Cinema United Chief Michael O’Leary on Netflix’s ‘Narnia’ Gamble and Why Paramount’s Deal to Buy Warner Bros. Must Fail: ‘Theaters Will Close’

Michael O’Leary, the CEO of the theater chain Cinema United, has issued a stark warning in a recent interview, arguing that the proposed acquisition of Warner Bros. by Paramount must be blocked by regulators to prevent widespread theater closures. Speaking from his extensive travels visiting cinema owners across the country, O’Leary framed the potential merger as an existential threat to the theatrical exhibition business, which is still in a fragile recovery phase six years after the COVID-19 pandemic forced mass shutdowns. O’Leary's primary concern is that further consolidation among major Hollywood studios would drastically reduce the number of competing suppliers of blockbuster films. If Paramount and Warner Bros. merge, he argues, the new entity would have even greater power to dictate release strategies, potentially favoring their own streaming platforms with exclusive windows or shorter theatrical runs. This would starve theater chains of the consistent pipeline of major releases they need to survive, ultimately leading to a wave of permanent closures. His position is that antitrust authorities must intervene to preserve a competitive marketplace for film distribution. In the same discussion, O’Leary also commented on Netflix's high-profile gamble with its new adaptations of C.S. Lewis's 'The Chronicles of Narnia.' While acknowledging the streaming giant's power, he views Netflix's foray into major fantasy franchises as a double-edged sword for theaters. On one hand, a successful 'Narnia' film could demonstrate the enduring value of the big-screen experience if Netflix opts for a robust theatrical release. On the other, it could further cement the trend of streaming services hoarding valuable intellectual property for their own platforms, bypassing traditional cinema chains altogether. O’Leary's comments underscore the industry's tense navigation between recovery and a radically transformed media landscape dominated by streaming and consolidation.