Hollywood savior Tom Cruise (63) has once again stepped to the forefront. He, who rescued theaters during the COVID-19 pandemic, is now said to have protected Hollywood's ecosystem by preventing streaming giant Netflix from acquiring Warner Bros.
According to foreign media including the British Daily Mail on Feb. 28 (local time), Netflix ended a two-month fierce acquisition battle for Warner Bros. and this week finally withdrew. It was reported that strong opposition and behind-the-scenes efforts by Tom Cruise were behind this.
A source familiar with the project said, "Tom Cruise was furious at the very idea of a streaming company acquiring such a traditional and prestigious film studio," and added, "He was convinced that if this transaction went through, films would bypass theatrical release and go straight to streaming, ultimately bringing about the end of the film industry."
It was reported that Cruise strongly expressed his opposition to Warner Bros. Discovery executives and suggested he would not hesitate to "strike" if the Netflix acquisition became a reality. The outlet analyzed that the reason he suddenly wound up his five-year immersion in life in London, England, on Jan. 5 and returned to Los Angeles, was to actively work behind the scenes to prevent the acquisition.
Having spent 30 years at Paramount and produced major hits such as Top Gun and the Mission: Impossible series, Tom Cruise formed a strategic partnership with Warner Bros. in Jan. 2024 and newly settled there. But when Netflix tried to swallow Warner Bros., he rolled up his sleeves and got involved personally.
With Netflix dropping out of the bidding, Paramount has now gained the upper hand in the £82 billion Warner Bros. acquisition battle (about 158.8 trillion won). Although it has its own streaming service, Paramount still supports the essence of the film industry — theatrical release — a stance that Tom Cruise strongly supports. A close associate said, "Everything went the way Tom wanted."
Netflix executives Ted Sarandos and Greg Peters said, "The transaction we were negotiating would have created shareholder value, but we have always acted with discipline," and added, "It was something that would be "nice to have" at the right price, not "must-have" at any price." On the other hand, David Zaslav, CEO of Warner Bros. Discovery, expressed optimism, saying, "If the board adopts the Paramount merger plan, it will create tremendous value for shareholders."
Tom Cruise, a cinephile to the core, did not save the film industry for the first time this way. During the pandemic he pushed ahead with filming Mission: Impossible 7 and became an industry role model with strict quarantine guidelines, and when Top Gun: Maverick brought in $1.5 billion in box office revenue worldwide, he resisted the temptation to go straight to streaming and insisted on a theatrical release.
[Photo] OSEN DB
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