So once again, Christopher Nolan has managed to put himself in the middle of the eternal argument regarding exhibitionism in Hollywood, albeit in a rather timid fashion, as he did in reaction to the vows made by Ted Sarandos, the co-CEO of Netflix, regarding the proposed merger between Netflix and Warner Bros. Discovery.
During a conversation regarding the aforementioned topic, regarding the proposed 45-day theatrical release window of the movies of the proposed Netflix and Warner Bros. Discovery merger, the aforementioned filmmaker made the following statement:
“There are encouraging noises, but that’s not the same as commitments. The theatrical window becomes an easily graspable symbol of whether Warner Bros. will be run as a theatrical distributor or whether it be folded in as a streamer. But the reality is, the issues on the television side and the streaming side are far more important to [the Director’s Guild of America].”
Christopher Nolan expresses skepticism
However, Sarandos has been doing a wonderful job in trying to ease the industry’s concerns about the proposed merger. In an interview published in The New York Times, dated January 16, 2026, Sarandos tried to enlighten the public about the proposed purchase of Warner Bros Discovery for 82.7 billion US dollars and stated that the emotional outbursts about the purchase were not justified.
One of the key arguments that has been put forth about this case has been the promise of the 45-day window. Although this has been nothing new for the streaming service, as it has already been making vague promises about the 45-day window, Sarandos has been trying to take it a step further by stating that the streaming service is basically acquiring a space for theatrical distribution that earns billions of dollars from box office collections, which the streaming service has no interest in interfering with.
However, it has also managed to highlight the tensions that exist in the film industry, as seen through Nolan’s reaction, which has been followed by many other individuals in the film industry. The key question that remains now is whether the statements of the streaming service are just another step in the evolution of the film industry.
