2026-07-14T12:03:09.29Z / reuters.com
7月14日 —— 美国多个州正提起诉讼，试图阻止派拉蒙全球（PSKY.O）与华纳兄弟探索公司（WBD.O）的合并，这些州认为，这笔交易可能会挤压仍在努力恢复至疫情前售票水平的本地影院市场。
“票价很可能会上涨，影院将被迫削减用于提升观众观影体验的投资：更舒适的座椅、扩建的 concessions 服务以及高端银幕，”加州总检察长罗布·邦塔周一在好莱坞标志前举行的新闻发布会上表示。
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若合并完成，这将是美国五大电影发行商中的两家强强联合，并进一步加剧有线电视网络的所有权集中。根据诉状，新实体将对影院所有者和付费电视运营商拥有不公平的议价权。
诉状称，随着电影发行商数量减少，各大制片厂将更容易向影院所有者施压，要求获得更大份额的票房收入。此次诉讼由加州以及俄勒冈州、纽约州和明尼苏达州等另外11个州共同提起。
各州表示，基础有线电视提供商也将失去议价权。
诉状显示，这笔交易将使派拉蒙在影院和基础有线电视领域的市场份额均提升至27%以上。
“你的有线电视账单将会上涨，因为分发这些频道的有线电视公司的谈判筹码变少了，”邦塔说道。
由首席执行官大卫·埃利森领导的派拉蒙发表声明称，该诉讼歪曲了既定的反垄断法，且基于对娱乐行业竞争状况的错误描述。
“推迟这笔交易只会伤害到近年来已饱受重创的娱乐行业从业者，科技颠覆了他们的生计，也让加州失去了数万个娱乐业工作岗位，”派拉蒙在声明中表示。
推迟交易也将让派拉蒙付出高昂代价。埃利森已同意向华纳兄弟探索公司的股东支付每股25美分的“过期费用”，若交易未能在10月前完成，每季度的现金支出将达到约6.5亿美元。
代表影院所有者的行业组织影院联盟（Cinema United）一直在游说反对这笔合并案，该组织对此次诉讼表示欢迎。
“电影制片厂进一步整合的影响将是深远且持久的，不仅在好莱坞，更在美国各地的主街社区——在这些地方，本地影院是各类规模社区的文化和金融基石，”影院联盟总裁兼首席执行官迈克尔·奥利里在一份声明中说道。
一位不愿具名的连锁影院高管担忧，派拉蒙与华纳兄弟合并后，可能会提高影院所有者放映热门大片所需支付的租金。传统上，制片厂和影院会平分电影票房收入，但对于备受期待的影片，制片厂可以要求获得高达60%的收入分成。
“影院将别无选择，”这位因担心得罪派拉蒙而要求匿名的消息人士说道。
诉状称，随着电影发行商抽走更大比例的票房收入，影院所有者可能被迫提高票价，或减少在影院升级上的投入。为了在流媒体时代更好地争夺观众，影院一直在升级设施，例如增设更舒适的座椅和提供更多样化的零食饮料。
根据Rentrak的数据，2026年截至目前，美国和加拿大的票房收入达51亿美元，较去年同期增长10.6%，但较疫情前的2019年仍低16.3%。
邦塔呼应影院运营商的观点，称该行业曾因此前的一起媒体合并案受损：2019年华特迪士尼公司（DIS.N）收购福克斯旗下娱乐资产。
诉讼称，2015年至2018年间，迪士尼和福克斯共发行了112部大范围上映的影片。而2022年至2025年，这一数字降至54部。
诉状还称，这笔合并还将损害将两家公司的频道带入美国家庭的有线电视提供商的利益，因为华纳和派拉蒙将不再为营销各自的网络而竞争。
合并后将整合包括CNN、TNT、美食频道和HBO在内的一系列热门电视网络，进一步增强该公司“对分销商的议价权”。
根据诉讼，电视提供商“几乎别无选择”，只能接受该公司的交易条款。
此次诉讼并未反对派拉蒙将其Paramount+流媒体服务与华纳兄弟的HBO Max合并的计划。
本报记者道恩·奇米耶夫斯基和丽莎·里奇温报道；大卫·格雷戈里奥编辑
US state officials fear Paramount-Warner deal will squeeze local movie theaters
2026-07-14T12:03:09.29Z / reuters.com
July 14 – U.S. states suing to block Paramount’s PSKY.O merger with Warner Bros Discovery (WBD.O)
argue that the deal could squeeze local movie theaters, which are still struggling to sell as many tickets as they did before the pandemic.
“While ticket prices will most likely go up, theaters will be forced to cut back on investments that make the experience better for audiences: comfier seats, expanded concessions, and premium screens,” California Attorney General Rob Bonta said at a news conference Monday, standing in front of the Hollywood sign.
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If completed, the merger would combine two of the nation’s five major film distributors, and further concentrate ownership of cable television networks. The new entity would have unfair bargaining leverage over theater-owners and pay-TV operators, according to the complaint.
With fewer film distributors, studios could find it easier to pressure theater owners for a greater share of ticket revenue, alleges the complaint, filed by California and 11 other states including Oregon, New York and Minnesota.
Basic cable TV providers would also lose leverage, the states said.
The deal would concentrate Paramount’s market power in both movie theaters and in basic cable to more than 27% each, according to the complaint.
“Your cable bill is going to go up because those cable companies that distribute the channels will have less negotiating power,” said Bonta.
Paramount, led by CEO David Ellison, issued a statement saying the lawsuit distorts settled antitrust law and is based on a misrepresentation of competition in the entertainment industry.
“Delaying this transaction will only harm entertainment workers who have already suffered over recent years as technology has disrupted their livelihood and cost California tens of thousands of entertainment jobs,” Paramount said.
Delaying the deal will also be costly for Paramount. Ellison has agreed to pay Warner Bros. Discovery shareholders a 25-cent-per-share “ticking fee,” amounting to about $650 million in cash each quarter, if the deal does not close before October.
Cinema United, a trade group for theater owners that has been lobbying against the deal, welcomed the lawsuit.
“The ramifications of further movie studio consolidation will be significant and lasting, not just in Hollywood, but on Main Streets across this nation where local movie theaters serve as cultural and financial cornerstones for communities of all sizes,” Cinema United President and CEO Michael O’Leary said in a statement.
One executive with an independent theater chain, who asked not to be named, worried that a combined Paramount and Warner Bros could raise the rental fee theater owners pay to show the blockbuster films that attract large audiences. Studios and theaters have traditionally split the proceeds from movie ticket sales evenly, though studios can command as much as 60% of proceeds for highly anticipated movies.
“Theaters will have no recourse,” said the source, who requested anonymity for fear of antagonizing Paramount.
As film distributors siphon off a greater percentage of box-office proceeds, theater owners may be forced to raise ticket prices, or to spend less on improvements, the complaint alleges. To better compete for viewers in the streaming era, theaters have been upgrading their facilities with improvements such as more comfortable seats and a wider variety of refreshments.
Year-to-date box office receipts in the U.S. and Canada stand at $5.1 billion in 2026, 10.6% higher than last year but 16.3% below the pre-pandemic year of 2019, according to Rentrak data.
Echoing cinema operators, Bonta said the industry was hurt by a previous media merger: the 2019 Walt Disney (DIS.N)
acquisition of entertainment assets owned by Fox.
From 2015 to 2018, Disney and Fox distributed 112 wide-release films. That number dropped to 54 for 2022 to 2025, the lawsuit said.
The merger also would harm cable TV providers who bring the companies’ networks into American living rooms, the complaint alleged, since Warner and Paramount will no longer compete to market their networks.
A deal would combine a range of popular networks, including CNN, TNT, Food Network and HBO, enhancing the company’s “bargaining leverage over distributors.”
TV providers would have “little choice” but to accept the company’s deal terms, according to the suit.
The complaint does not take issue with Paramount’s plans to combine its Paramount+ streaming service with Warner Bros’ HBO Max.
Reporting by Dawn Chmielewski and Lisa Richwine; Editing by David Gregorio
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