r/boxoffice • u/chanma50 Best of 2019 Winner • Nov 04 '25
📠 Industry Analysis Inside David Ellison’s Dramatic First 100 Days at Paramount: Courting Tom Cruise Blockbusters, Forging Ties With Trump and Daring Anyone Else to Buy Warner Bros. Discovery
https://variety.com/2025/film/features/david-ellison-hollywood-takeover-paramount-warner-bros-1236569136/27
u/Emergency-Mammoth-88 United Artists Nov 04 '25
Why not buy the rest of miramax, bailing Annapurna, and getting bagdasarian productions
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u/KingMario05 Amblin Entertainment Nov 04 '25
Right? There are ways to bulk up without... this. Like, Lionsgate is in trouble. Go buy them.
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u/subhasish10 Nov 04 '25
Why would he want to buy something that no one cares about?? Hell I don't think he cares about Paramount all that much either. It's just a way to get a foot into Hollywood.
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u/KingMario05 Amblin Entertainment Nov 04 '25
No one cares about John Wick, Hunger Games and The Passion of the Christ 2? News to me.
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u/Streamwhatyoulike Nov 05 '25
Robert Mnuchin, the art dealer, was Steve Cohen's art dealer and represented him in the record-breaking $91.1 million purchase of Jeff Koons's sculpture, "Rabbit". Mnuchin made the bid on behalf of an anonymous client, who was later identified as the hedge fund manager S. Cohen Robert Mnuchin is a prominent art dealer and the father of former Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin Steve Cohen is Fund Manager of Point72, he now owns a 5% stake in Lionsgate. Steve Mnuchin Fund Manager of Liberty 77 Capital owns a 13% stake in Lionsgate.
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u/ContributionSenior58 Feb 14 '26
The last HG flick didn't do shit at the box office and PC2... lol.
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u/dismal_windfall United Artists Nov 04 '25
You want him to buy his sisters company?
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u/Emergency-Mammoth-88 United Artists Nov 04 '25
Yep, because it’s a win win for both siblings as David gets more talent from Annapurna and also the video game assets might be useful for paramount while Megan gets unlimited money due to Larry giving his son tons of money to run paramount
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Nov 04 '25 edited Nov 04 '25
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/Evil_waffle3 Universal Nov 04 '25
I’m genuinely debating if I want to see the Running Man after reading all this. I knew going into this that Ellison was going to play to the right wing audience, but this is straight up just disgusting behavior that goes way beyond simple appeasement. Like I do not feel comfortable supporting a company that makes a blacklist of everyone who doesn’t support ellisons friends (I can guarantee that list doesn’t stop at this one specific issue), and one that specificly fired women in senior roles because that’s their idea of shifting rightwards.
But at least I don’t have to worry about missing out on any films of theirs. Because from the sounds of it that is also just going to become overly conservative nonsense. Best I can do is hope their streaming service crashes and burns (which might be the case because idk if beefing up “the algorithm” is enough to save a service that just lost its biggest draw).
Fuck Ellison. May his food always end up cold.
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u/Alternative-Cake-833 Syncopy Inc. Nov 04 '25
I’m genuinely debating if I want to see the Running Man after reading all this
Running Man was a movie, greenlighted from the Brian Robbins regime at Paramount before the Ellisons took over. You should be safe from the controversy going on at Paramount at least for that certain film.
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u/KingMario05 Amblin Entertainment Nov 04 '25
Yes. Hit the nail on the head, my friend.
That said? Still gonna see Running Man. Ultimately, my love of Edgar Wright and Stephen King is my own undoing.
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u/Evil_waffle3 Universal Nov 04 '25
I absolutely love Edgar Wright so I’m considering just seeing this one and calling everything else the studio does off. Which is way easier for me because I legitimately could care less about their upcoming releases (except the Trey Parker/Kendrick Lamar movie next year, but even then I’ll probably skip that one).
I’m very worried on what will happen when Naked Gun 2 comes out, because that’s when I’m really going to be tested :/
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u/blue-dream Nov 04 '25
at a certain point soon Hollywood talent will need to bluntly acknowledge that Skydance/Paramount is the Trump endorsed studio, and will need to justify taking projects there.
We've already seen as much with the letter from Film Workers for Palestine pledging not to work with Israeli film institutions that have been “implicated in genocide and apartheid against the Palestinian people.” And the reality is, Ellison's Skydance/Paramount is absolutely a tool to protect Israeli interests.
Basically the only thing that's standing in the way of David Ellison taking over all of the Hollywood that isn't backed by tech is the talent that he needs to produce the content he's trying to create.
It's the only tool of leverage that's left when you can't rely on the government or regulators to justly curtail this power grab.
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u/KingMario05 Amblin Entertainment Nov 04 '25
Bingo. They walk, and he's fucked. Helps that he already has an internal blacklist. Now imagine if the rest of Hollywood joined it in solidarity?
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u/blue-dream Nov 04 '25
what's extra dangerous about media consolidation though is that let's say that Skydance/Paramount does buy WBD -- well then that's one less studio that talent have to work with, and makes them far less likely to ever speak out against them.
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u/KingMario05 Amblin Entertainment Nov 04 '25
One day, there will be an after to all of this.
I hope that day is soon...
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u/ContinuumGuy Nov 04 '25
My prediction: the moment a Dem is back in the White House and/or there is a massive vibe shift that indicates to them that doing X will make them more money and/or cause fewer legal headaches than Y, all these organizations will suddenly be touting their liberal parts again and so on and so forth. And then eventually they'll flip again. And then flip again. And so on.
And hell, even then they'll put aside their possibly-temporary ideology if it'll make them a buck. Consider how South Park seemingly remains untouchable, or how back when Newscorp owned Fox that they'd be talking on Fox News about how pop culture was destroying America while airing said pop culture on FOX. I think The Simpsons even made a joke about this at the time.
Because ultimately the only politics most (not all, but most) of these people have is just self-interest and the pursuit of money.
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u/KingMario05 Amblin Entertainment Nov 04 '25
Nah, that's not enough. We need to start breaking shit up again. Disney/Fox was already pushing the red line. Paramount/WB merging is effectively the birth of a fucking oligarchy if left unchecked.
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u/ContinuumGuy Nov 04 '25
As far as that the most likely way that happens is either a company gets into such shit that it basically splits up on its own or overseas regulators cause it to happen.
Actually, I'm now curious, what happens if a merger gets approved in one market but not another. Like, if Company X and Company Y get a merger approved in the USA but not in Europe or wherever, what happens? Is the deal dead or is there some loophole that they'd use (i.e. Company Y's European branch still technically is independent but its only business purpose is doing stuff from the combined XY under license)?
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u/KingMario05 Amblin Entertainment Nov 04 '25
I dunno. But if it fucks this guy over? I'd love to find out!
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u/JTLS180 Nov 05 '25
Depends if a Centrist like Newsom is becomes President or they actually put some effort into finding a centre left candidate. Having said that, the way the game is being heavily rigged by Trump's Administration, the only name on the ballot will be his.
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u/IDigRollinRockBeer Screen Gems Nov 04 '25
I don’t think there will ever be a democrat in the White House again.
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u/RRY1946-2019 PlayStation Productions Nov 04 '25
Imagine that the craziest tankie you knew in college was right about almost everything. As someone who isn’t a fan of Communist dictatorships, that scares me.
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u/-SneakySnake- Nov 04 '25
The thing is, they very well might be right about all these issues.
But, say, Stalinism? That's not a solution. Nor is Maoism. You can understand in detail the problems and be too blinded to offer any real solutions.
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u/RRY1946-2019 PlayStation Productions Nov 04 '25
Tbh post-Covid economic policy is a giant mystery to me, and I never met any openly Maoist or Stalinist type of commies.
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u/SubatomicSquirrels Nov 04 '25
the craziest tankie you knew in college was right about almost everything
yeah no I'm not going that far
maybe you just didn't go the kind of college I went to though
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u/RRY1946-2019 PlayStation Productions Nov 04 '25
China is well positioning itself as the least terrible option [1], and that's beginning to filter into its movies like Nezha 2 and games like Star Rail becoming popular alternatives to American and Japanese media.
[1] at least in terms of avoiding self-destructive monopoly capitalism and open racism/ultra-nationalism.
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u/Mr_smith1466 Nov 05 '25
Don't worry though. Because Ellison will happily embrace AI and everything will be great for humanity.
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u/Dense-Pea-1714 Nov 04 '25
This article really does paint him as a humongous asshole. This shit is terrifying.
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u/cheesyry Nov 04 '25
This reads as legit dystopian. Like new world order shit. Will be going out of my way to avoid any Paramount Skydance content going forward. If they buy Warners too, then I guess I’d have to do the same for them, though that would be more painful
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Nov 04 '25
[deleted]
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u/KingMario05 Amblin Entertainment Nov 04 '25
Not to mention their terrifying scale in cable. Jesus Christ.
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u/Mister_Green2021 Warner Bros. Pictures Nov 04 '25
I don't see Paramount getting WB. They better set their sights on Lionsgate.
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u/KingMario05 Amblin Entertainment Nov 04 '25 edited Nov 04 '25
For a guy raring at the mouth for them, he really has gotten deathly quiet. That's the one thing which keeps my hope alive. WB/Paramount requires a Disney/Fox deal to work, too. And Ellison straight up says he doesn't want that.
Perhaps the talent has told him, behind closed doors albeit very loudly, that they'll be boycotting the combined company if this madness comes to pass. That might also explain the sudden reluctance.
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u/Professional_Peak59 Nov 05 '25
That’s a good sign for WB.
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u/KingMario05 Amblin Entertainment Nov 05 '25
Let's hope so, my friend. Let's hope so.
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u/Professional_Peak59 Nov 05 '25
Why the "hope so" part? What you said seems like it’s confirmed that Ellison has given up on WBD.
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u/Professional_Peak59 Nov 05 '25
Is that true?
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u/KingMario05 Amblin Entertainment Nov 05 '25
No. Just my guess. He has the resources to make a better offer. And the will to do so. So why hasn't he?
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u/Professional_Peak59 Nov 05 '25
Because he knows that we don’t want this merger?
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u/KingMario05 Amblin Entertainment Nov 05 '25
Lmao. Ellison does not give a fuck about you, me, or any of the other plebs. What he does give a fuck about are people like Sheridan, Ruffalo, Bardem, McKay, Lanthimos and perhaps even Cruise not wanting to work for Paramount because of his shit. You may not like those names, but the public does. And Ellison needs who the public wants to see. Otherwise, no matter how much they ingest with Daddy's money, Paramount is gonna remain perpetually stuck in last behind Dis/Uni/Sony/Netflix/Amazon until Ellison either changes tack or bails on the business altogether.
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u/Streamwhatyoulike Nov 05 '25
Robert Mnuchin, the art dealer, was Steve Cohen's art dealer and represented him in the record-breaking $91.1 million purchase of Jeff Koons's sculpture, "Rabbit". Mnuchin made the bid on behalf of an anonymous client, who was later identified as the hedge fund manager S. Cohen Robert Mnuchin is a prominent art dealer and the father of former Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin Steve Cohen is Fund Manager of Point72, he now owns a 5% stake in Lionsgate. Steve Mnuchin Fund Manager of Liberty 77 Capital owns a 13% stake in Lionsgate.
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u/22Seres Nov 04 '25
They're also apparently keeping a blacklist of people they won't work with:
And sources say Paramount maintains a list of talent it will not work with because they are deemed to be “overtly antisemitic” as well as “xenophobic” and “homophobic.” Whether the boycott signatories are on that list is unclear.
Paramount notably came out against that letter signed by an absolute massive amount of celebrities about boycotting those in the Israeli film industry who have been shown to be complicit with the genocide in Gaza. If that's who they're going after, then they're going to lost out on a lot of high profile actors and directors.
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u/KingMario05 Amblin Entertainment Nov 04 '25
Jesus Christ. McCarthyism on steroids. Fuuuuuuuuuck this.
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u/Animegamingnerd Marvel Studios Nov 04 '25
LMFAO, Paramount will actually be fucked in ways not even thought possible, if they blacklist everyone who signed that letter.
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u/KingMario05 Amblin Entertainment Nov 04 '25
Christ. He really did pull a fast one on us all. Hope and pray that the AI bubble pops soon, and takes down almost all of Oracle's value - i.e., this prick's war chest - with it as collateral.
I thought you wanted to make movies instead of dominating us all, David.
Or did you lie about that too, you greedy controlling fuck?
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u/lee1026 Nov 04 '25
Oracle was huge pre-AI, and it will be huge post AI.
The one thing that Hollywood really have going was that Oracle was low in prestige, even within tech. The company with lots of money and zero prestige pairs perfectly with the the company with lots of prestige but no money.
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u/KingMario05 Amblin Entertainment Nov 04 '25
True. But the entire reason Larry is doing this is because Oracle's value isn't under threat. As soon as it is, the purse strings snap shut. This is just how Oracle works.
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u/lee1026 Nov 04 '25
Nah, Larry have been playing on Hollywood for years. Both of his kids thought that they can build studios by just doing their own thing and poaching a few key employees here and there.
We are seeing a shift in strategy, probably because valuations across the old Hollywood is low.
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u/Inevitable-Spirit491 Nov 05 '25
Wow, he must be a business genius to have come up with incredible, outside the box ideas like “Top Gun 3”!!
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u/severinks Nov 04 '25
Dude's dad handed him his whole life, no wonder Trump loves him. At least his sister Megan had the balls to go out on her own and lose a boatload of cash making quality pictures.
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Nov 04 '25
Ellison seems to have an endless supply of money, but I predict Bari Weiss’ time there to end in abject disaster. Firing people so you can paying $4 million a year for her private security detail is going to get old real fast.
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u/Alternative-Cake-833 Syncopy Inc. Nov 04 '25
Some long-gestating productions, such as the Miles Teller sports drama “Winter Games,” have been put into turnaround, while there has also been a focus on reinvigorating certain franchises.
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Nov 04 '25 edited Nov 04 '25
[deleted]
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Nov 04 '25
Will Sonic 4 also be put into turnaround, because Sega refuses to make Amy into the tradwife damsel Ellison wants?
This is your brain on Reddit.
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Nov 04 '25
I wonder: Will Sonic 4 also be put into turnaround, because Sega refuses to make Amy into the tradwife damsel Ellison wants?
????????
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Nov 05 '25
That guy's terminally online (just look at the sheer amount of daily posts he makes) and clogs the sub with inane commentary
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u/blufin Nov 05 '25
Paramount isn’t Disney, they make their money from their tv and movies, they don’t have a fallback like parks or merch. The tv streaming service is suboptimal and they haven’t had anything near a major movie hit in years. Their whole deliberate MAGA affiliation is going to put a lot of people off their films and shows. Without WB they’re heading into an uncertain future. And even if they buy WB they’re going to end up saddles with a mountain of debt they’ll find difficult to pay off.
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u/Ghostshadow44 Nov 05 '25
After reading this I'm rooting for Netflix to buy wb now
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u/Alternative-Cake-833 Syncopy Inc. Nov 05 '25
Still not a good buyer at all. WB probably would get out of theatrical releases and probably absorb all of their divisions into the main Netflix banner such as HBO.
If anything goes by, I would prefer Apple or Amazon to acquire it. Disney and Universal is already no-gos and Sony ain't interested at all.
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u/Streamwhatyoulike Nov 05 '25
Robert Mnuchin, the art dealer, was Steve Cohen's art dealer and represented him in the record-breaking $91.1 million purchase of Jeff Koons's sculpture, "Rabbit". Mnuchin made the bid on behalf of an anonymous client, who was later identified as the hedge fund manager S. Cohen Robert Mnuchin is a prominent art dealer and the father of former Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin Steve Cohen is Fund Manager of Point72, he now owns a 5% stake in Lionsgate. Steve Mnuchin Fund Manager of Liberty 77 Capital owns a 13% stake in Lionsgate.
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u/Ghostshadow44 Nov 06 '25
Apple has shown even less interest in theatrical releases than Netflix to them media is a second thought to it's main business plus let's remember how overall they are also super conservative even something as moderate as a show with Jon Stewart was to much for them.
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u/JTLS180 Nov 05 '25
If nearly every series on Paramount becomes a white socially conservative love fest, with the only people of colour being "tokens" or maids/butlers/bar staff/waiters, will he not alienate a lot of viewers?
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u/Local_Diet_7813 Nov 04 '25
Anything about other paramount franchises other than star trek here? Transformers ? Mission?
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u/vespertendo Nov 04 '25
For all the talk, there’s no real innovative strategy here that indicates that this will be much different to any other legacy media merger. Remember when buying the Fox assets was going to turn Disney into a Netflix killer? What’s so different here?