The once-mighty Warner Bros. (WBD) is at the center of a historic bidding war between Netflix (NFLX) and Paramount Skydance (PSKY), a battle described by creative workers as a “disaster” and “nightmare”. The sale of the legendary studio, which created Casablanca and Harry Potter, has intensified job-loss fears across an already battered Hollywood, confirming a major reduction in buyers for new film and TV projects.
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The Lesser of Two Evils: Tech Giant vs. Trump-Linked Billionaires
Hollywood faces a toxic choice: control by Netflix, a tech giant “blamed for killing movie theatres,” or ownership by Paramount Skydance, backed by funds linked to Saudi Arabia and Jared Kushner. The foreign backing and links to President Trump have raised concerns over potential censorship, especially since Trump himself stated, “it’s imperative that CNN be sold.”
The CEO Hollywood Compares to Gordon Gekko
The industry has settled on a singular villain, which is Warner Bros Discovery CEO David Zaslav. Zaslav earned $51.9 million last year while the company lost over $11 billion and its stock dropped 7%. Producers and actors have openly compared him to Gordon Gekko, the cinematic symbol of greed, claiming he “came in, broke it and sold it all” to benefit shareholders, disregarding the studio’s history.
For many film workers, the buyer is almost irrelevant; the real crisis is the combined threat of industry consolidation and the growing use of AI in entertainment. The production boom never returned after the 2023 strikes, leaving workers homeless and financially ruined. This environment is summed up by a single thought: “When you have people worth a trillion dollars, there are no rules,” showcasing the chaotic power held by new buyers like Elon Musk or other “trillionaires”.
Investors can compare Warner Bros., Netflix, and Paramount stocks side-by-side on the TipRanks Stocks Comparison Tool. Click on the image below to find out more.