Paramount Skydance CEO David Ellison speaks on stage during Paramount Pictures’ CinemaCon presentation at the Colosseum at Caesars Palace on April 16, 2026 in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Valérie Mâcon | AFP | Getty Images
Primordial CEO David Ellison is trying to do something no other studio has done in the modern era of cinema: release 30 films a year.
Ellison once again promised this theatrical feat in front of thousands of exhibitors at CinemaCon earlier this month. Applause broke out in the crowd after his statement.
But privately, movie theater operators have expressed concerns and skepticism about the proposed future slate of films. Although a series of massive releases would help cinemas, companies doubt it will be able to deliver on its promise.
Its 30-film project would depend on regulatory approval from Paramount for its proposed merger with Warner Bros. Discovery, which the latter company’s shareholders approved last week. Ellison noted that each studio would produce 15 films per year.
However, Ellison did not provide many details about these 30 versions, and it is not clear how he would achieve this ambitious goal. Representatives for Paramount did not respond to CNBC’s request for comment.
It is unclear whether all films will receive wide release (meaning they will ultimately be shown in at least 1,500 theaters, although the typical benchmark is 2,000). It’s also unclear whether the company will count films it distributes but doesn’t produce toward that figure, or how many of those proposed titles will be considered blockbuster blockbusters.
Theater operators and industry experts are skeptical about Paramount’s ability to maintain a slate of 30 films after the initial merger. After all, part of the consolidation process is eliminating layoffs, which inevitably leads to layoffs as well as cost-cutting measures that often result in reduced production.
“When it comes to new traditional wide-release films, 30 films per year is an ambitious project given that most distributors average between 10 and 15 major releases each year,” said Paul Dergarabedian, Comscore’s head of market trends.
In fact, in the last 25 years, no studio has released 30 films in a single year. The combination of 20th Century Fox and Searchlight came together in 2006 when the studios made 25 wide releases, according to Comscore data.
Data also shows that when studios have merged in the past, the result has been fewer theatrical releases, not more.
Before acquiring 21st Century Fox and its studio assets, Disney had produced an average of 12 films per year since 2000. Meanwhile, the combined efforts of 20th Century Fox and Searchlight produced an average of 16 films during the same period. Not counting 2020, in which theatrical releases were impacted by pandemic-related theater closures, Disney made an average of about 13 films per year following the 2019 merger.
The line chart shows Disney and 20th Century’s annual film releases between 2000 and 2019, before the two companies’ eventual merger.
“I can’t remember any consolidation cases where one plus one equals two,” Eric Handler, managing director and senior research analyst at Roth Capital Partners, told CNBC.
Additionally, a combined slate of Paramount and Warner Bros. would face logistical challenges in placing 30 films on a 52-week schedule, as well as competition for coveted high-end large format theaters.
The entire Hollywood cohort also balked at the merger, citing similar concerns about job losses and reduced productions. More than 4,000 personalities, including Robert De Niro, David Fincher, Pedro Pascal and Florence Pugh, signed an open letter opposing the merger of the two companies.
However, at least one cinema operator is in favor of the merger. AMC CEO Adam Aron has spoken out in favor of acquiring Warner Bros. by Paramount during CinemaCon earlier this month.
“Particularly important are David’s public commitments to expanding film distribution by Paramount and Warner to at least 30 films per year, as well as his vocal support for an exclusive 45-day theatrical window,” he wrote in a statement.
“I am convinced that David Ellison is sincere about his intentions and I sincerely believe that he will ultimately respect his commitments,” he added.
“Empty seats and vacant screens”
However, Ellison’s goal would not only be higher than any recent precedent, it would be much higher.
“Historically, the most you see outside of the studio is about 20 a year,” said Doug Creutz, senior research analyst at TD Cowen.
He pointed out that studios like Disney, Universal and Warner Bros. have the funds to make 30 films a year, but they don’t just do it because it’s not profitable to do so, but also because few studios have enough intellectual property or quality original stories to release in a year.
“If you had 30 good ideas, I would tell you to do it, but you won’t do it,” he said. “Most studios don’t have 20 good ideas.”
“I think the reality is they’ll probably realize it already, but they’re saying 30 because you’re trying to get the deal approved,” Creutz added. “I would say there’s not a year where Warner and Paramount release 30 films unless the slates are already set before the merger.”
That sentiment was echoed by industry analysts, theater owners and even rival studios in private conversations CNBC had at CinemaCon earlier this month. Even more so, there was a sense of enormous tension between studios and cinema exhibitors, particularly regarding the number of theatrical titles on offer.
Theater companies would welcome more quality releases, but there has been a shortage of them following the Covid pandemic.
“I tell people the only thing in this exhibition is empty seats and empty screens until the studios step up and give us something to play,” one veteran movie executive, who requested anonymity to speak candidly, told CNBC. “We have no other alternative.”
The executive noted that re-released films, live sporting events and concert screenings “don’t pay the bills,” and even concession sales no longer generate the same type of revenue as before.
“We cannot survive without films,” they said.
Movie theaters have struggled in the wake of the pandemic due to a lack of titles. Production was slowed due to Covid-related shutdowns and exacerbated when writers’ and actors’ guilds went on strike a few years later. At the same time, streaming has become more important and studios are producing fewer titles for theatrical release.
The decrease in the number of films has led to a decline in domestic box office revenue. Before the pandemic, annual ticket sales regularly topped $11 billion in the United States and Canada, but in the years since, the studios’ combined efforts have yet to top $10 billion.
This year could break that trend, as the list of films is significantly larger. However, if a merger takes place, it is expected that the release schedule will be reduced again.
“We know what’s going to happen,” the theater veteran said. “We know that when Paramount eats Warner, it will be just like Disney-Fox. There is no difference.”
Other theater operators echoed these sentiments when speaking anonymously to CNBC. They, too, wondered how the slate’s gaps would be filled if Paramount failed to fulfill its 30-film plan.
Amazon MGM has already taken over in recent years and has promised at least 15 theatrical releases per year starting in 2027. The studio is on track to release 13 in 2026. One of its recent films, “Project Hail Mary,” which arrived in theaters in March, set box office records for the studio and delivered in theatrical ratings.
However, Amazon’s annual addition of 15 films to the overall slate was already replacing films lost in the Disney-Fox merger. It would also not be enough to take into account the title losses resulting from a merger between Paramount and Warner Bros.
“It’s not ideal for an exhibition,” the film veteran said. “It’s a lose-lose proposition.”