Netflix will continue to distribute Warner Bros. films in cinemas if its takeover bid for the storied studio is successful, the streaming service’s chief executive Ted Sarandos said in an interview Tuesday in Paris.
“We’re going to continue to operate Warner Bros. studios independently and release the movies traditionally in cinema,” he said during an event in the French capital, while admitting his past comments on theatrical distribution “now confuse people”.
Previously, Sarandos had suggested that the cinema experience was outdated, surpassed by the convenience of streaming.
The Netflix boss was being interviewed by Maxime Saada, head of France’s Canal+ media group, in a Paris theatre that was presenting Canal+’s projects for 2026.
Netflix only began to produce its own programmes a dozen years ago, Sarandos explained, so “our library only extends back a decade, where Warner Bros. extends back 100 years. So they know a lot about things that we haven’t ever done, like theatrical distribution.”
In early December, Netflix announced that it had reached an agreement with Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) to acquire most of the group for $83 billion.
However, doubts remain about whether the deal will be approved by regulators, and in the meantime television and film group Paramount Skydance has made a counter-offer valued at $108.4 billion.
If Netflix’s bid is successful, it would acquire HBO Max, one of the world’s largest media platforms, and it would find itself at the head of a movie catalogue including the Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings sagas, as well as the superheroes of DC Studios.