You don’t hear a lot of full-throated endorsements of media consolidation these days, what with the way most actual human beings get an involuntary shudder down their spines at the thought of ever-growing chunks of our entertainment, news, and general cultural infrastructure coming under the sweaty-palmed control of a shrinking number of hands. But that’s just because you, dear reader, are not the CEO of one of the planet’s biggest movie theater chains, and thus couldn’t possibly give a shit about any of that. (Unless you are: Hi, Regal CEO Eduardo Acuna! Thanks for reading!) The theater chains only care about one thing: Serving as air-conditioned conduits for as many big-ass movies as possible. So as long as the new oligarchs can keep the moving pictures of Spider-Man rolling in—amidst a box office summer that’s been the biggest since the COVID-19 lockdowns—the big chains will happily cheer them on as they continue to The Blob themselves into one massive conglomerate.
This is per Variety, which reports that Cinemark has just become the third of the United States’ three major theater chains to give a full-throated endorsement of the currently brewing Paramount-Warner Bros. merger, politely asking state attorneys general to get the hell out of the way of Paramount CEO David Ellison making good on his promise to feed them at least 30 studio films per year once he combines the two companies in a $111 billion deal. Like the heads of AMC and Regal, Cinemark has apparently decided that magic is beautiful and hope is real and that they can completely believe Ellison when he says he will continue to keep this pipeline rolling, along with a commitment to waiting 45 days before allowing movies to go to VOD.
Which honestly feels like pretty guileless behavior, for a group of CEOs who we have to assume are usually pretty cutthroat businesspeople. Admittedly, Cinemark does appear to have waited until Ellison stated his willingness to put his promises down in writing before it joined the chorus calling for the sale, but it’s not clear how fully enforceable those promises will be if the Paramount Skydance CEO decides to just, like, change his mind down the line. Anyway, here’s a sentence an actual human being (presumably) wrote for Cinemark’s statement, talking about how cool and good media consolidation is: “We have consistently stated we would look favorably upon media consolidation that increases the quality and output of films released into theaters with sufficient marketing campaigns and theatrical windows, and that is backed by firm commitments to ensure follow-through.”
Interestingly, Cinemark’s statement is at firm odds with statements put out this week by Cinema United, a lobbying group that represents theater exhibitors in America—including, in case it wasn’t obvious, AMC, Regal, and Cinemark—and which is still refusing to give its own endorsement of the sale. (It’s instead pushing for Ellison and the state AGs to find some sort of fuller compromise to overcome concerns about the anti-trust implications of the sale, which will see the number of major Hollywood studios drop from five to four.) That fight is ongoing, with the current court case currently delayed until 2027, and Ellison making noises about pulling his businesses out of California in retaliation.
Keep scrolling for more great stories.