A federal judge on Wednesday approved a settlement clearing Paramount’s $110 billion acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery, and actor Mark Ruffalo, one of the deal’s most prominent opponents, made clear he is not done.
U.S. District Judge Araceli Martínez-Olguín called the settlement “a reasonable factual and legal resolution.”
It ends a challenge brought by 12 state attorneys general led by California’s Rob Bonta.
Under its terms, the combined company must release at least 30 films a year for two years and 32 a year for the following three, including at least four independent films annually.
Paramount also committed to spend an additional $1.5 billion on U.S. film production over five years.
Ruffalo had urged Bonta not to settle, posting, “Don’t you dare @AGRobBonta, do not cave.”
After the ruling, he wrote on X that the merger “will stifle creativity, weaken free speech, and cost people their jobs” and “should never have been approved.”
He called the outcome “incredibly disappointing” but said, “This grassroots movement isn’t going to fade away and neither is our resolve.” The fight, he added, “was never about just one merger,” but about pushing back against “corrupt oligarch billionaires.”
The deal is expected to close October 6.
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