On Netflix, Warner Bros., and the Slow Cursing of Movie Theaters Everywhere
There’s a particular kind of dread that settles over you when you hear the words “Netflix is buying Warner Bros.” It’s the same dread you feel when a beloved character steps into a dark hallway in a horror movie…they’re definitely not coming back out the same.
This deal feels like that hallway.
Netflix purchasing Warner Bros. isn’t just another Hollywood merger—it’s an earthquake. And the first buildings to crack? Movie theaters. The places you and I grew up in, the places that raised generations of weird little film kids, the places where sticky floors and flickering lights feel like a ritual instead of a flaw.
Let’s talk about why this purchase is potentially catastrophic…and why the witches, cinephiles, and popcorn-salted romantics among us might want to start lighting candles.
✨ The Acquisition: A Spell With Too Much Power
Netflix has reportedly struck a deal to purchase Warner Bros. for roughly $82.7 billion, gaining control of DC, “Harry Potter,” “Game of Thrones,” and an entire treasure trove of franchises heavy enough to tilt the entertainment world off its axis (Los Angeles Times, 2025). Netflix insists they’ll keep theatrical releases—for now (The Verge, 2025).
Which is adorable. Like when a vampire promises they’ll definitely stop at just one sip.
🎥 Why Movie Theaters Should Be Very, Very Worried
1. Netflix Is a Streaming-First Creature
Movie theaters are temples; Netflix is a vending machine.
A very convenient, well-stocked vending machine…but still.
Netflix didn’t rise to power by filling theaters—it rose by eliminating the need for them. Giving them control of major cinematic franchises is basically handing your altar to someone who doesn’t believe in ritual (IndieWire, 2025).
2. Fewer Blockbusters = Fewer Butts in Seats
Cinema United and other industry groups are already calling the deal an “unprecedented threat” to theaters worldwide (Wikipedia, 2025).
Blockbusters aren’t just movies—they’re traffic generators. They’re the reason families pile in on a Friday night and teens make out in the back row and adults sneak in emotional breakdowns between action sequences.
If Netflix limits theatrical runs or moves franchises straight to streaming, theaters don’t just lose money…they lose purpose.
3. The Death of Cultural Moments
Remember “Barbenheimer”? Midnight premieres? Jump-scares that ripple through a room like shared electricity?
Now imagine all of that quietly replaced with:
New movie dropped at 3am. Watch whenever.
It kills the magic. No communal gasp. No collective breath. No reason to dress up in obnoxious pink suits or wizard robes. Just another piece of “content” floating through the algorithmic ether (The Nightly, 2025).
4. A Monolith Controlling the Storytelling Landscape
The fewer studios we have, the fewer voices get heard.
Netflix owning Warner Bros. puts a staggering amount of power in the hands of one company (The Wrap, 2025). And if they decide theaters are optional? Everything shifts.
This is how cinematic universes shrink not because they ran out of ideas…but because someone decided the living room was close enough.
🍿 What This Means for the Rest of Us
- Theaters—especially independents—could shutter.
- Communities lose places to gather, celebrate, and escape.
- Movies become “content,” not events.
- Streaming replaces the ritual of going to the movies with something flatter, smaller, lonelier.
And look…call me witchy, but I believe films deserve candles. They deserve ceremony. They deserve the collective heartbeat of a darkened room.
If Netflix sweeps Warner Bros. into its cauldron and starts brewing everything straight to streaming…those rituals fade. Slowly. Quietly. Until one day a kid asks what a midnight premiere was.
And honestly? That breaks my heart more than any plot twist ever could.
References
IndieWire. (2025). Netflix buying Warner Bros: How the deal impacts theaters. https://www.indiewire.com/news/business/netflix-buying-warner-bros-hbo-and-hbo-max-faq-1235165082/
Los Angeles Times. (2025). Warner Bros. sale to Netflix: What to know. https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/business/live/warner-bros-sale-netflix-hollywood-paramount-what-to-know
The Nightly. (2025). Who might buy Warner Bros — and what it means for audiences. https://thenightly.com.au/culture/film/whos-going-to-buy-warner-bros-its-all-bad-news-for-audiences-c-20572305
The Verge. (2025). Netflix outlines post-acquisition theatrical strategy. https://www.theverge.com/news/838781/netflix-warner-bros-discover-bids-buyout
The Wrap. (2025). Reactions to Netflix–Warner Bros. deal. https://www.thewrap.com/warner-bros-sale-theaters-reaction-legal-block-merger/
Wikipedia. (2025). Proposed acquisition of Warner Bros. by Netflix. https://www.wikipedia.org
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