A takeover in Hollywood that has India's cinema-owners on the edge
Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. Netflix’s audacious bid for Warner Bros Discovery has sent ripples through Hollywood, and landed squarely in Indian cinemas, where exhibitors see both a looming disruption and a surprising opportunity.
Even as The Multiplex Association of India remains concerned about Netflix’s massive $82.7 billion acquisition bid for Warner Bros that could disrupt the studio’s supply of Hollywood films to theatres, and might instead stream them directly online, the past week has seen theatre owners in India anticipate mixed results from the deal. Exhibitors say the battle is about more than studio ownership: it could reset the balance between cinemas, streaming platforms and global film distribution.
The deal includes Warner Bros’ film and television studios and steaming services like HBO Max. IPs include titles like Harry Potter, Game of Thrones, FRIENDS and others.
While the threat to the movie theatre ecosystem remains, many also say this could be an opportunity for Netflix to strengthen its theatrical presence and leverage Warner’s distribution network to release films directly in the cinemas, including in India, having seen the box office performance of Apple’s sports drama F1: The Movie that made over ₹100 crore in the country earlier this year. Other than Apple, Amazon, a tech company with a streaming platform that made money from a theatrical release, also benefited from its acquisition of film and TV production and distribution house Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM), now having access to a large catalogue for cinemas.
Further, the over-the-top (OTT) business is also likely to see a churn, with intensified competition in the urban, English content space. To add to the action, Paramount Skydance laid
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