Warner Bros’ Oscar triumph a bittersweet moment as Paramount deal looms

Updated 16 Mar, 2026 10:01am 3 min read

Warner Bros emerged as the biggest winner at the Academy Awards on Sunday, ​though the mood was clouded by its pending $110 billion sale to Paramount Skydance, a deal reshaping ‌Hollywood’s studio landscape.

The studio received 11 Oscars, led by “One Battle After Another,” a tale of violent resistance in a dystopian America, which received six awards, including for best picture, director and supporting actor.

“Sinners,” Warner Bros’ genre-defying fantasia set in the Jim Crow South, collected four Academy ​Awards, including lead actor.

“I want to thank Warner Bros,” said Michael B. Jordan, who won the best ​actor Oscar for playing twin brothers in “Sinners,” lauding the studio for “betting on original ideas and ⁠artistry.”

Warner Bros became the focus of a months-long bidding war between Paramount, Skydance and Netflix for the studio’s corporate ​parent, Warner Bros Discovery. Paramount CEO David Ellison prevailed with a higher bid, backed by his billionaire father, Oracle co-founder Larry ​Ellison.

The deal will merge two of Hollywood’s storied studios, narrowing the ranks of major film players at a time of accelerating consolidation and mounting pressure from streaming rivals, labour unrest and higher costs.

“It will be impossible to ignore that we will be celebrating the achievements of ​filmmaking with one less studio on the horizon,” said veteran Hollywood marketing executive Terry Press. “It’s gut-wrenching.”

Hollywood has already been ​shaken by a drawn-out industry strike and the spectre of artificial intelligence taking jobs. The prospect of studio consolidation has left the ‌industry on ⁠edge as Paramount eyes $6 billion in cost savings from the deal.

Ellison has pledged to deliver a total of 30 films a year, evenly split between Paramount and Warner Bros, which delivered a slate of box-office-topping hits last year, including “Superman” and “A Minecraft Movie.”

Streaming service Netflix received a total of seven Academy Awards, led by Guillermo del Toro’s adaptation of Mary Shelley’s ​gothic novel, “Frankenstein.”

It garnered three ​Oscars: for hair and ⁠makeup, production and costume design. Netflix also won the Oscar for animated feature film for “KPop Demon Hunters” and best song from that film.

NBCUniversal received a total of 13 Oscar nominations ​across three films from Focus Features, and one nomination for Universal Pictures’ “Jurassic World Rebirth.”

​Its Focus Features ⁠unit received an Academy Award for lead actress for Jessie Buckley’s portrayal of Agnes in “Hamnet.”

Independent film powerhouse A24’s film about a table-tennis shark, “Marty Supreme,” received nine nominations, including for best picture, director and lead actor, and was knocked out of the competition ⁠by ​Oscar voters.

Walt Disney 20th Century Studios received a single visual effects Oscar ​for “Avatar: Fire and Ash,” after receiving a total of five nominations.

Tech giant Apple, which collected a record 15 Primetime Emmy Awards in the fall, ​received an Academy Award for best sound.

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