Warner Bros.

Money Moves

Target; to be acquired by Netflix

On December 5, 2025, Netflix and Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) announced a definitive deal for Netflix to acquire Warner Bros.' film and television studios plus its premium and streaming businesses, including HBO and HBO Max, in a transaction valued at roughly $72 billion in equity and $82.7 billion including debt. On January 20, 2026, the parties amended the agreement to an all-cash structure at the same $27.75 per share price, accelerating the timeline for a shareholder vote now expected by April 2026. The deal follows WBD's June 2025 decision to split into two public companies—Warner Bros. (studios and streaming) and Discovery Global (cable networks)—and caps a months-long auction in which Netflix outbid Paramount Skydance and Comcast. In the weeks following the announcement, Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos met personally with President Donald Trump at the White House, while rival Paramount Skydance launched a $108 billion hostile tender offer that WBD's board has repeatedly rejected.

Updated Jan 24

Rule Changes

Distributor of Sinners

For 75 years, no film had received more than 14 Oscar nominations. On January 23, 2026, Ryan Coogler's 'Sinners'—a vampire horror film set in the 1930s Jim Crow South—broke that record with 16, surpassing 'All About Eve,' 'Titanic,' and 'La La Land.' The Academy also handed out nominations in a new category for the first time since 2001: casting.

Updated Jan 23