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Trump discusses Netflix-Paramount's Warner Bros battle at ‘Melania’ premiere
The documentary has brought significant attention to two-time First Lady and third spouse of Trump
At the evening's debut of Amazon Prime Video's Melania documentary, US President Donald Trump shared his thoughts regarding certain streaming platforms and studios.
When asked if he had any objections to Netflix's $83 billion acquisition of Warner Bros movie, TV, HBO, and digital assets, the President replied, “Well, I am reviewing everything. I feel positive about it.”
While the David Zaslav-led Warner Bros Discovery has agreed to the arrangement with Ted Sarandos and Greg Peters' streaming service, David Ellison and Paramount are still aiming to acquire all of WBD with a $108 billion hostile takeover attempt or thwart Netflix’s plans in the courts and among policymakers.
Advocating to Congress and facing charges that Netflix owning WB would unfairly dominate the streaming space, Sarandos is scheduled to testify before the Senator Mike Lee (R-UT) led Senate Judiciary antitrust subcommittee on February 3
Taking this into account, Trump remarked on Thursday, "I really like both of them. It seems to me that one might become quite a monopoly if they succeed with this agreement. We’ll have to see how everything turns out.”
Offering both encouragement and concern, Trump’s latest remarks on the multi-billion-dollar conflict came as the former Apprentice host walked the black carpet at the Melania documentary premiere tonight at the Kennedy Center.
Helmed by the previously ostracized Brett Ratner, the well-approved account of the extremely private and curated First Lady is set to open in theaters on over 1,200 screens this Friday, followed by a streaming release on Amazon Prime Video.
In a deal that the Jeff Bezos-launched streaming platform insists isn’t meant to curry favour with the White House, and will likely result in financial loss, Amazon shelled out $40 million for the film and invested around $35 million in promotion.
Although not shown to critics yet, the film is anticipated to earn Mrs. Trump over $25 million, and Melania stands to make $3 to $5 million this weekend, mostly attracting audiences from rural Red States.
Either way, the documentary has brought significant attention to the two-time First Lady and the third spouse of Trump, while putting Amazon’s streaming service front and center in political and entertainment discussions.