While headlines from last week’s Senate hearing fixated on Sen. Josh Hawley’s clash with Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos over cultural issues, many in Hollywood were far more focused on a different line of questioning — one that cut to the industry’s economic core.
Hawley pressed Sarandos on the potential fallout of Netflix’s planned $82 billion acquisition of Warner Bros., raising concerns about job losses, residual payments, and the broader impact on entertainment workers. Notably, he invoked organized labor in his remarks, referencing the Teamsters and other unions worried about production cuts and diminished compensation.
For opponents of the merger, that moment signaled something significant: their concerns are gaining traction in Washington.
Since Warner Bros. was put up for sale in September, a growing coalition of guilds, theater owners, independent filmmakers, and antitrust advocates has begun organizing to block the deal. The Writers Guild of America West, Cinema United, and the American Economic Liberties Project were among the first to sound alarms. Their argument is blunt: another consolidation at this scale could represent an existential threat to Hollywood’s creative ecosystem.
WGA West President Michele Mulroney described the recent Senate hearing as a hopeful sign that lawmakers are beginning to grasp how mergers reshape the industry’s power dynamics. “They started showing more nuanced understanding of how our industry works,” she said.
But unions and established trade groups aren’t acting alone. Smaller nonprofit organizations, including the Future Film Coalition and Art House Convergence, have joined the fight, arguing that independent filmmakers and small entertainment businesses — which make up the vast majority of the sector — risk being squeezed out.
According to industry data cited by coalition members, roughly 92% of entertainment-related businesses employ fewer than 10 people. Many operate across both independent and commercial production. Advocates argue that consolidation reduces buyers, narrows distribution channels, and ultimately limits creative diversity.
Concerns extend beyond labor contracts. In a 21-page letter urging state attorneys general to challenge the merger, the American Economic Liberties Project warned that Netflix could restrict licensing of Warner’s classic film catalog to independent theaters. For art house cinemas that rely heavily on repertory screenings of films like Casablanca or Rebel Without a Cause, the absence of licensing guarantees presents financial uncertainty.
To amplify grassroots voices, the coalition launched “Block the Merger” at the Sundance Film Festival, collecting testimony from filmmakers, production vendors, and theater operators about how consolidation could affect them. Organizers are now lobbying Sen. Mike Lee to hold an “impacted parties” hearing to allow industry workers to testify publicly.
Meanwhile, efforts are underway to persuade state attorneys general in California and New York to pursue antitrust action if federal regulators decline to intervene.
At stake, opponents argue, is not just corporate ownership — but bargaining power, creative variety, and the survival of independent cinema.
