Warner Bros and Paul Thomas Anderson are reportedly not in agreement on the final cut of One Battle After Another.

So far, this year isn’t proving to be a very successful one for Warner Bros in its attempt to successfully restore its image as a filmmaker-friendly studio. After several years where a series of short-sighted decisions created rifts with long-time partners, the studio framed 2025 as a year that would undo much of that reputational damage, lining up huge deals with respected filmmakers in a public display of intent: Warner Bros is once again supporting its artists.

However, things aren’t really going to plan so far.

The first major release of 2025 in this mould was Bong Joon-ho’s Mickey 17, a film that arrived on a wave of controversy, dogged by reports that Warner Bros had tried to force a studio-mandated cut on the Oscar-winning director.

Later this year,...