From a 'One Battle After Another' Oscar to the exit door: Warner's film chiefs fall with the $110 billion Paramount merger

Hollywood's biggest merger in years already has its first casualties on the film side. Mike De Luca and Pam Abdy, who have run Warner Bros. Pictures Group since June 2022, are expected to leave the studio as Paramount Skydance completes its acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery, according to TheWrap and LA Magazine. The deal, valued at $110 billion, received court approval on September 24 and is expected to close on October 6. According to the reports, the pair never even got a call about their future at the new company, and Paramount declined to comment.

The exit is bittersweet because the duo had been on a winning streak. Under their leadership, Warner released Ryan Coogler's 'Sinners', the phenomenon 'A Minecraft Movie' and Paul Thomas Anderson's 'One Battle After Another', which won the Oscar for best picture. On the other hand, their tenure also racked up stumbles, such as 'Joker: Folie à Deux', with a $190 million budget, and, in 2026, 'Supergirl' and 'The Bride!', which disappointed at the box office.

The new company will be led by David Ellison alongside co-CEO Ynon Kreiz, formerly of Mattel, and needs to find $6 billion in cost savings. Josh Greenstein and Dana Goldberg, who run Paramount Pictures, are expected to take a central role overseeing both studios, while HBO's Casey Bloys is expected to lead the combined streaming business. Whoever steps in inherits a heavy slate: 'The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum', 'The Batman Part II', 'Gremlins 3' and the 'Minecraft' sequel are in the works.