Hollywood weeps as Warner Bros hangs a sale sign

Hollywood mourned in 2019 when 20th Century Fox ended its 84-year run as a standalone studio — for the jobs lost, for the proud legacy ended.

- BROOKS BARNES AND NICOLE SPERLING

But it was measured grief, the kind that quickly fades into acceptance.

An atmosphere of bereavement returned this week, as Warner Bros. headed to auction.

Warners, as Hollywood refers to the 102-year-old studio, was supposed to be strong enough to survive into the next media era, even as lesser legacy competitors perhaps faltered. Now it could suffer the same fate as Fox. “To lose Warners as a standalone studio would be heartbreaking,” Dan Jinks, an Oscar-winning producer, said.

Warner Bros. has been sold and resold over the decades. AT&T gained control in 2018 as part of its $85.4 billion purchase of Time Warner. Discovery, a cable television company, took over in 2022.

Over the spring and summer, Warner Bros. had one of the most successful box office runs in its history, delivering seven hits in a row, including Ryan Coogler’s “Sinners,” which is expected to be a force at the coming Academy Awards.