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Netflix takeover bid: CEO vows to keep Warner Bros films in cinemas

Author
AFP,
Publish Date
Wed, 17 Dec 2025, 1:08pm
Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos vows Warner Bros films will still hit cinemas after takeover bid. Photo / Blanca Cruz, AFP
Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos vows Warner Bros films will still hit cinemas after takeover bid. Photo / Blanca Cruz, AFP

Netflix takeover bid: CEO vows to keep Warner Bros films in cinemas

Author
AFP,
Publish Date
Wed, 17 Dec 2025, 1:08pm

Netflix will continue to distribute Warner Bros films in cinemas if its takeover bid for the esteemed studio is successful, the streaming service鈥檚 chief executive Ted Sarandos said in an interview today in Paris.

鈥淲e鈥檙e going to continue to operate Warner Bros. studios independently and release the movies traditionally in cinema,鈥 he said during an event in the French capital, while admitting his past comments on theatrical distribution 鈥渘ow confuse people鈥.

Previously, Sarandos had suggested that the cinema experience was outdated, surpassed by the convenience of streaming.

The Netflix boss was being interviewed by Maxime Saada, head of France鈥檚 Canal+ media group, in a Paris theatre that was presenting Canal+鈥檚 projects for 2026.

Netflix only began to produce its own programmes a dozen years ago, Sarandos explained, so: 鈥淥ur library only extends back a decade, where Warner Bros extends back 100 years. So they know a lot about things that we haven鈥檛 ever done, like theatrical distribution.鈥

In early December, Netflix announced that it had reached an agreement with Warner Bros Discovery (WBD) to acquire most of the group for US$83 billion ($143.5b).

However, doubts remain about whether the deal will be approved by regulators, and in the meantime television and film group Paramount Skydance has made a counter-offer valued at US$108.4b.

If Netflix鈥檚 bid is successful, it would acquire HBO Max, one of the world鈥檚 largest media platforms, and it would find itself at the head of a movie catalogue including the Harry Potter and The Lord of the Rings sagas, as well as the superheroes of DC Studios.

- Agence France-Presse

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