Overview
- Cinemark publicly endorsed the $111 billion Paramount Skydance–Warner Bros. Discovery deal on Tuesday and joined AMC and Regal in calling for an expedited resolution so the merger can proceed.
- Exhibitor support is tied to Paramount Skydance CEO David Ellison’s offer to lock pledges into written commitments and consent decrees that would guarantee at least 30 theatrical releases a year and minimum windows of about 45 days before PVOD and 90 days before SVOD.
- Cinema United, the exhibition industry’s main trade group, continues to oppose the sale and warns consolidation could reduce film output and lead to theater closures, creating a public split between major chains and their lobbyists.
- The deal remains legally blocked by a 12-state antitrust suit led by California that won a pause on closing and a March 2, 2027 merits trial in federal court, while Paramount faces rising delay fees and potential termination costs that increase pressure to settle.
- Cinemark’s call for California to negotiate narrows the window for regulators to reach a settlement and makes it more likely the next steps will be either a court trial in March or a negotiated consent that spells out enforceable theatrical protections.