Warner Bros. Discovery expects a massive financial hit — up to $500 million — as strikes continue
- Oops!Something went wrong.Please try again later.
Warner Bros. Discovery is taking a major financial hit during the actors and writers strikes.
The company has adjusted its expectations for the year, expecting to take a hit of anywhere from $300 to $500 million, CNBC reported. That puts its 2023 earnings in the range of $10.5 to $11 billion.
Todd Holmes, a professor at California State University at Northridge, estimates the strikes have lost California’s economy $3 billion as of early August, per Forbes.
In a recent security filing, Warner Bros. Discovery said it figures the strikes will continue at least through the end of 2023. The company also said it will continue to prioritize resolving the ongoing strikes.
“WBD continues to prioritize and work diligently with other industry leadership to resolve the current WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes in a manner that is fair and values the important work of, and partnership with, the writers and actors,” reads a statement in the security filing.
Related
Is there an end in sight for the strikes?
Members of the Writers Guild of America have been on strike for over 100 days. Actors joined the picket lines in July.
A majority of Americans support the strikes, according to a poll conducted by Data For Progress, Forbes reported. The poll shows that roughly 67% of Americans support the strikes, while 18% are opposed to it.
Related
The poll also indicates that approximately 59% of Americans “have an unfavorable opinion of major Hollywood studios after they rejected demands by both unions,” according to Forbes.
“The media industry is in a transitional moment — from streaming to traditional TV — and the focus needs to be on ending the writers and actors strikes,” CNBC reported, summarizing a recent statement from Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav.
“We’re a content company. We’re a storytelling company. And we need to do everything we can to get people back to work,” Zaslav said, according to CNBC. “People need to be fairly compensated. We really have to focus as an industry, and we are, on trying to get this resolved in a way that’s really fair.”
Related
What Warner Bros. movies have been affected by the strikes?
Warner Bros. Discovery’s “Dune: Part Two,” which was supposed to release this year, had its release date moved to March 15, 2024, according to CNBC.
The movie is now scheduled to release on what was previously the release date for “Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire,” which was moved to April 12, 2024. The changes also impacted the animated movie “Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim,” which is now expected to release Dec. 13, 2024.
