Cinema United President and CEO Michael O’Leary and board Chair Mike Bowers reversed the movie theater trade group’s position Tuesday in California’s federal antitrust fight over Paramount Skydance’s $110 billion acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery.
They urged Attorney General Rob Bonta and Paramount CEO David Ellison to negotiate because they said prolonged uncertainty threatened box-office momentum and the entertainment industry.
O’Leary and Bowers said the industry’s recovery depended on the two sides discussing a resolution with protections for theaters and moviegoers.
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“For many in our industry, the current environment is marked by disruption and uncertainty. That is why we believe that it is incumbent upon both of you to meet in good faith to discuss a resolution that would provide robust protections and serve the entire industry. In fact, it is the next logical step,” O’Leary and Bowers said.
Cinema United explained its reversal in a statement to Fox News Digital Wednesday, saying concerns about consolidation remained, but settlement talks represented the next opportunity to secure protections for theaters.
“Despite our legitimate concerns about industry consolidation, Cinema United, on behalf of our executive board and the entire exhibition community, yesterday called for the AGs and Paramount to meet and discuss (a) settlement,” a Cinema United spokesperson said.
“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.”
California Republican Party Chairwoman Corrin Rankin told Fox News Digital Wednesday that Bonta should enter negotiations, accusing Democrats of using lawsuits and regulations that increased costs and drove businesses from the state.
“Democrats keep writing the same bad script, and Californians are stuck paying the price in higher rent, gas and grocery bills. Their endless politically-motivated lawsuits, taxes and red tape drive jobs and opportunity out of California while making life harder for the families and businesses who stay,” Rankin said.
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Bonta told reporters Tuesday that his office welcomed theater owners’ views but maintained that the proposed transaction violated the law, according to Reuters.
“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,” Bonta said.
Paramount had taken the opposite position in a July statement to Fox News Digital, blaming the state challenge for prolonging the industry’s difficulties.
“Delaying this transaction will only harm entertainment workers who have already suffered over recent years as technology has disrupted their livelihood and cost California tens of thousands of entertainment jobs,” a Paramount spokesperson said.
Republican attorney general nominee Michael Gates responded to Cinema United’s call for negotiations by criticizing Bonta’s lawsuit and warning that continued litigation could threaten California entertainment jobs.
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“Bonta should accept Cinema United’s invitation and come to his senses. Frankly, Bonta should drop the lawsuit all together,” Gates said in a statement to Fox News Digital.
Bonta’s office told Fox News Digital the office had previously investigated potential Warner Bros. purchases by either Netflix or Paramount.
“The lawsuit against Paramount resulted from clear-cut antitrust analysis, based on the facts and the law,” Bonta’s press office said.
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Cinema United said it represented 30,000 U.S. movie screens and had previously supported the coalition of 12 states seeking to block the acquisition. The group requested enforceable safeguards requiring Paramount to maintain or expand wide theatrical releases and exclusive theater windows, prevent higher film rental terms, preserve theaters’ ability to book titles without onerous conditions and guarantee continued access to both companies’ film catalogs.
The reversal came as domestic box-office receipts had reached $6.8 billion as of Wednesday, nearly 20% above the same period in 2025. Cinemark also joined AMC Theatres and Regal Cinemas in supporting an expedited resolution, while the Directors Guild of America and IATSE had urged Bonta and Ellison to negotiate or advance the trial.
The antitrust trial is scheduled to begin March 2, 2027. Paramount asked a federal judge Monday to require the states and the Writers Guild of America to post a $1.88 billion bond, saying it faced a $7 million daily fee after Sept. 30.
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