Netflix has agreed to buy Warner Bros Discovery’s TV, film studios and streaming division in a blockbuster takeover deal that could reshape the movie industry.

With the US$72 billion purchase ($109 billion), streaming giant Netflix would gain control of one of Hollywood’s most prized and oldest assets.

The announcement came on Saturday (AEDT) following a weeks-long bidding war in which Netflix eclipsed Paramount Skydance bid.

Warner Bros owns franchises including Harry Potter, Game of Thrones and DC Comics as well as streaming service HBO Max.

The Netflix takeover will further tilt the balance of power in Hollywood in favour of the streaming pioneer.

Looking to allay some concerns, Netflix said the deal would give subscribers more shows and films, boost its US production and long-term spending on original content and create more jobs and opportunities for creative talent.

Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos said the two companies together would “help define the next century of storytelling”.

The deal, however, is likely to face strong antitrust scrutiny in Europe and the US as it would give the world’s biggest streaming service ownership of a rival that is home to HBO Max and boasts nearly 130 million streaming subscribers.

David Ellison-led Paramount, which kicked off the bidding war with a series of unsolicited offers and has close ties with the Trump administration, had questioned the sale process earlier this week and alleged favourable treatment to Netflix.

Even before the bids were in, some members of Congress said a Netflix–Warner Bros Discovery deal could harm consumers and Hollywood.

Cinema United, a global exhibition trade association, said on Friday the deal posed an “unprecedented threat” to movie theatres worldwide.

The company argued in deal talks that a combination of its streaming service with HBO Max would benefit consumers by lowering the cost of a bundled offering.

The company has told Warner Bros Discovery it would keep releasing the studio’s films in cinemas in a bid to ease fears that its deal would eliminate another studio and major source of theatrical films, according to media reports.

Warner Bros Discovery shares were up 2.4 per cent at $US25 ($38) in premarket trading, while Netflix fell nearly three per cent and Paramount 2.2 per cent. Comcast, the third suitor, was trading little changed.

Paramount and Comcast did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Analysts have said Netflix is driven by a desire to lock up long-term rights to hit shows and films and rely less on outside studios as it expands into gaming and looks for new avenues of growth after the success of its password-sharing crackdown.

-with AAP