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Netflix would acquire a host of classics
Los Angeles Times
|December 08, 2025
'Harry Potter,' 'Batman' and others would be part of the Warner Bros. deal.
ROBERT Pattinson as Batman, part of the lucrative DC Universe.
After a heated bidding war, Netflix on Friday morning announced it will acquire Warner Bros. in a $72-billion deal poised to overhaul the entertainment industry.
The high-profile deal, which totals $82.7 billion with Warner Bros.' debt included, represents an unprecedented consolidation — giving Netflix control of franchises including “Harry Potter” and the DC Universe, plus classics such as “Casablanca” and “Citizen Kane.” With its acquisition, Netflix beat out competitors Paramount and Comcast to vastly expand its content library and bring its subscriber base to above 420 million.
Not included in the acquisition are Warner Bros.' cable channels, including CNN, TNT and HGTV, which will be part of a new publicly traded company, Discovery Global, in mid-2026.
While Netflix thus far has insisted it will maintain Warner Bros. operations, including theatrical releases for the studio's films, theater owners and guild leaders have expressed concern that the deal will further threaten the exhibition industry and allow streaming to continue to dominate the entertainment landscape.
"The negative impact of this acquisition will impact theatres from the biggest circuits to one-screen independents in small towns in the United States and around the world," Cinema United President Michael O'Leary said in a statement to The Times. "Netflix's stated business model does not support theatrical exhibition." The Directors Guild of America agreed that the deal "raises significant concerns" and said it plans to share its concerns with Netflix and get a better sense of the streamer's long game.
Plus, viewers themselves are already voicing apprehension about the fates of their favorite shows under Netflix's ownership.
Here is a list of all the major assets in the Warner Bros. catalog that Netflix would gain should the acquisition deal go through.
This story is from the December 08, 2025 edition of Los Angeles Times.
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