Paramount seeks theater commitments for 30-film slate in court fight with U.S. antitrust regulators over Warner Bros. merger

Paramount is making new bids to secure exhibition partners for a large annual movie slate as part of its legal fight over a proposed combination involving Warner Bros. Discovery, a dispute that has been tied to an antitrust case brought by the U.S. government. Deadline reported that Paramount is attempting to show it can sustain access to theaters even as regulators continue to challenge the merger. The latest effort, the report says, centers on formal commitments that would place Paramount releases with major chains, including Regal.

The case has focused on Paramount’s litigation over what it says are obligations and practical steps that preserve competition and theater access, amid the government’s antitrust claims. Deadline’s report frames the struggle as a “legal wrestle” over the Melrose lot’s possible merger with Warner Bros. and the broader question of how distribution and exhibition might be affected if the transaction were allowed to proceed.

According to Deadline, Paramount has made written commitments with at least one of the top two theater circuits, specifically Regal, for the release of about 30 films per year. The report characterizes those commitments as a way to address the government’s concerns by ensuring a steady stream of Paramount titles in key exhibition channels during the pendency of the dispute.

Deadline also reported that Cinema United, a theater-related organization that has opposed the merger, remains resistant to the transaction. The report’s framing indicates that even with theater commitments in place, the opposition has not softened, and the dispute over whether the merger would harm competition continues to shape the negotiations and the litigation posture.

The reported theater deals appear designed to address a central tension in antitrust cases involving media consolidation, namely whether studios can reliably reach audiences through independent or large-scale exhibitors when market power concentrates. By seeking written commitments tied to a specific annual slate, Paramount is pressing the argument that access and distribution can remain robust even under contested consolidation terms.

What happens next will depend on the pace of the court proceedings and any responses from the government and opposing parties. Deadline’s report indicates that Paramount’s commitments are being positioned as part of an overall effort to resolve or narrow the antitrust concerns at issue, while Cinema United and other merger opponents continue to argue against the transaction.