Cameron warns Netflix–Warner merger could sink theatrical ecosystem and hurt National CineMedia

Cameron flags existential threat to theatrical ecosystem

CANNES/LOS ANGELES — Filmmaker James Cameron warns that a proposed deal for Netflix to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery’s film studio risks turning the theatrical business into a “sinking ship,” escalating concerns that reach beyond filmmaking to cinemas and cinema advertisers such as National CineMedia. In a letter to Senator Mike Lee obtained by CNBC, Cameron says the consolidation could sharply reduce the volume of theatrical releases and theatrical runs, cutting the pipeline that feeds movie theaters and the advertising inventory that companies rely on.

Cameron argues the combined scale of Netflix and Warner Bros. Discovery could accelerate a direct-to-streaming focus, diminishing first-run theatrical windows and lowering box office-driven foot traffic. For National CineMedia, which sells advertising shown before films and relies on regular, high-attendance releases for inventory and pricing power, such a shift threatens revenue and campaign reach. The filmmaker frames the change as a broader cultural and economic loss: fewer theatrical premieres mean fewer marquee events that draw audiences into multiplexes and generate the large, concentrated audiences advertisers pay to reach.

The letter also warns of job losses across Hollywood production, distribution and exhibition if studios streamline releases and invest more directly in streaming. That outcome would ripple to cinema suppliers and ad-tech firms that service exhibitors and advertisers. Industry executives and trade groups are already tracking how shifts in release strategy affect concession and advertising sales, and cinema-ad companies are assessing scenario plans should major content owners move the bulk of their premieres off the theatrical window.

Lawmakers probe merger implications

Senator Mike Lee, who chairs a Senate subcommittee on antitrust and consumer rights, says he has received outreach from actors and directors and expects further oversight after an early-February hearing that featured Netflix co‑CEO Ted Sarandos and Warner Bros. Discovery executives. Lawmakers are considering a follow-up hearing to probe consumer pricing and competition impacts, with Cameron’s intervention adding public pressure on regulators to scrutinize how the deal would alter theatrical distribution and employment.

Streaming giant responds with spending pledge

Netflix, noting its written testimony and Sarandos’ hearing remarks, counters that a combined company would boost production, pointing to plans for $20 billion in film and TV spending in 2026, much of it in the United States. It says the deal would increase rather than reduce production investments, a claim that industry observers and exhibitors will weigh as antitrust authorities and Congress examine potential effects on the theatrical marketplace and advertising-dependent cinema businesses.