How Paramount buying Warner Bros could reshape Hollywood

Warner Bros captured 11 Oscars this year while Paramount received no nominations. Yet Paramount is poised to buy Warner Bros in a $111bn deal that, if approved by regulators, would merge the two studios into a single company, redrawing the Hollywood map and creating uncertainty for actors, directors, writers and millions of viewers.

Critics point to the deal's heavy leverage—about $80bn of debt—and executives' plan to find $6bn in savings by cutting what they call 'duplicative operations'. The combined workforce tops more than 53,000 employees, and David Dayen warns the new owners could eliminate roughly half those jobs, a shift that would hit production levels and theatre owners hard.

Beyond job losses, observers fear a contraction of opportunity. The Writers Guild describes the loss of competition as a 'disaster', and former producer and congresswoman Laura Friedman says consolidation makes it harder for independent filmmakers and marginalised voices to secure financing.

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