NATIONAL NEWS

Skydance now runs two of Hollywood’s legacy film studios. A look at the new company, by the numbers

Oct 6, 2026, 8:56 PM

FILE - A visitor walks past portraits of DC Comics superheroes as she enters the "Action and Magic ...

FILE - A visitor walks past portraits of DC Comics superheroes as she enters the "Action and Magic Made Here" interactive experience at the Warner Bros. Studio Tour Hollywood media preview on June 24, 2021, in Burbank, Calif. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello, File)
Credit: AP Photo/Chris Pizzello

(AP Photo/Chris Pizzello, File)

David Ellison’s Paramount Skydance has completed its acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery, bringing two of Hollywood’s most storied legacy film studios under one mammoth media and entertainment conglomerate named Skydance.

Now, Skydance must decide how to make the most out of a trove of entertainment assets, including the HBO Max and Paramount+ video streaming services, a film library that includes “Star Trek,” “Barbie,” “Top Gun,” “Harry Potter,” and “Superman,” and two major news organizations, CNN and CBS News.

All are under the direction of Ellison and his new co-CEO Ynon Kreiz.

Here’s a look at the new company, by the numbers:

$81 billion

How much it cost Paramount to buy Warner, excluding debt. Skydance acquired Paramount last year for $8 billion.

Around $80 billion

Skydance’s estimated net debt following its acquisition of the two movie studios, according to Morningstar.

Around $550 million

Warner CEO David Zaslav’s “golden parachute,” or compensation package, that he is set to receive now that the merger is closed. This is the value Warner Bros. assigned to the executive’s severance, stock awards and health coverage in a March regulatory filing.

The compensation package is about 68 times more than “Digger,” Warner’s last movie as a standalone studio, brought in domestically this past weekend.

$10.99

What you will pay monthly for HBO Max’s basic plan, which includes ads. The cost of an ad-supported monthly subscription to Discovery+ is $5.99, while the Paramount+ ad-supported Essential plan costs $8.99 a month. The subscription costs increase for each of the services’ ad-free plans.

Nearly $70 billion

What Skydance says its annual revenue now is following its acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery. Prior to the merger, Paramount Skydance and Warner had a combined revenue of $65.3 billion for the 12 months ended in June, according to FactSet.

$77.71 billion

The market cap for Warner Bros. Discovery as of Monday, before the merger closed. That is about seven times greater than what Paramount Skydance’s market capitalization was on the same day.

30

Number of movies Ellison promised the combined studios would release per year in the first two years after the merger. The number rises to 32 in the three years after that. Ellison made the promise as part of a settlement with 12 states that sued to block the merger.

11.8%

Share of total TV viewing that cable, broadcast and streaming properties owned by Paramount (6.5%) and Warner Bros. Discovery (5.3%) accounted for in July, according to Nielsen.


Please follow our Community Guidelines

National News

Rep. Rob Wittman, R-Va., waves during the 30th annual Glen Allen Day parade on Saturday, Sept. 19, ...

Associated Press

In Virginia, Democrat hoping to oust Republican tests anti-corruption message echoing around country

HAYES, Va. (AP) — U.S. Rep. Rob Wittman may have spent nearly two decades in Congress, but the Republican is emphasizing the humbler parts of his resume while running for another term this year. His advertisements talk about his work in a tomato cannery and on a fishing boat, and how he commutes to Washington […]

10 minutes ago

Associated Press

Asian stocks mostly fall back despite latest earnings-driven rally on Wall Street

Shares mostly retreated in Asia on Wednesday after U.S. stocks hit all-time highs, lifted by expectations of fat corporate earnings. U.S. futures were little changed and oil prices advanced. In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 lost 0.9% to 70,284.81, while the Kospi in South Korea also shed 0.9%, to 6,876.76. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng fell 0.6% […]

11 minutes ago

This photo provided by the Texas Department of Criminal Justice shows Jamaal Howard on Oct. 28, 202...

Associated Press

Texas set to execute man for fatally shooting a convenience store clerk during robbery in 2000

DALLAS (AP) — A Texas man who fatally shot a convenience store clerk is set to die by lethal injection on Wednesday in what would be the nation’s 30th execution this year. Jamaal Howard, 46, was found guilty of capital murder in the 2000 killing of Vickie Swartout, 42, who was shot once in the […]

12 minutes ago

Axel Rodríguez Olivas, center, and Blanier Bojorquez, left, warm up with other University of Nevad...

Associated Press

With violins, trumpets and the guitarrón, Las Vegas is training the mariachi educators of tomorrow

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Axel Rodríguez Olivas nervously steps on stage, carrying a violin. He raises his bow and begins to play, his nerves melting away. Mariachi music explodes throughout the room as violins, trumpets, the guitarrón, and a stringed instrument called the vihuela launch into an upbeat melody. There they are joined by a […]

14 minutes ago

President Donald Trump dances at a campaign rally at the Pinnacle Bank Expo Center, Monday, Oct. 5,...

Associated Press

Can $1 billion buy victory in the midterm elections? Some Republicans fear the answer is no

WASHINGTON (AP) — Republicans are entering the final month of the midterm campaign increasingly anxious that the $1 billion at their disposal may not be enough to fend off sweeping losses as the party reckons with President Donald Trump’s unpopularity, persistent cost concerns and the fallout from the war in Iran. The cash advantage, spread […]

14 minutes ago

FILE - A visitor walks past portraits of DC Comics superheroes as she enters the "Action and Magic ...

Associated Press

Skydance now runs two of Hollywood’s legacy film studios. A look at the new company, by the numbers

David Ellison’s Paramount Skydance has completed its acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery, bringing two of Hollywood’s most storied legacy film studios under one mammoth media and entertainment conglomerate named Skydance. Now, Skydance must decide how to make the most out of a trove of entertainment assets, including the HBO Max and Paramount+ video streaming services, […]

18 minutes ago

Skydance now runs two of Hollywood’s legacy film studios. A look at the new company, by the numbers