This week, Michael O’Leary will take to the stage at CinemaCon for the third time as president and CEO of Cinema United, the global movie theater trade organization that hosts the annual gathering of exhibitors in Las Vegas.
He does so at a time where there’s plenty of short-term good news for theaters. The 2026 box office is off to the best start the industry has seen since the COVID-19 pandemic, thanks to films like “The Super Mario Galaxy Movie,” “Project Hail Mary” and “Scream 7.” Theaters are getting creative in finding new hits like Markiplier’s “Iron Lung” and the upcoming series finale to “The Amazing Digital Circus,” creating experiences for a new generation of moviegoers.
And yet O’Leary has spent the past several months in an existential battle on behalf of theaters, lobbying across the country against the proposed merger between Warner Bros. and Paramount. Through O’Leary, Cinema United has made it clear that any sale of the hallowed legacy studio would be damaging to theaters, moviegoers, and the economy that sustains surrounding businesses and countless small towns.
Despite this foreboding threat to the bottom lines of theaters, O’Leary told TheWrap that he wants to focus on the good news at this year’s convention. He also spoke about theaters’ need to diversify where they get their films to screen, as well as not to get so hooked on Imax to the suffering of all other auditoriums.
This year at CinemaCon, you have invited specialty and independent distributors like Angel and StudioCanal to the main stage. Was this move done partly in response to the consolidation issue in Hollywood?
We’re bringing in additional distributors because we’re trying to expand the circle of people that our members have exposure to. Even right now there are gaps in the schedule each year, as you know, and independent film is extremely important, not just culturally and financially, but it’s also a big way to fill in some of those gaps that exist in the schedule.
So that decision to have to highlight some of the independent distributors that are out there was not made in any way in response to possible consolidation. The one thing I would note, and we certainly learned this when Disney acquired Fox, is that it’s simply not realistic to think that the independent community can come in and take the place of a major studio that sees its production levels drop, as in the case of 20th Century Fox, by almost 50%.
So if there’s any speculation out there about any connection to consolidation, we’re just trying to highlight different distributors that are out there because they’re making an array of movies that appeal to different audiences. Our working premise is that we want the theater to be someplace where there’s something for everyone, so having a wider group of people putting movies into the system helps us serve that goal more than anything.
Well, to that end, we have recently seen some big independent hits like “Iron Lung,” which came from fans of Markiplier reaching out to theaters and asking for the film to be added to their screens, and Regal in particular jumped on that because they had staff that recognized Markiplier’s fanbase. What are your thoughts on how that played out?
I thought that was a great example of the direction we want our industry to move in. It was great for the fans and very logical on our end, because at the end of the day, we’re in a consumer-facing business. We want to put as much product into our theaters that will draw an audience, that people find compelling. You identified the Regal example, and I think there are other folks out there probably doing the same thing, keeping an eye out for fanbases and audiences off the beaten path that want to have that shared theatrical experience. My guess is it will probably intensify as we move forward, and more movies like “Iron Lung” have success doing this kind of thing.
On the Paramount and Warner front, there’s been more red flags from Wall Street about the debt issues that will bring to Paramount Skydance, and California Attorney General Rob Bonta has been signaling for weeks that he will review the merger. On Cinema United’s front, what have been the most recent developments on opposing this merger?
Well, we’ve continued to talk with regulators at the state, federal and international level, continuing to press our case and to make the point that we think that this transaction as currently configured is not just bad for exhibition. It’s bad for movie fans, it’s bad for communities all over this country and around the world, and it’s bad for the entire entertainment industry.
I think we’ve been fairly disciplined and fairly straightforward in our approach, in trying to highlight the impact that this transaction is going to have on Main Street. A number of regulatory bodies are in the investigative phase trying to gather information, and we’ve been supporting that in a number of states and at the federal level, and also internationally. So we’re trying to make our case right now, and we intend to stay on top of this. It’s our highest priority, and we’ll see where the process goes.
Since you took over as head of Cinema United, you’ve pushed for an increase in capital investments to allow theater chains to refurbish thousands of theaters. How is that campaign going, and are you seeing signs that audiences are starting to notice the improvements?
Yes, we’re very happy with that progress. We’re actually going to be putting out an update on that sometime after CinemaCon. But what I can tell you is that between September 2024 and September 2025, there had been an investment of $1.5 billion in top theater chains. That’s for upgrades in the lobby, in the concession areas and also with expanded food and beverage options. You’re seeing a lot of it go into the technical side too: laser projectors, improved sound systems, and especially on seats, which movie fans really, really covet. This is happening from one screen, independent theaters all the way up through the largest circuits in the world. A couple of years ago, the top eight members of Cinema United pledged to spend $2.3 billion over three years. After one year, we were already halfway there.
To your point, AMC CEO Adam Aron has mentioned in earnings calls that they have made it a particular point to improve interest and satisfaction in just standard formats, to let people know that they are still going to get a good experience if they can’t get seats to an Imax or Dolby screening and that it won’t be a gamble on the sound and picture.
That’s right, and it’s something I’ve talked about for over a year. There’s a risk, frankly with the overemphasis on premium large formats. First of all, there are incredible PLFs that aren’t Imax. Most of our members have their own proprietary brand of them that is just as good even if it’s not well known. And while Imax deserves plenty of credit for building that trust with moviegoers, it’s our job to highlight the sheer volume of world class PLFs that are out there.
But beyond that, to Adam’s point, there are a number of people who go to the movies who aren’t seeking out that premium experience. I’m always amazed when I read articles on Monday and Tuesday that say something like 26% of a movie’s box office was made in the premium large formats. Well, that means 74% of it was made somewhere else, in other types of auditoriums. So part of what you’re seeing out there is a diversity of choice for people that go to the movies. Some people, they want to see it on the biggest screen, and that’s great. There’s an option for them. But if you’re taking five kids to a movie, you may want to see it in something that’s more affordable.
Our point is simply this: Every experience at the theater is special and amazing. And I think, frankly, the overindexing on PLFs is something which is being driven to a certain degree by forces outside of the exhibition industry. We cannot get into a situation where the consumer feels like if they don’t see it in a certain format, it’s not worth seeing in a theater, because that is just fundamentally inaccurate.
Last year, you urged Hollywood to move towards 45-day windows as an industry standard. Universal has agreed to that starting next year. During this Warner Bros. merger process, Paramount has committed to that window, and while Netflix was bidding for it, [co-CEO] Ted Sarandos was saying the same thing. Do you feel like Hollywood is getting to where you want them to be on this front?
Things are moving in a positive direction, and it is because more people in our industry are recognizing that meaningful windows benefit everybody. There was so much experimentation over the last six or seven years, and some of those experiments didn’t work and everyone is coming back to the realization that our industry is stronger when there’s a meaningful theatrical window. There’s still work to be done, but I think the studios are more and more starting to see that this is a path that is best for everybody.
Beyond what we’ve discussed, what else do you think is going to be a major part of this CinemaCon that we in the press are not focusing on as much or you think deserves more attention?
This is an odd year because there’s some very positive things going on out there, but then there’s a still this kind of overhang caused by possible consolidation. But I just want people to take a moment to look at those positives. As I said, windowing is moving in the right direction, and on top of that, I think everyone in exhibition is on the same page in terms of moving forward and figuring out new and inventive ways to make the theater experience better for everyone.
That’s why we made it a point at this CinemaCon to do a very comprehensive set of educational panels so that people can come from all over the world and share their experiences with theater owners, and maybe somebody hears something or sees something or learns something, and they take it back to their theater and they implement it, or they implement some variation on it, and it just helps our industry to continue to grow. So the focus is always on the future. How can we do better? How can we control what we control and deal with things that we can’t control? And so that’s kind of a theme, I think, which is probably more important this year than it has been in the recent past.
This interview has been edited for clarity.
