Regal's Acuna Backs Paramount-WBD Merger, Slams Trial
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- Regal CEO Eduardo Acuna publicly endorsed the Paramount-Warner Bros. Discovery merger, arguing that a prolonged antitrust trial set for March 2027 would cost Paramount hundreds of millions better spent on films and create 'uncertainty and distraction' for exhibitors.
- Acuna cited commitments from Skydance Paramount CEO David Ellison: at least 30 theatrical films annually, a 45-day PVOD window and 90-day SVOD window for a minimum of three years, and a $30 billion annual media content investment, with Ellison offering to execute a consent decree to State AGs.
- AMC CEO Adam Aron had previously rallied around the merger in a July 29 Variety column, writing that the AGs' lawsuit 'gets the economics of our business backwards' — making Regal and AMC, the top two global circuits, aligned in support.
- Cinema United CEO Michael O'Leary broke with the top two circuits, remaining vehemently opposed to the merger and warning of a collapse of theatrical product and box office similar to the Disney-Fox combination.
- Cinemark CEO Sean Gamble spoke favorably of the merger at the Morgan Stanley TMT Conference 2026, while TKO Group's Ari Emanuel called the antitrust lawsuit 'trash' in a WSJ column arguing the deal 'could save Hollywood.'
- The 2026 year-to-date domestic box office stands at more than $6 billion, described as the best level since 2019, providing industry momentum that Acuna said a legal fight would jeopardize.
- Creative reaction remains split: four-time Oscar nominee Mark Ruffalo led an opposition letter, while Top Gun: Maverick producer Jerry Bruckheimer said at the PGAs and CinemaCon that he is 'optimistic' about Ellison's promise of 30 movies annually.
Why it matters: With the two largest U.S. theater chains now publicly aligned behind the Paramount-WBD merger and only the smaller exhibitor trade group Cinema United holding out, the political optics of the State AGs' antitrust case — which argues the merger must be blocked to protect exhibitors — weaken further ahead of the March 2027 trial.
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