Paramount promised 30 movies a year to win Warner Bros. Losing Miramax if it fails may not scare it

The states had sued to block the merger, and thesettlementrests on a promise to release at least 30 films a year. Two penalties back that promise. The combined company must pay $30 million for every film it falls short each year, and it must sell its minority stake in Miramax, the once-eminent independent film distributor.

The settlement’sconsent decreestates, “During each Commitment Year, the Combined Entity shall cause to be released for Theatrical Release in the United States a minimum of thirty (30) Films for the first and second Commitment Years and thirty-two (32) Films for the third,…