Titanic director James Cameron SLAMS Netflix over 'ill‑conceived' Warner Bros. takeover attempt

James Cameron has slammed the possible merger of Netflix and Warner Bros.

In a deal estimated at $82.7 billion, the streamer is in talks to take over Warner Bros.' film and TV studios, as well as HBO and HBO Max.

The Titanic director, 71, responded to the possible acquisition by sending a letter to Utah Senator Mike Lee, who is the chair of the Senate subcommittee on antitrust, stating the merger could have 'disastrous' ramifications for the film and movie theatre industry.

'My 44-year directing career has been focused on making movies for theatrical exhibition, and I believe strongly that seeing movies in theaters is an important pillar of our culture, to say nothing of being one of our biggest exports, in purely economic terms,' he said, as per CNBC.

'But the cinema marketplace has contracted sharply in recent years, by about 30%, due to media consumption habit-patterns changing as a result of the Covid pandemic and the concurrent rise of streaming.'

'I believe strongly that the proposed sale of Warner Brothers Discovery to Netflix will be disastrous for the theatrical motion picture business that I have dedicated my life’s work to,' Cameron added. 

'Of course, my films all play in the downstream video markets as well, but my first love is the cinema.'

Cameron further noted prior comments by Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos, who claimed that movie theaters were 'an outdated concept' and an 'outmoded idea,' while declaring that, 'Driving folks to a theater is just not our business.' 

'The business model of Netflix is directly at odds with the theatrical film production and exhibition business, which employs hundreds of thousands of Americans,' Cameron wrote in his letter.

'It is therefore directly at odds with the business model of the Warner Brothers movie division, one of the few remaining major movie studios. "Warners" releases approximately 15 theatrical movies a year and the beleaguered motion picture exhibition community desperately depends on that output.'

'It will be a blow to the exhibition community (theater owners and their tens of thousands of employees) at a critical time to have this production output redirected to streaming.'

Sarandos has previously affirmed that Warner Bros. movies would still have theatrical releases if the merger went through, but Cameron noted that he said it would be a 17-day window, which would be 'ridiculously short' compared with the commonly expected 45 days. 

'So 17 days is a token window, and grotesquely insufficient. Secondly, a pledge of any number of days does not mean anything unless there is a concomitant pledge of the number of theaters. A major film release typically goes out to over 3000 theaters day-and-date, in the domestic marketplace,' he wrote.

'Though a pledge for a theatrical window may be given now in order to assuage critics of this ill-conceived merger, there is no guarantee of how Netflix may run its business in years to come,' he added.'Their pledge to support theatrical releases (a business fundamentally at odds with their core business model) is likely to evaporate in a few years.'

Actor Mark Ruffalo fired back to Cameron's letter on X, suggesting that if he has concerns about monopolization, he should also be against Paramount acquiring Warner Bros. 

'So… the next question to Mr Cameron should be this… “Are you also against the monopolization that a Paramount acquisition would create? Or is it just that of Netflix?”' he asked.

'I think the answer would be very interesting for the film community to hear and one that should be asked immediately. Is Mike Lee against the Paramount sale as well? Is he as concerned about that as he is the Netflix sale? We all want to know… Speaking on behalf of hundreds of thousands of film makers world wide.'

Netflix is on the verge of the massive Warner Bros. studios and HBO Max acquisition, though the deal has yet to be finalized. 

A critical seven-day window opened on February 17, giving Paramount Skydance a final opportunity to present a superior counteroffer. If no better deal emerges, Warner Bros. Discovery shareholders are set to vote on the Netflix merger on March 20. 

If approved, Netflix would gain control of some of the most famous entertainment franchises ever created, including Harry Potter, Game of Thrones, DC Comics’ Batman and Superman and The Lord of the Rings.