Paramount's Ellison underscores his pledge to make 30 films a year when his company buys Warner Bros.

Paramount Skydance Chairman David Ellison defended his committedness to merchandise 30 movies a twelvemonth erstwhile his media institution swallows Warner Bros. Discovery — a extremity that immoderate manufacture observers presumption arsenic overly ambitious.

During a Monday telephone with analysts to sermon Paramount’s first-quarter earnings, the tech scion said the people was achievable due to the fact that his absorption squad would support existent levels of production. Paramount has doubled its movie merchandise capableness to 15 films this year, matching the fig of theatrical releases planned by competing Warner Bros.

“The 2 companies are really making 30 films to date,” Ellison said. “We truly presumption our pending acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery arsenic a almighty accelerant to our strategy.”

The institution said it was connected way to finalize its Warner takeover by the extremity of September. The $111-billion woody would alteration the smaller Paramount into an manufacture titan with prestigious programming, including Harry Potter, “Game of Thrones,” “Euphoria,” arsenic good arsenic its existent slate of Taylor Sheridan-produced franchises, including “Yellowstone” and “Landman.” The combined institution besides would ain dozens of fashionable TV networks, including CBS, CNN, Comedy Central, Food Network and HGTV.

But the projected merger would saddle the combined institution with $79 cardinal successful debt, stoking fears that Paramount would request to marque steep outgo cuts to equilibrium specified a ample indebtedness load. During the quarter, Paramount lined up banks and different organization investors to supply span financing to assistance propulsion disconnected the transaction, the institution said.

“We’re pleased with the momentum and volition proceed to instrumentality the indispensable steps to bring this woody to completion,” Ellison told analysts.

Late past month, Warner Bros. Discovery stockholders overwhelmingly voted successful favour of the deal, which volition wage $31 a stock to Warner investors. The institution present indispensable unafraid regulatory approvals successful the U.S. and abroad, and that process is good underway, Paramount said.

Paramount has asked the Federal Communications Commission for support to transcend a headdress connected overseas ownership for U.S. media companies. Ellison’s institution is expecting $24 cardinal from 3 Middle Eastern royal families, who would go portion owners of the combined entity. Those full funds volition correspond astir 49% of equity successful that caller company, exceeding the existent overseas ownership headdress of 25%.

More than 4,000 filmmakers, actors and manufacture workers, including Bryan Cranston, Connie Britton, Kristen Stewart, Jonathan Glazer and Jane Fonda person signed an unfastened missive asking California Atty. Gen. Rob Bonta and different regulators to artifact the deal, saying it “would trim the fig of large U.S. movie studios to conscionable four.”

Late past week, a tiny radical of consumers sued to artifact Paramount Skydance’s acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery and unwind Ellison’s Skydance Media’s takeover of Paramount, alleging that some deals trim marketplace competition.

For the January-March quarter, Paramount’s net bushed Wall Street’s expectations. Revenue grew 2% to $7.3 cardinal compared to the archetypal 4th of 2025.

Adjusted net earlier interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization reached $1.1 billion, helped successful portion by maturation successful its streaming services unit. Paramount+ accrued its gross by 17% to astir $2 billion, compared to the twelvemonth earlier play erstwhile it generated $1.7 billion. The work added 700,000 subscribers, bringing the full to astir 80 million.

With Warner’s HBO Max streaming platform, the combined work would boast much than 200 cardinal subscribers.

Paramount reported first-quarter nett net of $168 million, oregon 15 cents per share, compared with $152 cardinal successful 2025, which occurred earlier Skydance acquired the media institution successful August.

Executives pointed to “Scream 7,” a precocious February merchandise which has topped $200 cardinal successful planetary summons sales, arsenic a occurrence story. Studio gross grew 11% to $1.28 cardinal for the quarter.

Television networks gross declined 6% to $3.7 cardinal arsenic Paramount’s cablegram channels proceed to contend with the nonaccomplishment of cablegram cord-cutters, which reduces the company’s collections from pay-TV providers. Nonetheless, Paramount pointed to the spot of Sheridan’s “Landman,” starring Billy Bob Thornton, Ali Larter, Sam Elliott and Demi Moore, and the spot of the CBS tv web which presently has 13 of the broadcast industry’s apical 20 primetime shows, including “60 Minutes,” “Marshals,” and “Tracker.”

The institution told analysts it would execute $30 cardinal successful gross for the afloat twelvemonth and $3.8 cardinal successful adjusted EBITDA. Paramount said it would besides marque $2.5 cardinal successful cost-cuts by the extremity of this twelvemonth and trim expenses by $3 cardinal successful 2027.

Paramount said it ended the 4th with $1.9 cardinal successful currency and currency equivalents. It besides was carrying $15.5 cardinal successful debt. The institution had to gully $2.15 cardinal from its revolving recognition installation to wage Netflix a $2.8 cardinal termination interest that Warner Bros. Discovery had agreed to wage nether a erstwhile woody to merchantability the institution to Netflix.

Paramount released its net aft Monday’s trading day. Its shares closed astatine $11.13, fundamentally unchanged.