Earlier today federal judge approved an effort by the Justice Department to do away with the Paramount Consent Decrees which barred studios from owning movie theaters.
The antitrust laws, which have been in effect since the golden age of movies, were intended to break up the stranglehold that major studios maintained on the business by preventing them from owning both the means of production and distribution.
The Justice Department proposed eliminating the regulations last fall, calling them anachronistic. Today, U.S. District Judge Analisa Torres found: “that termination of the Decrees is in the public interest.” Eliminating the rules will eventually lift restrictions against acts like ‘block booking’ and ‘circuit dealing’ after a two-year sunset period.
The ruling is expected to not change how business is conducted in Hollywood much as internet streaming services proliferate and distributors have become less reliant on theatrical distribution.
Source: Variety
