International Industry React To Netflix-WB Bombshell With Indies Lamenting “Death Of Hollywood”, But Studio Vets More Upbeat
International industry are trying to make sense of the overnight bombshell that Netflix is buying Warner Bros, which has been confirmed this morning by the two companies.
We have cast the reaction net far and wide this morning. Responses to the deal vary considerably. Former WarnerMedia CEO Jason Kilar tweeted his thoughts last night. Some Warner Bros Discovery international staff we spoke to off the record this morning expressed dismay. Others expressed hope that a deal would at least provide some clarity on company direction.
A number of international studio execs we spoke to said they understood the business sense of the deal and that there are benefits to this deal rather than a Paramount or Comcast pact. But there was serious concern among leading independent distributors and producers about the potential impact on theatrical and the broader ecosystem.
One leading UK film producer we spoke to echoed a familiar refrain by going a step further than Kilar: “This feels like the death of Hollywood,” they lamented. “This is terrible,” added a leading Scandinavian indie distributor. “The only shot now is anti-trust.”
“It’s hard not to see this as depressing,” another head of a leading European film company noted. “Get ready for the Harry Potter – K-Pop Demon Hunters mashup,” one longtime indie marketing executive quipped, perhaps presciently.
A senior British TV producer said the takeover was “very bad” for the industry, sharing a link to a Jane Fonda op-ed in another trade in which the Oscar-winner said it would mean “fewer jobs, fewer opportunities to sell work, fewer creative risks, fewer news sources and far less diversity in the stories Americans get to hear.”
One longtime overseas studio head offered a more upbeat take: “Netflix must feel that they are in such a strong financial position that it’s too good of a move not to make. If they get WB, they get a dominant global position. It’s a smart move. I think they will be better stewards than Discovery or AT&T. I see them maintaining some kind of theatrical business alongside streaming. I think at this point in their life cycle, they can afford to keep much of it standing alongside. I honestly think this will create less job loss and more opportunity than the other bids.”
Another international studio boss posited: “Personally, I’d have found it more depressing for Universal or Paramount to have taken over Warner Bros, as it would kill another quality distributor. Netflix seem to be finally seeing the benefit of theatrical distribution (and even a theatrical window, albeit limited) and I’m excited to see things like the finale of Stranger Things in a cinema. Netflix do shared global events well. They’d inherit a distribution powerhouse which would complement their D2C business. I guess the question is the balance between them seeing this as a way to get WB IP into Netflix vs getting Netflix IP into cinemas and shared experiences. I feel they’ve come some way along that journey, and maybe we’ll see an explosion of what we used to call “alternative content” on the big screen. Will it make for better movies? Maybe. Netflix have a decent track record with quality films.”
Despite official confirmation from WBD of their intention to sell to Netflix, not all see it as a done deal. One head of a leading international company told us: “It’s not over yet. It’s not really the Warner Bros board that will decide where Warner Bros ends up. It’s Trump’s DOJ and FTC. Given his closeness to Ellison, I’d expect some serious anti-trust complications to emerge in coming weeks.”
Some were incredulous, a sign of how swift and decisive Netflix’s move has been. One longtime production and distribution boss based in Europe posited: “I think we’re in the middle of the second act. This could be a charade. My intel was that the Paramount deal was pretty much done.”
