On Dec. 5, 2025, Netflix reached an agreement to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. assets, estimated at $72 billion, and its film and television studios HBO Max and HBO. 

David Zaslav, President and CEO of Warner Bros. Discovery, said “Today’s announcement combines two of the greatest storytelling companies in the world to bring to even more people the entertainment they love to watch the most. For more than a century, Warner Bros. has thrilled audiences, captured the world’s attention, and shaped our culture. By coming together with Netflix, we will ensure people everywhere will continue to enjoy the world’s most resonant stories for generations to come.”

For IB Film teacher Grant Steckbeck, this announcement is alarming. 

“(It’s) one step closer to another monopoly.”

Sen. Mike Lee, member of the senate antitrust panel, shared his apprehension of the deal in a letter. 

“Netflix’s reported proposed acquisition of WBD’s studios and streaming business raises these concerns,” Lee wrote. “Based on publicly available information, this transaction appears likely to raise serious antitrust issues, including the risk of substantially lessening competition in streaming markets. If consummated, the acquisition could eliminate a major competitor, consolidate control over an extensive content library, and increase bargaining power over creators and talent.”

Steckbeck said despite public disapproval of the deal, it isn’t a surprising enterprise, referencing monopolies in the technology and healthcare industries. 

“It’s getting to be a bit much, you know. First it was Netflix, and then Paramount, and all the different streaming services and everything, but now everything is coming together,” Steckbeck said. “(For example), Disney Plus—they bought Hulu, Fox and ESPN… I mean, I guess entertainment’s just one thing. The heart underneath the monopoly umbrella does no one any good. You’d be surprised to know that everything is more or less connected in some way at this point.” 

Aside from worries over unethical business practices, many have expressed concerns over Netflix’s impact on future Warner Bros. releases, considering Netflix prioritizes high-volume, digital-first, original content, while Warner Bros. makes films suited for theatrical releases with a decades-old library of intellectual property.

Decline in movie theater attendance

After peaking in the early 2000s, movie ticket sales have been diminishing. Between 2000 and 2019, movie ticket sales declined from 5 per person per year to 3.7. However, due to the pandemic, this number down reduced to 0.7 in 2020. Average annual ticket sales have only recovered to 2.47 per person in 2023. 

Commonly citing the cost of tickets and concessions, and the comfortability of home viewing, a HarrisX survey found 45% of adults prefer to stream movies at home. Consequently, theaters and Hollywood executives have attempted to rebuild public interest in theatergoing, mainly through promoting “event” movies—big-budget films, often from franchises like Marvel or Star Wars. 

However, in a recent interview with the New York Times, Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos defended the release of big-budget blockbusters straight to streaming services. Referencing “Barbenheimer,” the 2023 cultural phenomenon inspired by the July 21 release date of both Greta Gerwig’s “Barbie” and Christopher Nolan’s “Oppenheimer,” Sarandos claimed an event of such magnitude could be replicated on streaming platforms. 

“Both of those movies would be great for Netflix,” Sarandos said. “They definitely would have enjoyed just as big an audience on Netflix.” 

Steckbeck said despite the visual advantages of viewing movies in theaters, he finds the recent rise of films with longer runtimes solicit viewing at home.  

“I think if movie theaters are going to survive they need to make it worthwhile, because right now, it’s great to go and see it on a big screen, and it’s great to have it as an experience, and there are some movies that very much benefit from that,” he said. “But I also think that there’s been a skew towards significantly longer runtime for movies. And that is only more beneficial for the home watching type of experience… For example, my wife and I, when we watched—tried really hard to watch—“Avatar: The Way of Water,” it took us about two weeks to get through the whole dang thing. I could not imagine having to sit through that in a theater. Sure, it’d be beautiful. It’d be gorgeous. It’d look stunning, but my God, I would be so bored. Because like, we literally, we didn’t get through like 45 minutes and we have to like go do something else cause it was—it’s too much.”

On their part, Maibel “MJ” Martell, IB Film student and senior, said theaters are not only an avenue to watch films, but a place to socialize with others and discuss the films being screened. 

“The experience of going to a movie theater is vastly different compared to the experience of streaming a movie,” Martell said. “Movies are meant to be a communal experience that you share with others, whether that be watching a blockbuster in a packed theater or talking about the movie afterwards with your friends.” 

In response to concerns over theatrical distribution, on Jan. 16 Sarandos announced that Netflix is committed to 45-day theatrical windows for Warner Bros. films, recognizing continued enthusiasm from theatergoers. As a recent example of this, AMC released Netflix’s “Stranger Things” series finale to 231 of its theaters on Dec. 31, gaining over $15 million in two days. That isn’t to deny, however, the continuous substitution of theater visits with waiting for new releases to reach streaming platforms. 

Quality concerns

Justine Bateman, actress, writer and director, admitted in a July 2023 interview that she has received notes from streamers regarding scripts stating that the content is not “second screen enough,” referring to dialogue and writing that isn’t easily understood when viewers primarily on another device. The concern, Bateman said, is the possibility that viewers, confused by the plot of a show or film, will turn it off. These comments suggest that streamers prioritize crafting easily-understandable narratives over nuanced stories requiring attention to detail. 

Martell is aware of this fact and said they worry Warner Bros. properties will see the same treatment. 

“I think this recent deal is going to influence how people watch movies, choosing to put something on in the background rather than sit down and absorb what’s happening on the screen.”

Monroe Melton, Film club vice-president and junior, said, considering Netflix has put out over 500 titles annually in recent years, more attention will be paid to the quantity of shows and movies over the quality of those projects. 

“Netflix movies tend to be kind-of bad because they’re always pumping them out,” she said. “(Movies produced by) Warner Bros., in my opinion, tend to be a lot better because they’re actually like, ‘We’re going to do 12 this year, we’re going to stick to 12, we’re going to make sure that they’re the best 12 we can do.’ While Netflix is just constantly pumping them out, so I feel like the quality is going to go down. But the quantity is going to go up by a lot.”

However, Melton cited recent projects, including “Frankenstein,” as evidence that future films from Netflix could receive critical acclaim. Critically, though, Melton said she believes the success of the project came from director Guillermo del Toro’s creative freedom.  

“‘Frankenstein’ was so beautiful. It could have been so overdone or underdone, but it was absolutely perfect,” Melton said. “I read the book and (I thought), “Oh, I remember that from the book,” and they kept things in but they didn’t overdo anything, which is so nice. But if you give that to an executive producer, it could (have been) the worst movie ever, or it could be so overdone to the point where you’re like just like overstimulated from it.”

Ultimately, Melton said she sees this development as another way cinema is evolving and accommodating to viewer’s needs, while championing the movie theater experience. 

“My mom brought it up actually the other day, and she (said), when all the music started going to streaming instead of like people buying CDs or DVDs, like people were like, ‘Oh no, we won’t be able to listen to music the way we did,’ but listening to music was always evolving,” she said. “For over 100 years we’ve been going to the movies to see movies, whether it’s a drive-in, whether it’s an actual movie theater, and so just being able to have that experience, which I personally love doing, that’s why I try to go to the movie theater once a week. Then, of course, sometimes people don’t have money for that, so that’s why they stick to streaming, which makes sense. I just hope that more people end up going to the movie theater to actually get the full experience.”