CHICAGO — It’s official: Paramount, which owns Skydance, has signed a contract with Warner Bros. It completed its $81 billion acquisition of Discovery on Tuesday, ushering in a new Hollywood giant.
The merger brings together America’s two oldest film production studios under a new name: Skydance.
HBO Max, titles ranging from “Harry Potter” to “Sinners,” and networks like CNN now find themselves under the same umbrella as Paramount+, CBS, and the likes of “Top Gun” and “The Godfather.” All under the management of billionaire David Ellison and his new co-CEO Ynon Kreiz.
“Today is a historic day not just for Skydance, but for our entire industry,” Ellison said. “We couldn’t be more excited to get started.”
Ellison’s Skydance acquired Paramount last year for $8 billion before setting its sights on Warner. What followed escalated into a tumultuous feud with the famous Hollywood giant that lasted nearly a year. The purchase amount, including billions of dollars of debt, amounts to approximately $111 billion.
Now combined, Skydance marks one of the largest partnerships in media and entertainment history, further concentrating power in an industry currently dominated by just a handful of major players. Politics also loomed over much of the process. The Ellison family has a particularly long relationship with Republican President Donald Trump, who said Tuesday that Skydance “will be a great company.”
The early days of Paramount’s search for Warner turned into a complicated bidding war.
Warner first struck a studio and streaming deal with Netflix in December, months after announcing it was open to selling all or part of its business.
But Paramount said it also made overtures to which Warner management “never meaningfully engaged.” He soon launched a hostile counteroffer.
Hollywood giants have spent much of 2026 in a heated tug-of-war over who has the stronger bid, with Warner leadership repeatedly backing Netflix as its preferred suitor. However, Netflix backed out after Paramount increased its offer to buy all of Warner for $31 per share.
Warner and Paramount signed a mutual merger agreement in late February.
Hollywood was closely watching the fight over Warner’s future. From award shows to online petitions, A-list celebrities and other creators have made their voices heard.
In April, thousands of movie stars, writers, directors and other professionals announced their “strong opposition” to the Paramount-Warner merger. An open letter to the deal, signed by longtime outspoken critics like Jane Fonda and Mark Ruffalo as well as Hollywood heavyweights from Denis Villeneuve to JJ Abrams, warned of less work and “fewer options for audiences in the United States and around the world.”
Others lined up to support Paramount as Ellison reiterated his commitment to cinema. The company debuted a glossy mini-movie about the studio at CinemaCon, directed by Jon M. Chu and narrated by Tom Cruise, who concludes a spot atop the iconic Paramount water tower with the words, “the future is very important, and the future looks pretty great from here.” Director James Cameron also doubled down on his support for Ellison.
The possibility of a new Warner owner loomed over awards season, too, from #BlockTheMerger pins to more subtle nods in acceptance speeches. While accepting her Emmy award last month, “Extraordinarily Bright Creatures” actress Sally Field, who also signed an open letter opposing the Paramount-Warner deal, said “unique storytelling matters” and “we cannot allow these voices to be silenced, compromised or consolidated.”
When Netflix’s studio and streaming deal was discussed, most industry critics were outspoken, focusing particularly on the future of movies to be released in theaters.
Critics are also watching what’s happening at CNN under Skydance.
Trump has regularly attacked reporting he deems negative on CNN (most recently he tried to block the White House exit altogether). At the time of the Warner acquisition, its management also made statements about its hopes of finding a new owner.
Days after Paramount launched its hostile bid for Warner, Trump said CNN was spreading “poison and lies” and that it was “imperative” that the network be sold. The White House targeted CNN again in March for its coverage of the US-Israeli war against Iran. “The sooner David Ellison takes over this network, the better,” Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told reporters.
Ellison said editorial independence will be protected at CNN. He told reporters on Tuesday that the company “has not spoken to political leaders of any party about the news other than to say we want to be in the truth business and we want to be in the trust business.”
Skydance is hiring Mark Thompson as CNN editor-in-chief. And under a settlement finalized last month with states that sued over the takeover, the company agreed to create a “News Editorial Independence Board.”
Still, critics point to the turmoil already seen at CBS under Skydance’s ownership and don’t believe this new structure can do much. The company’s corporate board of directors will oversee the appointments.
Ellison has generally maintained a close relationship with Trump. Warner reportedly held a dinner honoring Trump in Washington in April, the same day Warner shareholders gave the green light for the merger. In June, just two days after the Justice Department said it would not intervene in the deal, Ellison attended an Ultimate Fighting Championship match held on the White House lawn for Trump’s 80th birthday (streamed by Paramount+).
“We have a good relationship with this administration,” Ellison said Tuesday. But he said he “has a really good relationship” with Democratic President Joe Biden, as well as other politicians.
Paramount raised billions of dollars in financial support from three Gulf states: Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates to help finance the Warner acquisition. The Federal Communications Commission approved the company’s request for large indirect ownership from foreign investors.
Paramount has previously said it expects these funds to indirectly own approximately 50% of Skydance’s equity shares but not have voting rights. But the company requested permission for up to 100% to account for potential future investments, and the FCC granted it, arguing in part that access to more capital would strengthen the broadcast industry and was therefore “in the public interest.”
The FCC’s only Democratic commissioner, Anna Gomez, and other critics called the move alarming and unprecedented. They argue that this much money opens the door to behind-the-scenes influence.
Paramount cleared antitrust hurdles over the Warner buyout from the Justice Department and regulators around the world over the summer.
But in July, Democratic attorneys general from 12 states, led by California’s Rob Bonta, sued to block the merger, arguing it would “eliminate competition” and lead to fewer choices for consumers, especially moviegoers and cable customers.
The Writers Guild of America followed suit.
Settlements appeared in September. The states’ terms, approved by a judge, include a commitment by the company to increase film production in the U.S. over the next five years, dedicate millions of dollars to a fund aimed at supporting workers displaced by the merger and establish new editorial oversight for CNN and CBS.
Critics said the remedies were too weak, but the agreements paved the way for the deal to be concluded.