Paramount on the Move? David Ellison Threatens California Exit Over Antitrust Suit

Hollywood heavyweight David Ellison is ready to take Paramount Pictures out of California if state officials refuse to engage in settlement talks regarding the ongoing antitrust lawsuit, industry insiders confirm. The deadline for negotiations? October 1st. In a closed-door meeting with senior execs last week, Ellison made it clear that he's prepared to uproot Paramount (and sister company Warner Bros., pending the successful closure of their merger) if California Attorney General Rob Bonta fails to agree on settlement terms by then. According to our sources, Ellison's plan involves initiating the process of leaving California as early as October 1st, should negotiations have not commenced. The Paramount board, comprised of Skydance members, has reportedly given its approval for this significant relocation. Paramount declined to comment when approached by Variety. Bonta has yet to disclose what concessions from the merged Paramount-Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) he would find acceptable enough to withdraw the lawsuit. However, the Democratic attorney general has previously stated that any remedies must be "structural," i.e., divestments, rather than "behavioral," such as imposing specific production quotas. We've reached out to Bonta's office for comment. October 1st marks the start of a $7 million per day 'ticking fee' payable to WBD shareholders by Paramount. The antitrust trial is scheduled for March 2, 2027 – just five months after this ticking clock starts – so Paramount would owe around $1.2 billion to WBD shareholders by the time the trial wraps up. (It's important to note that these payments won't be due until the merger is finalized.) At a meeting on Paramount's lot last month, Ellison shared his confidence in the company's ability to emerge victorious from the antitrust case against the states. The headquarters would relocate first, with tax incentives from competing states helping offset the transition costs. Over a five-year period, most studio jobs are expected to follow suit and move out of California. Still undecided on its new home, Paramount is reportedly considering destinations such as Georgia, Texas, and Tennessee. Key execs in attendance at the August 5th meeting included Paramount's studio heads Dana Goldberg and Josh Greenstein, as well as CBS and TV media chair George Cheeks. In light of these developments, the possibility of Ellison moving his business out of California was previously hinted at in a report by Semafor last month. According to that piece, Ellison's advisers were urging him to consider leaving the state if it posed a threat to the Paramount-WBD merger. By year's end 2025, Paramount Skydance employed approximately 17,600 workers worldwide, while Warner Bros. Discovery boasted around 35,500. If the merger does push through, Ellison and his team are expected to implement substantial job cuts across the combined company to achieve cost savings and streamline operations.