Actor Zachary Levi thinks the movie business is standing at a cliff – and if the wrong company takes control, going to see movies in theaters could quietly fade into history.
On The Megyn Kelly Show, host Megyn Kelly and Zachary Levi broke down what they see as the real danger behind Netflix’s attempted takeover of Warner Bros., and why it’s not just about corporate reshuffling.
In their view, it’s about whether we still get to sit in a dark room with strangers and watch something together.
A Deal That Could Change Moviegoing Forever
Megyn Kelly opened the segment with a blunt warning.
She told viewers that if the Netflix–Warner Bros. deal goes through, movie theaters as we know them could be in real trouble.
Kelly explained that Netflix struck a deal to buy Warner Bros., one of the last big studios that still reliably puts “real movies in real theaters” instead of dumping everything straight to streaming.
Then, she said, Paramount and Skydance swooped in with a potential hostile bid to “wrest this deal away from Netflix” and keep Warner Bros. focused on theatrical releases – aiming for at least 30 movies a year in theaters.
Kelly noted that some in the acting community are rooting for the hostile takeover more than the Netflix deal, precisely because of what it could mean for theaters.
When she asked Levi for his thoughts, he didn’t hesitate.
“I’ve got so many thoughts about it,” he told Kelly.
Levi: Too Much Power In Too Few Hands
Levi’s first concern isn’t just Netflix itself – it’s the whole trend of consolidation in Hollywood.
He told Megyn Kelly that the entertainment industry used to be made up of dozens of companies, around 50 by his memory.
Now, he said, it’s essentially five or six giants controlling almost everything.
That, he argued, is exactly why antitrust and monopoly laws exist in the first place – to stop any one group of companies from controlling an entire industry.
Levi said he doesn’t “love the idea that anybody’s going to buy Warner Bros.,” period.
He described Warner Bros. as a long-time home for him, pointing to shows and films like “Chuck” and “Shazam” that he made under that studio banner.
He talked about friends who work there and his affection for the studio.
At the same time, Levi reminded Kelly that Warner Bros. has already been battered by one merger after another – first the AT&T deal, then the Discovery deal.
With every consolidation, he said, “lots and lots of people are losing their jobs” and “great art is not being made” at the rate it once was.
From his perspective, another giant merger – especially one with a streaming-first company – just pushes the whole system further in the wrong direction.
Why The Netflix Model Worries Him
Levi told Megyn Kelly that the Netflix angle is “particularly troubling” for a simple reason.
In his words, Netflix “doesn’t really care about theatrical release.”
He believes that is a fundamental problem.
For Levi, theatrical release is “imperative” – not just as a financial model, but as a way for filmmakers, actors, and crews to make a living creating movies that people actually buy tickets to see.
He also sees it as a cultural glue.
Levi told Kelly that when people stop going to theaters, something deeper starts to break.
He described the classic moviegoing experience: you walk into a theater and sit among strangers – people who don’t look like you, don’t vote like you, may not share your religion or background.
But in that room, you laugh at the same jokes and cry at the same moments.
That shared reaction reminds you, even if only subconsciously, that “we’re not all that different.”
If everything shifts to watching alone at home on a couch, Levi fears we lose that “connective tissue.”
He doesn’t think that’s just a small social change.
He thinks it’s one more way people drift into isolated bubbles.
The Problem With Tiny Theater Windows
Megyn Kelly and Zachary Levi also dug into the way Netflix talks about theaters.
Levi said Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos has publicly floated the idea of very short theatrical windows – sometimes as short as one or two weeks – before films move to streaming.
To Levi, that model simply doesn’t give movies a fair shot.
He pointed out that some great films don’t catch on until they’ve been in theaters for a few weeks.
Word of mouth builds slowly.
Audiences tell friends, “You have to see this,” and momentum grows.
If films only get a week or two at the multiplex before vanishing onto an app, Levi believes many of those slow-burn success stories will never happen.
From an artistic standpoint, he thinks that’s a huge loss.
From a business standpoint, it may also choke off the kind of mid-budget, adult-targeted movies that rely on word of mouth, not giant opening weekends.
“We Don’t Own Anything Anymore”
Beyond theaters, Levi told Megyn Kelly that streaming has quietly changed another big part of the equation: ownership.
“We don’t own anything anymore,” he said.
He described how physical media – DVDs, Blu-rays, home video – has largely disappeared.
If a show or movie only exists on a streaming service, and that service suddenly decides to remove it, it can literally vanish.
Levi said he worries about making a project he’s proud of, only to have it live on a streamer’s server and then be pulled with no warning.
In that scenario, he told Kelly, he couldn’t even tell friends, family, or fans where to watch his work.
“It doesn’t exist anymore because it’s not on the streaming service anymore,” he said.
He also argued that audiences are waking up to the fact that they are no longer buyers – they are renters.
Instead of owning a movie on a shelf, people are simply stacking subscription after subscription.
Levi said he saw this coming 15 years ago when everyone was excited to cut the cord on cable.
Back then, he warned friends that ditching one $100 cable bill would eventually turn into 10 different streaming subscriptions – with people paying even more overall.
“And that’s exactly what’s happened,” he told Kelly.
Meanwhile, that shift has hollowed out home video and the sense of permanent access to the stories people love.
Megyn Kelly: Some Movies Need The Big Screen
Megyn Kelly clearly agreed with Levi’s larger point.
She said she can’t imagine some of the films she grew up with being experienced only on a small screen.
Kelly used “Indiana Jones” as an example – the kind of big, adventurous movie that begs for a massive screen, surround sound, and a packed crowd.
She also mentioned “Schindler’s List,” remembering how deeply it affected people who saw it in theaters.
She even told a funny, awkward story about seeing Schindler’s List with her stepsister, who brought a loud plastic salad container into the theater.
The container cracked and crinkled every time she opened it, and Kelly joked that she slowly slid four seats away in embarrassment.
It sounded like something straight out of a sitcom, and she even compared it to an episode of Seinfeld.
But her point was serious: those big-screen experiences stick with you.
Kelly talked about horror movies like “Friday the 13th,” where part of the fun is hearing the entire audience scream, laugh, or yell at the screen in the same moments.
Or walking out of a drama like “Terms of Endearment” and seeing everyone with “tear-stained faces.”
For her, that shared emotional experience is a fundamental part of moviegoing.
Kelly ended up saying she’s “not really rooting for the Netflix deal.”
She added that Netflix is “big enough” already and that she’s not a fan of the people who run and own the company.
What We Stand To Lose If Theaters Fade
Listening to Zachary Levi and Megyn Kelly, it’s hard to avoid the bigger question underneath their conversation.
If Netflix or another streaming giant ends up controlling studios like Warner Bros., and if theatrical windows shrink or disappear, what do we lose?
Their answer is pretty clear.
We lose jobs and variety in Hollywood.
We lose physical ownership of films and shows.
We lose the slow-burn word-of-mouth hits that need time to find an audience.
But beyond all that, we lose the ritual.
The nervous quiet before a movie starts.
The whole theater gasping at the same twist.
The feeling of walking out with hundreds of strangers who suddenly feel a little less strange.
Levi and Kelly aren’t just arguing about corporate deals or tech platforms.
They’re warning that if everything becomes an app and a subscription, going to the movies could become a rare event – or, eventually, just a memory.
And if that happens, the cost won’t just be financial.
It’ll be cultural.
Ed spent his childhood in the backwoods of Maine, where harsh winters taught him the value of survival skills. With a background in bushcraft and off-grid living, Ed has honed his expertise in fire-making, hunting, and wild foraging. He writes from personal experience, sharing practical tips and hands-on techniques to thrive in any outdoor environment. Whether it’s primitive camping or full-scale survival, Ed’s advice is grounded in real-life challenges.
