CEO Eduardo Acuna now supports the proposed merger between Paramount Skydance and Warner Bros. Discovery, the first major theater-chain head to switch sides on the deal.
In June 2026 Acuna was still undecided. On a panel with other Hollywood leaders he said consolidation "usually doesn't bring the best" and that the industry was broadly worried about it.
What changed his mind was a meeting with Paramount owner David Ellison and his team. Acuna says it comes down to trust, and that he believes they are sincere about putting into theaters from the combined studios. He also argues a long court fight would create uncertainty and distract the industry.
He is not the first theater owner to land there. , CEO of AMC, the country's largest chain, has been backing the deal and wrote in an op-ed that the combined studios are critical to the momentum at the domestic box office.
Both CEOs are betting on Ellison's word rather than on anything enforceable. The one time this happened before — 's 2016 merger with Fox and Fox Searchlight — the combined studios made about half the number of films they had made separately.
Ellison is pushing a $111 billion acquisition. Attorneys general from 12 states, including California, are suing Paramount for violations, and a judge in northern California has set a trial for March.
Opposition inside the film industry is loud. said in an Instagram post that the merger would mean thousands of job cuts, fewer films, and higher prices, and that it is not a done deal. Actors, directors, writers, and filmmakers signed an open letter to try to block it.
The theater owners' case rests on the box office. 's "The Odyssey" and the newest Spider-Man film are together expected to hit $1 billion this weekend — a comeback for cinemas after six years of pandemic shutdowns and production halts.
The trade association for theater owners worldwide is not persuaded. Cinema United CEO sent members a memo blasting the deal, saying he is skeptical of Ellison's promises and noting the combined company would carry a debt load of .
The clock is already running. If the deal does not close by the end of September, Paramount must start paying Warner Bros. shareholders .
One Hollywood trade publication half-jokingly asked and his A-list friends to buy Warner Bros. instead.