Judge plans to rule next week on Paramount, Warner Bros.

A federal judge plans to decide by Wednesday whether to grant a temporary restraining order in a case that pits state attorneys general against Warner Bros. Discovery and Paramount Skydance.

A TRO is an emergency, short-term injunction issued by a judge to freeze a situation immediately.

Friday’s arguments in the case were held in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California in Oakland. Judge Araceli Martínez-Olguín presided over the proceedings.

“You will get a ruling by the 22nd,” said Martínez-Olguín.

Warner Bros. Discovery and Paramount Skydance want to merge in a deal worth $110 billion. Both operate studios that are iconic parts of movie history: Warner Bros. Studios in Burbank, Calif., and Paramount Pictures, about 26 miles away in Hollywood.

California Attorney General Rob Bonta is leading a coalition of fellow Democratic attorneys general seeking to block the merger. Earlier this week, Bonta announced the lawsuit, in which 12 states are trying to stop Paramo...