The decision by Hollywood film studios not to meet the demands of striking screenwriters appears to be backfiring spectacularly. In its full-year earnings guidance for 2023, released on Tuesday, Warner Bros. Discovery conceded that the strike would cause a $300 million to $500 million hit to adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization. That’s up to 10 times more than the amount of money the Writers Guild of America was asking for. According to WGA’s estimates, their requested increases to residual payments and other forms of pay would have cost $429 million per year. Broken down by studio, Warner Bros. Discovery would’ve been on the hook for $47 million. (The Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers had previously doubted the WGA’s estimates.) The strike has lasted more than four months, with SAG-AFTRA, which represents 160,000 actors, joining writers on the picket lines in July. While Warner Bros. previously told investors that the strike would likely be over by September, the company acknowledged on Tuesday that it now has no idea when it will end.
