Warner Bros Rejects Paramount Takeover Again and Tells Shareholders to Stick with Netflix bid
NEW YORK — Warner Bros. again rejected a takeover bid from Paramount and told shareholders Wednesday to stick with a rival offer from Netflix.

NEW YORK — Warner Bros. again rejected a takeover bid from Paramount and told shareholders Wednesday to stick with a rival offer from Netflix.

CNN is heading into an uncertain future with its parent company Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) destined for a takeover — and US President Donald Trump hoping the change will allow him to influence the iconic news network’s programming.

This is the Breitbart Business Digest weekly wrap, in which we coincidentally run through the economic and financial news of the previous seven days.

Netflix is pursuing a deal to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery, a move that would create the largest consolidated streaming platform in U.S. history. Together, the two companies would control an estimated 139 million domestic subscribers — roughly 50 million more than the next-largest competitor — raising questions about market concentration within the entertainment industry.

President Donald Trump has signaled some opposition to Netflix purchasing Warner Bros. Discovery, saying that CNN should be sold as part of the package deal.

BANGKOK (AP) — Paramount Skydance says the Chinese gaming and social media giant Tencent Holdings withdrew from its bid to buy Warner Bros Discovery to avert a possible national security review.

Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos is suddenly claiming he’s “deeply committed” to releasing Warner Bros. movies in “exactly the way they release those movies today.”

“Fifty Shades of Grey” star Dakota Johnson said the art of cinema in the United States “feels really grim right now” while attending the Red Sea Film Festival in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, believing a possible deal between Netflix and Warner Bros. Discovery could lead to a “rebirth.”

If you love movies, the merger of Netflix and Warner Bros. is about as bad as the news can get.

Paramount took its battle for Warner Bros. Discovery directly to shareholders Monday, launching a $30-per-share all-cash tender offer for the entertainment giant just days after Warner agreed to a deal with Netflix.

The streaming giant Netflix has solidified itself as the King of Hollywood, announcing Friday its acquisition of Warner Bros. “Together, we’ll define the next century of storytelling, creating an extraordinary entertainment offering for audiences everywhere,” Netflix said in a statement.

Oscar-winning director James Cameron has endorsed Paramount Skydance purchasing Warner Bros. Discovery, saying “Netflix would be a disaster.”

A potential merger between Paramount Skydance and Warner Bros. Discovery is facing opposition from Sen. Elizabeth Warren and the Writers Guild of America, who warn the deal would consolidate control of major news and entertainment outlets under a single conglomerate.

David Ellison’s Paramount Skydance reportedly has the best chance in the brewing bidding war to purchase Warner Bros. Discovery due to an unlikely advantage: CNN.

Nolte: Nothing gives me more hope that an actual cultural shift might be happening in Hollywood than the tone of this cover story from the far-left Variety.

Warner Bros. is suing artificial intelligence company Midjourney for copyright infringement, alleging that the startup enables its millions of subscribers to create AI-generated images and videos of copyrighted characters like Superman and Bugs Bunny.

The Warner Bros. Motion Picture Group announced a 10 percent cut in its workforce this week following news that the company leadership would be splitting between Warner Bros. and Discovery Global.

Many in the media are celebrating the $406 million take James Gunn’s ‘Superman’ has taken at the box office, but they are missing some detail

NEW YORK (AP) — In a bid to kickoff a new era for DC Studios, James Gunn’s “Superman” opened with $122 million in U.S. and Canada ticket sales over the weekend, according to studio estimates Sunday.

Director James Gunn’s “Superman reboot,” hitting theaters this weekend, carries a production and promotional budget in the $300 to $400 million range. The David-Corenswet-starring film will need a big debut in China, where DC Studios has seen its superhero movies go to die or never show at all. Early “Superman” ticket sales figures suggest the Middle Kingdom could prove to be Kryptonite.

Actor Dean Cain, who became a fixture in millions of American households thanks to his beloved role as Superman in the hit TV series Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman from 1993 to 1997, says director James Gunn’s

James Gunn, the director of the upcoming DC reboot movie, “Superman,” is walking back his harsh comments, calling half the country “jerks” and saying “screw them” if they don’t like the political messages in his film.

The producers of James Gunn’s latest theatrical version of “Superman” asked reviewers not to release their thoughts on the film until Tuesday, but several outlets ignored the demand and posted their reviews early. And some don’t bode well for the film.

“Superman” director James Gunn — who was fired by Disney after a decade’s worth of tweets he wrote about child rape, Mexicans, AIDS, and the Holocaust went viral; who said “Trump wakes up every morning hoping more kids are murdered by immigrants so it will help him in the polls;” who called Sen. Ted Cruz a “traitor;” who peddled the Trump “pee tape” hoax, and who said in 2023 “there is such a thing as superhero fatigue,” is now telling a large segment of America that his new superhero movie might not be for them.

NEW YORK (AP) — Warner Bros. Discovery will split into two public companies by next year, calving off its cable operations from its streaming service.

LGBTQ+ activists are ripping the second season of HBO’s hit video game adapted drama ” The Last of Us” after news broke that a lesbian sex scene between two teenaged stars was cut.

Warner Bros. Discover CEO David Zaslav announced cuts in costs for the company due to impact from the Trump administration’s tariffs and will be halting non-essential travel.

Chris Brown has filed a $500 million lawsuit against Warner Bros and others for making a “defamatory documentary” about his alleged sexual assault and other accusations, according to a lawyers’ statement posted to the singer’s Instagram.

Hollywood director James Gunn said the “battered” Superman seen in the beginning of his upcoming reboot is like the United States — an apparent political dig, though at whom Gunn remained deliberately ambiguous.

Cable networks like CNN were once the key assets in the entertainment world. Now they have become toxic, which is why Comcast unloaded them last month and Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) is now looking to do the same.

Producers of the recently released animated Batman series Batman: Caped Crusader have swapped out its male Penguin villain for a female Penguin because they claim there aren’t enough good female villains in the Batman oeuvre. The show, developed by Warner Bros. Discovery,

Actors and performers in the SAG/AFTRA union have been calling for AI protections in the video game industry.

China’s TikTok has launched a new promotional tool for Hollywood to drive engagement.

Paramount Global will reportedly cut is workforce by 15% in another round of layoffs amid the entertainment industry’s uncertain future.

Warner Bros. Discovery announced its quarterly earnings — well, losses — to the tune of a $11.2 billion, with a “B,” loss.

All of these media companies are struggling, and the primary reason is the death of cable/satellite TV.

Cancel culture received another blow this week when author J.K. Rowling revealed Warner Bros. included her in on selecting the creative team for the studio’s upcoming Harry Potter television series.

Horizon: An American Saga Chapter 1 represents Costner’s boldest, grandest, and most ambitious turn behind the camera yet.

Amazon Prime will be restoring the “Born to Kill” phrase on the main menu poster for Stanley Kubrick’s Full Metal Jacket.

ESPN, Warner Bros. Discovery, and Fox will be joining forces to launch a sports streaming platform this year.
