LOS ANGELES: Netflix Inc. is in discussions to buy the Egyptian Theatre, a historic movie house in the heart of Hollywood, a source with knowledge of the matter said on Tuesday.
The world’s dominant streaming service would use the Los Angeles venue to host film premieres and other industry events, the source said. There are no current plans to sell tickets to the public.
Netflix has been at odds with many theater owners because it has resisted the traditional industry practice of showing films exclusively in cinemas for roughly 90 days. Instead, Netflix sends theatrical releases to its online service on the same day or just a few weeks after they hit the big screen.
The Egyptian Theatre opened in 1922 with the first-ever movie premiere, a screening of “Robin Hood” starring Douglas Fairbanks.
The current owner is the non-profit American Cinematheque, which hosts screenings of classic films and would still offer programming on weekends, according to the source.
American Cinematheque did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Netflix in talks to buy Hollywood’s historic Egyptian Theatre: source
Netflix in talks to buy Hollywood’s historic Egyptian Theatre: source
- Netlflix would use the venue to host film premieres and other industry events
- The current owner is the non-profit American Cinematheque, which hosts screenings of classic films
Multilateralism strained, but global cooperation adapting: WEF report
DUBAI: Overall levels of international cooperation have held steady in recent years, with smaller and more innovative partnerships emerging, often at regional and cross-regional levels, according to a World Economic Forum report.
The third edition of the Global Cooperation Barometer was launched on Thursday, ahead of the WEF’s annual meeting in Davos from Jan. 19 to 23.
“The takeaway of the Global Cooperation Barometer is that while multilateralism is under real strain, cooperation is not ending, it is adapting,” Ariel Kastner, head of geopolitical agenda and communications at WEF, told Arab News.
Developed alongside McKinsey & Company, the report uses 41 metrics to track global cooperation in five areas: Trade and capital; innovation and technology; climate and natural capital; health and wellness; and peace and security.
The pace of cooperation differs across sectors, with peace and security seeing the largest decline. Cooperation weakened across every tracked metric as conflicts intensified, military spending rose and multilateral mechanisms struggled to contain crises.
By contrast, climate and nature, alongside innovation and technology, recorded the strongest increases.
Rising finance flows and global supply chains supported record deployment of clean technologies, even as progress remained insufficient to meet global targets.
Despite tighter controls, cross-border data flows, IT services and digital connectivity continued to expand, underscoring the resilience of technology cooperation amid increasing restrictions.
The report found that collaboration in critical technologies is increasingly being channeled through smaller, aligned groupings rather than broad multilateral frameworks.
This reflects a broader shift, Kastner said, highlighting the trend toward “pragmatic forms of collaboration — at the regional level or among smaller groups of countries — that advance both shared priorities and national interests.”
“In the Gulf, for example, partnerships and investments with Asia, Europe and Africa in areas such as energy, technology and infrastructure, illustrate how focused collaboration can deliver results despite broader, global headwinds,” he said.
Meanwhile, health and wellness and trade and capital remained flat.
Health outcomes have so far held up following the pandemic, but sharp declines in development assistance are placing growing strain on lower- and middle-income countries.
In trade, cooperation remained above pre-pandemic levels, with goods volumes continuing to grow, albeit at a slower pace than the global economy, while services and selected capital flows showed stronger momentum.
The report also highlights the growing role of smaller, trade-dependent economies in sustaining global cooperation through initiatives such as the Future of Investment and Trade Partnership, launched in September 2025 by the UAE, New Zealand, Singapore and Switzerland.
Looking ahead, maintaining open channels of communication will be critical, Kastner said.
“Crucially, the building block of cooperation in today’s more uncertain era is dialogue — parties can only identify areas of common ground by speaking with one another.”
