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Christopher Nolan, leading the DGA, expressed caution regarding Netflix's potential acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery. While acknowledging encouraging words on theatrical windows, he highlighted a deeper concern: a significant drop in domestic streaming and television production jobs. Nolan emphasized that studio shifts can impact filmmakers, citing his own experience and the upcoming DGA contract negotiations.
Christopher Nolan, now wearing the hat of Directors Guild of America president, has weighed in on Netflix's proposed acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery—and he's not exactly popping champagne over Ted Sarandos' theatrical commitments.Speaking from DGA headquarters, Nolan offered a measured but pointed take on Netflix's pledge to maintain a 45-day theatrical window for Warner Bros. films. "There are encouraging noises, but that's not the same as commitments," he said. The DGA, for the record, has been pushing for a 60-day window—the same model Disney uses as the industry's most successful theatrical distributor.
Nolan says the real threat isn't about theaters—it's about streaming jobs
While the theatrical window debate has grabbed headlines, Nolan stressed that it's really a "graspable symbol" for a much deeper problem.
The bigger concern for the DGA's 20,000 members lies on the television and streaming side, where domestic production has nosedived roughly 35% to 40%—even as consumer spending on entertainment has stayed remarkably stable."The loss of a major studio is a huge blow," Nolan said plainly.The guild has held talks with both Netflix and Paramount Skydance, which is pursuing a hostile bid for WBD. Nolan called both conversations "productive" but stopped short of endorsing either suitor.
Once the ink dries, Netflix could easily change course
That skepticism isn't coming out of thin air. Nolan himself left Warner Bros. after the studio fumbled the release of Tenet during the pandemic, eventually taking Oppenheimer to Universal—where it earned nearly $976 million and won Best Picture. He knows firsthand what happens when studio priorities shift.His next film, The Odyssey, arrives in theaters on July 17 through Universal. The DGA's contract with the studios expires just two weeks before that, on June 30—setting up a summer where Nolan will be negotiating for the guild while promoting one of the year's biggest blockbusters.
English (US) ·