Netflix CEO promises to commit to releasing Warner Bros. movies theatrically after studio sale: "We didn't buy this company to destroy that value"

Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos has responded to concerns that Warner Bros.' theatrical releases will be impacted after the streamer bought the studio for $82.7 billion last week.

"The theatrical business we have not talked a lot about in the past, about wanting to do it, because we’ve never been in that business. When this deal closes, we are in that business, and we’re going to do it," Sarandos said at a UBS conference in New York (via The Hollywood Reporter). "We didn’t buy this company to destroy that value."

Netflix movies have historically not had much in the way of big-screen releases. Some titles, like Knives Out 3, receive a two-week window in theaters, but only on a limited number of screens.

"We’re deeply committed to releasing [Warner Bros.] movies exactly the way they release those movies today," Sarandos continued. "If we did this deal 24 months ago, all those movies we saw this year do so well at the box office for Warner Bros. would have been released in the same way in theaters, talking about Minecraft, Superman, Weapons, Sinners, all those movies. With the Warner Bros. operating entity, we think it’s really important the way that they create and the way that they drive value."

A Minecraft Movie alone made almost $1 billion at the global box office against a budget of $150 million earlier this year, and Superman and Sinners cumulatively almost made another billion. In short, it's been a great year for Warner Bros. at the box office.

Since Netflix's deal was confirmed last Friday (December 5), Paramount has since launched a cash bid of $100 billion, with the studio stating that Warner Bros. Discovery "never engaged meaningfully" with their previous attempts to negotiate a deal.

For more on the biggest new films coming to the big and small screens, check out our guide to the rest of 2025's best upcoming movies.