Movie Theater Chains Unite To Call Out Netflix and They're Demanding Answers
A major Hollywood shake-up is looming, and the people who run movie theaters aren’t thrilled with how little clarity they’re getting. The proposed acquisition of Warner Bros by Netflix hasn’t been approved yet, but it’s already causing friction across the industry.
This week, executives from both companies appeared before United States Congress, answering pointed questions from Senators who weren’t exactly sold on how this deal helps artists or audiences. Theater owners are feeling that same unease, and now they’re making some noise.
That pushback came in the form of an op-ed published in Variety, written by Michael O’Leary, the President and CEO of Cinema United. For anyone not steeped in exhibition politics, Cinema United represents the theatrical side of the business.
The CEOs of AMC, Regal, Cinemark, and several mid-sized circuits sit on its board. When O’Leary speaks in this role, he’s effectively voicing the collective concerns of the biggest theater chains in the country.
Those concerns were sharpened by testimony from Ted Sarandos, Netflix’s co-CEO, who told lawmakers that Warner Bros would continue releasing films theatrically and would respect a forty-five day exclusivity window before movies hit streaming.
That statement landed better than Netflix’s past rhetoric about theatrical releases, but O’Leary argues it still leaves too many unanswered questions.
In his editorial, O’Leary presses Netflix to spell out exactly what its long-term theatrical strategy looks like if the deal goes through.
How many Warner Bros films will get wide releases each year. How many will skip theaters entirely. What happens after that forty-five day window.
Will audiences be able to buy or rent those films, or will they immediately slide onto a streaming platform. And maybe most importantly, will Netflix put real marketing muscle behind these movies.
As O’Leary writes in the op-ed: “Netflix has given no indication how many Warner Bros. movies it intends to make each year, or how many are for wide release in 2,000 locations or more. Nor has it signaled how many ‘straight-to-streaming’ movies that Warner Bros. will produce annually and how that will impact resources and expertise now dedicated to theatrical movies.”
That uncertainty is at the heart of the issue. Netflix has told regulators that its biggest competitor is YouTube, not other studios or streamers, and Sarandos has repeatedly stressed that Warner Bros would continue operating like a traditional studio that partners with exhibitors. The loud commitment to theatrical windows is part of that pitch.
For theater owners, though, words alone aren’t cutting it. O’Leary makes it clear that the anxiety here goes beyond Netflix itself. It’s about what happens when any major studio ends up under the control of a company whose core business isn’t theatrical exhibition.
Theaters want specifics, not general assurances, because their survival depends on how these movies are released, marketed, and supported.
Until those answers are on the table, the exhibition community is going to keep pushing back. This isn’t just industry politics. It’s a fight over what the future of going to the movies actually looks like.