Tom Cruise threw his support behind David Ellison’s promise to flood theaters with movies once Paramount finishes absorbing Warner Bros. Discovery, telling “The Pat McAfee Show” on Tuesday that he’s certain the studios will hit their target.
“I think it’s awesome,” Cruise said. “They’re going to deliver 30 movies. It’s a community to me. It’s not an industry. The people in these studios are my family.” He called on the wider industry to pitch in rather than leave the work to Paramount alone, predicting the 30-film slate could eventually grow to 40. Cruise pointed to directors like Alejandro González Iñárritu, Steven Spielberg and Christopher Nolan as proof that filmmakers need chances to build their careers the way he did, arguing that expanding production is the only way to create those opportunities.
Ellison has repeated the 30-film pledge since he beat out Netflix in February for the rights to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery in a deal valued near $111 billion. He first floated the number publicly at CinemaCon in April, telling theater owners he’d look them “in the eye” and guarantee a combined minimum of 15 films annually from each studio. Paramount has since gone further, offering AMC and Regal three-year contracts that would lock in the 30-film commitment with 45-day exclusive theatrical windows and financial penalties if the studio falls short.
The pledge has become central to Ellison’s case for the merger as it faces mounting regulatory scrutiny. A federal judge temporarily halted the deal from closing after concluding the combined companies’ market share alone made an antitrust violation plausible. Critics have also noted that Paramount and Warner Bros. together averaged roughly 30 wide releases annually before the pandemic but have released closer to 18 a year over the past five years, meaning Ellison’s guarantee amounts to restoring past output rather than expanding it.
Cruise, a longtime Ellison ally whose Skydance Media helped produce “Top Gun: Maverick” and the “Mission: Impossible” franchise, also holds a first-look deal at Warner Bros. He cited this summer’s box office performance, including “Spider-Man: Brand New Day” and “The Devil Wears Prada 2,” as evidence that more films in theaters translates to bigger hits.
Paramount has targeted a September close for the deal, though the outcome remains tied up in ongoing court proceedings and antitrust review.
