President and CEO of Cinema United, Michael O’Leary put the biggest annual gathering of theater owners on alert today about the risks of “concentrating marketplace power in the hands of a smaller group of distributors that dictate the terms, windows, scheduling, screen-placement of movies, and access to historic film catalogs.”
Noting “the ongoing efforts to acquire Warner Bros., the iconic studio that delivered a truly spectacular 2025,” he said M&A in the space has “a real and lasting impact on Main Street and millions of movie fans around the world.”
Paramount chief David Ellison has said he hopes to close the deal in the third quarter. He’s promised 30 films a year, but the industry fears fewer and worries about steep job losses.
“Unfortunately, history shows us that consolidation results in fewer films being produced for movie theatres. We believe this transaction will be harmful to exhibition, consumers and the entire entertainment eco-system,” O’Leary said in his State of Union address at CinemaCon in Las Vegas.
The group and its allies have been pressing the issue with regulators, lawmakers and state AGs.
Leading Hollywood figures from JJ Abrams, Damon Lindelof, David Fincher and Denis Villeneuve signed on to an open letter this week opposing the proposed merger warning it will “threaten the sustainability of the entire creative community.”
The deal approaches with the theatrical business looking brighter than it has in years in terms of box office and breadth of content. There’s also been positive movement on windows, although not enough, says O’Leary.
Starting in January, Universal Pictures said its films will have a 45-day theatrical window.
“After six-plus years of theories and experiments devoted to proving that theatrical’s days have passed, there is a growing recognition of something we have always known – theatrical exhibition is the foundation upon which the entire entertainment industry rests, and that will never change,” O’Leary said. But broad adoption of a window of at least 45 days, and ideally more in the Disney 60-plus day range would be needed to really energize audiences, the industry, and the box office.
People are less likely to run to the movie theater if they expect to catch the film shortly from thei couch.
In 2025, the average window for wide releases was 37 days – a three-day increase over 2024, O’Leary noted. If all wide releases last year had a minimum 45-day window, the overall average would be a full two weeks longer, at 49 days.
“Progress is being made, and windows will remain a priority. For our part, exhibition should acknowledge and fully support those partners that are committed to meaningful theatrical exclusivity,” he said. The biggest chains generally don’t run films without the minimum window but it’s not a hard and fast rule, and others do.
In comments last night, Tom Rothman, chairman and CEO, Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group, urged consistency. “Enforce longer windows even if that means you cannot play every film,” he said during SPE’s presentation.
O’Leary offered an interesting stat, saying Gen Z is setting the pace of moviegoing, with frequency among the 12-to-28 year old set rising 25% in one year making it the fastest growing habitual movie-going demographic.
“While attendance still lags previous highs, audience enthusiasm is not static. It changes every day, and these positive trends paint a brighter future.”
