Cinemark CEO Is Glad Paramount Won Warner Bros.

Cinemark CEO Sean Gamble sees the multiplex being more assured of Warner Bros. tentpoles for longer runs after Paramount prevailed over Netflix in the battle for the studio.

“Both Paramount and Warner Bros. have been longstanding supporters of theatrical exhibition and great partners for Cinemark,” Gamble told the Morgan Stanley Investors Conference during a session on Tuesday that was webcast. “Based on their actions over many, many years, that’s a real positive. There clearly has been a lean of those organizations to ramp up more into the space.”

Gamble did argue for industry consolidation to have benefits, Hollywood studios needed to increase the number and size of movie releases, continue the move to a “robust” theatrical window and do more to market releases.

Paramount still has to secure regulatory approval from government agencies to complete the WBD takeover. “We’re hearing all the right things. There’s still a lot of details to work through,” Gamble said. Netflix dropped its $82.7 billion proposed deal for Warner Bros. Discovery rather than match a sweetened bid submitted by David Ellison’s Paramount valued at $110 billion.

Netflix had come under suspicion by Cinemark in its run for WBD for not giving its films a traditional theatrical run, even as it committed to a 45-day theatrical window for Warner Bros. pictures should it prevail in the merger battle.

Gamble also talked about the theatrical window continuing to evolve coming out of the pandemic, and especially with Disney returning to a 60-plus days cinema release for many of their long-playing films. “They’ve proven that that model works and it’s a good model for the industry,” Gamble said as Zootopia 2 is set to reach Disney+ on March 11 after a 105-day theater window.

Gamble also talked about a possible Hollywood labor stoppage later this year after current union negotiations and three years after dual 100-plus days strikes. “We’re certainly hopeful after all the hardships that were endured at the last strikes, which seemed to lead to some pretty detrimental conflicts across the board, that level heads will prevail to avoid another situation like that,” the Cinemark boss told the investors conference.

Gamble also talked up generative AI being used in Hollywood movie making, as long as proper copyright protections were assured. “The ability to get efficiencies in how movies get made, unlock new visual effects capabilities, it can lead to a greater volume of movies being created with interesting ways and interesting new visuals that we haven’t seen before, which all bodes well for the content pipeline for our theaters,” he argued.