Mediawan's Pierre-Antoine Capton and others weigh in on how the enlarged company will impact the global marketplace After nearly a year of dealmaking drama, Paramount Skydance’s takeover of Warner Bros. Discovery is about to become reality. Across Europe, where the Paramount chief David Ellison has spent time courting support for his vision of building a Hollywood colossus, the mood is surprisingly upbeat.
The debt-laden $111 billion merger is set to close Oct. 6 after a federal judge signed off on Paramount’s settlement of the antitrust lawsuit filed by 12 states in July. Under that deal, the company has strict obligations for movies and for theatrical exhibition. The combined company is legally obligated to release at least 30 films theatrically in each of its first two years and 32 a year in years three through five, with a 45-day theatrical window for wide releases and a 90-day hold before they reach subscription streaming.
Paramount has also committed an additional $300 million a year, or $1.5 billion over five years, to U.S. film production. That last pledge matters for Europe, which has become one of Hollywood’s busiest production hubs and where the merger got antitrust approvals faster than in the U.S. The question that showbiz insiders are asking in the U.S. is the same for Europe’s industry heavyweights: Can Ellison keep the promises he has made to filmmakers, producers and exhibitors on both sides of the Atlantic if those commitments collide with the $79 billion in debt that the company will shoulder following the blockbuster deal.
Pierre-Antoine Capton, co-founder and chairman of Mediawan, one of Europe’s top production powerhouses and biggest consolidators, believes Ellison’s commitments will hold. Obviously, a transaction of this size is going to involve synergies, but having spoken with David, I believe his vision is first and foremost an artistic, creative ambition,” Capton tells Variety. So I believe in his commitment to cinema and to theatrical releases.” As the head of a vast production group including North Road, Plan B and See-Saw Films, Capton is also optimistic about what belt-tightening will mean for commissions.
That’s what we’re trying to do at Mediawan, on a much smaller scale. I think everywhere in the world we’re entering a much more difficult phase, where consolidation will be, in my view, one of the solutions to the economic problems we’re all going to face,” Capton says. He added that he sees opportunity for a strong independents like Mediawan to offset the U.S. media behemoths, especially in territories where they don’t have boots on the ground.
Ellison had been able to garner support from across Europe since he went on a lobbying mission on behalf of the merger at the start of the year, meeting political leaders and entertainment figures in France, Germany and the U.K. to rally support for his unsolicited takeover bid. Weeks later, he sent an open letter to the creative community pledging that the combined Paramount and Warner Bros. will release 30 movies a year in theaters. But not everyone in Europe, however, is convinced the business will survive intact.
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