Skydance/Warner Bros. Discovery: $111 billion merger for The Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter and DC Comics

The new entity will thus control a veritable audiovisual empire comprising -take a deep breath- Warner Bros, Paramount Studios, HBO Max, DC Studios, Paramount+, Nickelodeon, Comedy Central, Cartoon Network, New Line, TNT, CBS, CNN, MTV, Showtime (and partly SkyShowtime), Pluto TV, Adult Swim, Skydance Animation, Eurosport, Discovery and TCM. Phew.

 

In the long term, the various [abc]streaming[/abc] services are logically destined to be combined. David Ellison, the CEO of Skydance, has already set out his stall: the company will spend more on content than any other company in the world. “More than Disney, more than Netflix,” he said. Fortunately, one might be tempted to say, so necessary does it seem to feed these numerous studios, publishers and distribution channels (cinema, TV, streaming services, etc.) with content. But what exactly does this gargantuan catalogue contain?

 

Skydance Corporation, major Hollywood franchises Two of the biggest jewels in Warner Bros’s crown are, of course, The Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter. The first saga will make its big-screen return in December 2027 with The Hunt for Gollum (with Elijah Wood returning to the role of Frodo Baggins, cf. our news Peter Jackson gives updates on Tintin 2 and the next Lord of the Rings films), while the second is set to be reborn as a major television series in late 2026 (cf. our news Harry Potter: new big trailer for the HBO series).

 

 

There is also DC Comics, which has admittedly never managed to match Marvel at the box office, but which still has enormous potential with Batman, Superman and company. On the HBO side, the flagship is none other than Game of Thrones, which has since spawned the spin-offs House of the Dragon and A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms. More are on the way, including 10,000 Ships, adding to a long list of prestige HBO-branded series.

 

This merger also brings together essential film franchises such as Mission Impossible, Top Gun, Transformers, the MonsterVerse saga, The Conjuring, A Quiet Place, Mortal Kombat and of course Star Trek, which has also been successfully adapted into series for decades. The Gremlins will also soon be making a comeback. Finally, Skydance recovers the distribution rights to the Dune films, including the highly anticipated third installment. Children’s and family programming is not forgotten either, with SpongeBob, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Sonic, Tom & Jerry, Dora the Explorer, Looney Tunes and the irreverent South Park. Heavy hitters indeed, and very heavy hitters at that!

 

Skydance Corporation’s distribution strategy The new feature films will first be released in cinemas. Indeed, Skydance Corporation has committed to releasing more than 30 films theatrically per year in order to finalize the merger with the competition authorities and various US states. A promise that Netflix would probably never have made if it had gotten its hands on Warner.

 

The settlement agreement specifically provides for 30 films per year for the first two years, after which Skydance Corporation undertakes to distribute at least 32 over the following three years. In the event of non-compliance, Skydance Corporation faces a penalty of $30 million per missing film and will be forced to divest Miramax. At least 20 films will have to receive a wide theatrical release, and at least 20% of all productions will have to have budgets above $50 million.

 

 

Skydance Corporation, media and SVOD timeline Another thorny issue concerns release windows. What is known for certain is that the new films will have an exclusive theatrical window of at least 45 days and cannot land on HBO Max or Paramount+ before 90 days have elapsed. What will happen between those two windows has not yet been clearly defined. If the stated support for theatrical exhibition suggests that the films will be available for purchase and rental ([abc]VOD[/abc]) in the meantime, before joining [abc]SVOD[/abc] services, that remains to be confirmed. Although this agreement has been ratified by the US authorities, Skydance Corporation is expected to harmonize its release strategy worldwide.

 

As for series, the most likely scenario is that new HBO productions such as Harry Potter and the GoT universe will continue to be broadcast on HBO Max, while Paramount content will be spread across the various existing services, including Paramount+. At least, until the streaming platforms merge in the more or less near future.