The following is an open letter to the Competition Bureau of Canada in regards to their review of Paramount Skydance’s proposed acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery.
Dear Commissioner Pratt and Bureau staff,
The Network of Independent Canadian Exhibitors (NICE) represents more than 140 independent film exhibitors across Canada. We welcome the Bureau’s decision to open its investigation into the acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery by Paramount Skydance. The proposed deal, valued at approximately US$110 billion (Paramount Skydance press release, 2026), would consolidate as much as 40% of each year’s Canada and US combined box office in the hands of a single studio (Cinema United, 2026). It warrants the Bureau’s full attention.
Every great consolidation arrives with a promise of abundance. But as the industry follows this particular Yellow Brick Road, independent exhibitors, who have seen this journey before, know what tends to be found behind the curtain: fewer films, worse terms, and a wizard whose promises cannot be guaranteed.
Independent cinemas are essential infrastructure
Independent cinemas are cultural institutions and community hubs. According to NICE’s 2024 national survey, 34% of Canada’s independent exhibitors are the only cultural or entertainment option in their community (NICE, 2024). Especially in rural areas, these are thin-margin businesses that cannot absorb further disruption to film supply or terms of access.
Meanwhile, audience demand for independent and repertory programming is growing. Independent films accounted for an estimated $8.5 billion globally in 2025—over 25% of receipts, with 41% year-over-year growth, far outpacing the 4% wider market (Indy Film Library, 2026). Independent cinemas are the venues where that demand is met. Weakening these venues undermines the very segment of the market that is performing.
The Warner Bros. catalogue
Warner Bros. holds one of the most significant repertory catalogues in cinema history, including the pre-1986 MGM catalogue and RKO classics. NICE members regularly screen films from the Warner Bros. catalogue across a wide range of genres and eras, including Casablanca, Blade Runner, Practical Magic, The Exorcist, The Goonies, 2001: A Space Odyssey, Singin’ in the Rain, A Clockwork Orange, The Maltese Falcon and of course, The Wizard of Oz. Warner Bros. franchises including Harry Potter, The Lord of the Rings and IT have also been major draws for independent cinemas, and seasonal titles such as Elf, A Christmas Story, Gremlins and National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation are annual programming staples.
Repertory programming is increasingly vital to independent exhibition. In the 2025 National Audience Survey from Art House Convergence (AHC) in the United States, 82% of respondents cite going to the cinema for repertory titles (AHC, 2026). One NICE member cinema screened 30 Warner Bros. titles in 2025, making up 13% of its total programming.
Warner Bros. is currently reported by NICE members as the most exhibitor-friendly major studio, offering straight percentage splits rather than the costly per-title minimums demanded by others. Warner Bros. repertory terms of 35% with no minimum guarantee is a structure that allows small cinemas to screen great titles without significant financial risk. If the acquiring entity silos these titles on streaming, restricts theatrical access, or imposes high-minimum pricing, it would cause irreparable damage to independent cinemas.
These films also carry deep community meaning. In August 2025, the Westdale Theatre in Hamilton, ON, marked its 90th anniversary with a free screening of The Wizard of Oz, a film originally shown at the theatre in the 1940s, selling out within days and drawing multigenerational audiences. It anchored a year of heritage programming featuring Warner Bros. titles from the theatre’s history: Doctor Zhivago, Cool Hand Luke, Mildred Pierce, Dial M for Murder, Bullitt, Cabaret and All the President’s Men. This is the cultural function independent cinemas perform that no other venue can, and it depends on continued access to the Warner Bros. catalogue.
Fewer films, worse terms: the Disney/Fox precedent
The 2019 Disney/Fox merger provides a clear warning. According to Cinema United’s analysis, the combined Disney/Fox entity averaged 12.6 wide releases per year post-merger (2019–23), down from a pre-merger average of 25.6, making a 51% decline (Cinema United, 2026). Paramount’s promise of “30+ films per year” is not legally binding (CICAE, 2026).
Since the merger, Disney has eliminated one-week tracks (which allow cinemas to show a new release for one week) on former Fox franchises, forcing even single-screen cinemas to hold content for two to four weeks. Titles in the Ice Age, Avatar, Deadpool,Fantastic Four, X-Men and Planet of the Apes franchises now carry extended holds that consume weeks of screen time. For single-screen cinemas in smaller communities, week two and beyond of a blockbuster often becomes a financial burden, and all these commitments eradicate any potential for a Canadian film being played. 81% of Canada’s independent film exhibitors are impacted by clean runs (NICE, 2024).
For repertory titles, Disney/Fox per-title have higher minimum costs per film booking. Further, Disney has long classified cinemas into two categories—“repertory” or “commercial”—requiring them to choose one or the other. Commercial theatres can screen new Disney releases but are locked out of catalogue titles; repertory theatres get catalogue access but are excluded from first-run films (VICE, 2024). Before the merger, this restriction applied only to Disney’s own library. After the acquisition, Disney extended this regime to the entire Fox catalogue, pulling decades of openly available titles, including Home Alone, Alien, Die Hard and The Princess Bride, into a restrictive framework that had never previously applied to them (IndieWire, 2019).
These are the post-merger operational changes that a simple film count cannot capture, eroding independent exhibition in ways that directly harm communities. Every dollar spent at a local cinema generates an additional $1.50 in surrounding businesses (Cinema United, 2026). Any increase in costs to cinemas, whether through higher minimum guarantees, longer holds, or restricted access, will inevitably be passed on to consumers through higher ticket prices, reducing the affordability and accessibility of cinema-going for Canadian audiences.
An international concern
NICE is working collaboratively on this topic with independent film exhibitors around the world. Art House Convergence has submitted a Statement of Record to the US Senate Subcommittee on Antitrust (AHC, 2026); CICAE, representing independent exhibitors from 46 countries worldwide, has committed to active participation in merger proceedings across jurisdictions (CICAE, 2026); and Cinema United has called the acquisition a serious competitive threat. Canada, with its proximity to the US market and already concentrated exhibition landscape, is among the most exposed.
Reduced competition in an already concentrated market
Canada’s exhibition market is already highly concentrated. Cineplex holds approximately 74% of domestic box office share (Cineplex, 2026). In Canada, 53% of independent exhibitors must clear a Cineplex location before screening a new release, and 81% are impacted by the demands of U.S. studios for clean runs (NICE, 2024). Further consolidation concentrates bargaining power in fewer hands, accelerating shorter windows, higher rental fees, and worse contract terms for exhibitors already operating on an uneven playing field.
Build Canadian cinema
Independent cinemas are the backbone of Canadian film distribution. NICE’s 2024 survey found that respondents collectively screened 936 Canadian titles in 2023 (NICE, 2024). Independent exhibitors curate Canadian films for their local audiences in a way that multiplex chains rarely do, and they are often the only venues willing to give Canadian titles meaningful screen time.
When studio consolidation forces cinemas to hold fewer, larger titles for longer periods, as the Disney/Fox merger has demonstrated, it is often Canadian films that are squeezed off the screen. Extended clean run demands from a merged Paramount-Warner Bros. would further reduce the screen time available for Canadian content, directly undermining the goals of Canadian cultural policy and the investments made by Telefilm Canada, the Canada Media Fund, and provincial funding bodies in supporting Canadian production. Building a thriving Canadian film ecosystem requires not only investment in production, but the protection of the independent exhibition infrastructure that delivers those films to audiences.
What we are asking
NICE urges the Competition Bureau to:
- Conduct a full and rigorous review of this transaction, with specific attention to its impact on Canadian filmmakers, theatrical distribution in Canada, and on independent exhibitors.
- Examine the combined entity’s potential to restrict access to the Warner Bros. repertory catalogue, shorten theatrical windows, or impose unfavourable terms.
- Consider the broader community impact: for 34% of independent exhibitors, the cinema is the only cultural venue in town.
- If the transaction is approved, attach legally binding conditions protecting fair access to content, fair dealing in billing and contract terms, and continued theatrical availability of the Warner Bros. catalogue.
- Ensure that any conditions imposed protect the ability of independent cinemas to continue programming Canadian films, so that studio consolidation does not further erode the theatrical infrastructure that Canadian cultural policy depends on.
In the end, there’s no place like home. We can always return to where we started from. We urge the Bureau to ensure fair access and fair terms for all Canadians in reviewing this acquisition.
Sincerely,
Sonya Yokota William
Director, Network of Independent Canadian Exhibitors (NICE)