiating power, and audiences lose alternatives.
And once theatres close, they do not reopen.
But is this the lesser of two evils?
Not everyone is entirely against this merger. Paramount’s rival bid is backed by foreign sovereign wealth funds and billionaires closely aligned with Donald Trump, a man whose infamy does not lie in his protection of anti-censorship laws. Netflix, by contrast, is seen as less ideological and fewer hands on creatively. Technically, filmmakers would still control their own sets. [9]
But this view misses the larger problem: Hollywood is being carved up by entities too large and too powerful to care about the longevity of cinema and the art of film making itself.
Already, Forbes has reported at least a 2% drop in cinema stocks since the announcement. [10] Clearly, investors know that theatres are not going to be sold out for at least the next few months.
Realistically, everyone knows that this merger is about power, not convenience.
Netflix says this acquisition will strengthen the entertainment industry. For shareholders, it most definitely will. For consumers, it will mean more titles on one app. For cinema owners, film workers, and anyone who believes that movies should exist beyond the small screen of an iPhone, it represents something else entirely.
Netflix says this deal will create more choice. But choice for who exactly?
For students in Belfast, for young filmmakers at Queen’s, and for local cinemas which are already struggling, the consolidation of Warner Bros. into a global streaming giant doesn’t offer any solace about the future of their craft.
Realistically, this isn’t about resisting change. It’s about recognising that culture needs physical places, not just digital platforms. “Get out of the dark age!”, I can already hear them shouting, however, the problem here isn’t a battle over the evolution of cinema. It instead encompasses the wider debate over who controls culture; whether cinema is allowed to remain a public art form, rather than a private subscription, available only to those who can afford Netflix’s large price increase that will inevitably come with this merger.
If cinema disappears, it won’t be because students stopped caring about films. It will be because the systems that once made cinema accessible decided it was no longer profitable to keep the lights on.
Movies don’t disappear because people stop loving them. They disappear when monopolies make it impossible for the places that show them to survive.
And no press release, however optimistic, is going to change that.
References
1 “Netflix to Acquire Warner Bros. Following the Separation of Discovery Global for a Total Enterprise Value of $82.7 Billion (Equity Value of $72.0 Billion) – about Netflix.” 2025. About Netflix. 2025. https://about.netflix.com/news/netflix-to-acquire-warner-bros.
2 “Netflix to Acquire Warner Bros. Following the Separation of Discovery Global for a Total Enterprise Value of $82.7 Billion (Equity Value of $72.0 Billion) – about Netflix.” 2025. About Netflix. 2025. https://about.netflix.com/news/netflix-to-acquire-warner-bros.
3“Netflix to Acquire Warner Bros. Following the Separation of Discovery Global for a Total Enterprise Value of $82.7 Billion (Equity Value of $72.0 Billion) – about Netflix.” 2025. About Netflix. 2025. https://about.netflix.com/news/netflix-to-acquire-warner-bros.
4 Shanfeld, Ethan. “Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos Says Movie Theater Model Is ‘Outdated’: ‘Most of the Country’ Cannot ‘Walk to a Multiplex’ ” Variety, April 24, 2025. https://variety.com/2025/film/news/netflix-ceo-ted-sarandos-movie-theaters-outdated-1236376565/
5 “Netflix to Acquire Warner Bros. Following the Separation of Discovery Global for a Total Enterprise Value of $82.7 Billion (Equity Value of $72.0 Billion) – about Netflix.” 2025. About Netflix. 2025. https://about.netflix.com/news/netflix-to-acquire-warner-bros.
6 Morris, Regan. 2025. “Hollywood Panics as Paramount-Netflix Battle for Warner Bros,” December 14, 2025. https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c8dyy47qy82o.
7 “Netflix to Acquire Warner Bros. Following the Separation of Discovery Global for a Total Enterprise Value of $82.7 Billion (Equity Value of $72.0 Billion) – about Netflix.” 2025. About Netflix. 2025. https://about.netflix.com/news/netflix-to-acquire-warner-bros.
8 Morris, Regan. 2025. “Hollywood Panics as Paramount-Netflix Battle for Warner Bros,” December 14, 2025. https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c8dyy47qy82o.
9 Varghese, Harshita Mary, Aditya Soni, and Dawn Chmielewski. 2025. “Warner Bros Fight Heats up with $108 Billion Hostile Bid from Paramount.” Reuters, December 8, 2025. https://www.reuters.com/legal/transactional/paramount-makes-1084-billion-bid-warner-bros-discovery-2025-12-08/.
10 IV, Antonio Pequeño. 2025. “Cinema Stocks Drop after Netflix Suggests Films Could Be in Theatres for Shorter after Warner Bros. Acquisition.” Forbes, December 5, 2025. https://www.forbes.com/sites/antoniopequenoiv/2025/12/05/cinema-stocks-drop-after-netflix-suggests-shorter-theatrical-releases-following-warner-bros-acquisition/.
