The opposition to the Paramount-Warner Bros. Discovery merger is hardening. The Block the Merger Coalition issued a petition on August 27 urging 12 state attorneys general to reject what it calls "empty concessions" from Paramount and proceed to a March 2027 trial rather than negotiate a settlement.
The coalition's central argument targets Paramount's pledge to release 30 theatrical films annually after the merger closes. According to the petition, behavioral commitments of this kind are "unenforceable, frequently abandoned." California Attorney General Rob Bonta has publicly aligned with that position, stating the states require a structural remedy, including separate ownership of cable channels, rather than any behavioral pledge.
The financial pressure driving the coalition's timeline is specific. A $650 million quarterly ticking fee, equal to roughly $7 million per day, begins October 1. The merger contract expires June 4, 2027. If the deal collapses before then, Paramount faces a $7 billion break-up fee. The coalition believes waiting for the March trial will force a collapse before that threshold is reached.
"Financial analysts are now predicting that this deal cannot survive the wait of the trial," the coalition wrote, according to The Wrap. The petition also warned: "We have them on the ropes, but Larry Ellison has proven time and again that he will use his vast wealth."
Merger opponents have cited projections of 4,500 Los Angeles job losses over three years and $2.78 billion in lost economic value. The combined entity would control nearly a third of U.S. theatrical film distribution, the concentration at the core of the antitrust case.