Published: January 26, 2026
This past fall, Warner Bros. Discovery announced it was putting the company up for sale and would soon be accepting bids. After about a month-long bidding war between Netflix, Paramount, and Comcast, it was revealed on December 4th, 2025, that Netflix had won the bidding war with a massive $82.7B deal. But, the sale to Netflix has not yet been finalized as the U.S. The Department of Justice could also interfere due to antitrust concerns. However, let’s discuss what Warner Bros.’ future may potentially look like under the ownership of Netflix.
Killing Theatrical Windows: Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos has already announced plans to change Warner Bros.’ theatrical release model in the coming years. Warner Bros. movies will stay in theaters, but theatrical release windows will become shorter, with Sarandos calling longer theatrical windows something that “we don’t really think are that consumer-friendly.” What would that even look like? It’s unclear, but very likely not the 45-day window that theatrical exhibitors have come to prefer. The most recent update reveals that Netflix is interested in 17-day theatrical windows. When asked if Netflix is destroying Hollywood with its plan, he responded by saying, “No, we’re saving Hollywood.” “We’re in a period of transition. Folks grew up thinking, ‘I want to make movies on a gigantic screen and have strangers watch them … [and have them] play in the theater for two months…It’s an outdated concept.” Is it, though? Most of Hollywood does not agree. The Writers Guild of America (WGA), led by Christopher Nolan, already plans to meet with Netflix, stating that the merger “must be stopped.”
The Future of HBO/ HBO Max: Netflix has confirmed that they will keep HBO Max around as a standalone service while also periodically adding WB/HBO content to Netflix. However, with the introduction of all these new valuable IPs to Netflix, it is likely that subscription prices will skyrocket once again. There will likely be a bundle available to band the two streamers together, possibly looking at a Disney+/Hulu type relationship. However, this is also just what Netflix is saying at the moment, likely to aid the merger through regulatory hurdles, so it’s fairly likely Netflix will fully consume HBO Max.
Paramount’s Retaliation: Let’s just say that Paramount is not happy about Netflix winning the bidding war. But they may have shot themselves in the foot just the day before the war ended, when the CEO of Paramount Skydance, David Ellison, personally embarrassed the company by sending WBD a letter complaining that they were favoring Netflix throughout negotiations. It’s now being said that Paramount is launching a hostile takeover of Warner Bros., going directly to the shareholders with a bid of $108B. Despite the bidding war supposedly being over, Paramount is not giving up. They have vowed that they would release 30+ movies in theaters annually if they beat Netflix, saying, “We’re going to satisfy the needs of the moviegoing public.” The company is being backed by Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Abu Dhabi, as well as Jared Kushner’s Affinity partners, and potentially President Donald Trump as well (They seem to keep changing their minds on whether they actually like each other or not), who has said that he will be involved in the final decision on this sale. Paramount’s most recent comments reveal that they intend to sue Warner Bros. Discovery.
If everything goes through, the deal will take at least a year and not happen until AFTER WB spins off into WBD’s Global Networks division, Discovery Global in late 2026. Most of the current leadership at Warner Bros. Discovery will remain, including CEO/ President David Zaslav, Michael De Luca, Pam Abdy, and James Gunn. Will this be a good move for the industry? Maybe, maybe not. Let’s see how things play out. Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos has made a general statement on buying Warner Bros: “Our mission has always been to entertain the world. By combining Warner Bros.’ incredible library of shows & movies — from timeless classics like Casablanca and Citizen Kane to modern favorites like Harry Potter and Friends — with our culture-defining titles like Stranger Things, KPop Demon Hunters, and Squid Game, we’ll be able to do that even better. Together, we can give audiences more of what they love and help define the next century of storytelling.”
