David Ellison spoke to Warner Bros Discovery (WBD) executives in a first town hall meeting on the Warner Bros lot on Tuesday (March 10), less than two weeks after the Paramount and WBD boards agreed to a $110bn merger.
In what sources said was an assured performance at the Steven J. Ross Theater in front of an audience of around 200 that included Warner Bros motion picture group co-heads Mike De Luca and Pam Abdy, the young mogul made clear his passion for films and emphasised that the combined studio output would produce 30 theatrical releases a year.
Ellison, who said the turbulence of the bidding process was in the past, appeared particularly energised about the promise of DC Studios, which tallies with the high-octane tentpoles like Top Gun: Maverick and Mission: Impossible films he co-financed with Paramount when he ran Skydance Media – which merged with Paramount Global last year.
The CEO is said to have steered clear from elaborating on the $6bn in cuts his company has said it needs to implement, in accordance with rules that prevent him from doing so until the merger closes, which is targeted by the end of September. Despite a media narrative pushed by top Paramount executives and Gerry Carindale of merger financier RedBird Capital that most of the cuts will not affect jobs, staffers remain skeptical.
Ellison praised the Warner Bros film division and referred to Sinners and One Battle After Another in all but name. The two films are expected to take the top prizes at the 98th Oscars ceremony on Sunday (March 15) after dominating awards season. The film division’s 2025 output generated $4.4bn at the global box office.
TV head Channing Dungey and HBO and HBO Max head Casey Bloys were also understood to be in attendance. Ellison referred to the combined streaming platform of Paramount+ and HBO and spoke in glowing terms about HBO, which he has previously said will operate with independence.
The executive also spoke of the need to keep CNN and CBS editorially independent. The industry at large has been on high alert about this, especially in light of the appointment late last year of Bari Weiss, founder of the right-leaning commentary site The Free Press, to head CBS News despite a lack of experience in running such a large organisation. Also of concern are the close ties Ellison and his father, Oracle co-founder and centibillionaire Larry Ellison, enjoy with US president Donald Trump.
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