By Dawn Chmielewski
LOS ANGELES, Aug 18 (Reuters) – Cinema United, a trade organization representing theater owners, on Tuesday appealed to California Attorney General Rob Bonta and Paramount Skydance to discuss settling a lawsuit that seeks to block the $110 billion merger of the Hollywood studio with Warner Bros Discovery.
The trade group previously opposed the deal. Cinema United’s call for California and the company to explore a resolution to the 11-state antitrust lawsuit came after the third-largest U.S. theater chain, Cinemark, joined the two biggest chains, AMC Theatres and Regal Cinemas, in supporting the merger.
The trade group urged a settlement in a letter to Bonta and Paramount CEO David Ellison and asked for “tangible and enforceable guardrails” that would protect theater owners and moviegoers.
“Since the outset, we have been open to steps that will protect the exhibition industry. This is the next step in that process to ensure a thriving industry for generations to come,” a Cinema United spokesperson said.
Bonta said on Tuesday that while his office is happy to hear theater owners’ views, “the fact remains that this proposed merger breaks the law.”
“It will lead to job loss. It will lead to wage cuts. It will lead to higher prices for consumers to go to the movies or to watch cable television,” he told reporters.
Cinemark, AMC and Regal are part of Cinema United, which represents 30,000 movie screens in the U.S.
California and 11 states sued to block Paramount’s acquisition of Warner Bros Discovery, alleging the deal would create a media behemoth with the power to raise prices in film and television.
States including New York, Arizona and Minnesota argued the deal would harm theaters and television distributors, raise prices for consumers and make wages less competitive for workers.
Cinema United on Tuesday sought a long-term commitment that Paramount would maintain or expand the number of films the studios offer in wide release, provisions that the merger would not increase the fees theater owners pay to exhibit films and continued access to the vast film libraries of Paramount and Warner Bros.
Paramount could immediately be reached for comment.
(Reporting by Dawn Chmielewski in Los Angeles, Nathan Frandino in Oakland and Jody Godoy in New York; editing by Chris Sanders, Cynthia Osterman and Aurora Ellis)
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