Skydance Reportedly Inherits Massive Warner Bros. Losses From Ousted Film Chiefs

Warner Bros. went from one of Hollywood’s biggest success stories to one of its most troubled studios in a single year. Under film chiefs Mike De Luca and Pam Abdy, the studio had a record-breaking, award-winning 2025, capped by a Best Picture win for ‘One Battle After Another’.

That run didn’t protect them when the industry shifted. Warner Bros. Discovery merged with Paramount Skydance in October, creating a combined company led by David Ellison and simply called Skydance, and De Luca and Abdy were left out of the new structure.

Now the financial fallout from their final slate is coming into focus. According to Page Six, Skydance has inherited more than $800 million in 2026 losses tied to films overseen by the former Warner Bros. film chiefs, and more box office disappointments may still be on the way.

The studio hasn’t confirmed the figure. However, several high-profile flops this year help explain how the losses could have grown so large. One report says Skydance executives were shocked by the size of the losses when they reviewed the books after the merger. Page Six’s own headline described the spending as reckless, citing insiders.

‘Digger’ has become the most painful example. The Tom Cruise film, directed by Alejandro G. Iñárritu, opened to just $8 million domestically across 3,300 screens, while its budget reportedly climbed from $125 million to between $160 million and $180 million.

After a steep 60% drop in its second weekend, Variety reported the studio was bracing for a loss of around $245 million on the film alone. Some estimates put the damage at $250 million or more.

‘The Bride!’ and ‘Supergirl’ also struggled. ‘The Bride!’ reportedly earned just $24 million worldwide against a $90 million budget, while ‘Supergirl’ made $126 million globally on a $170 million budget, with estimated losses of around $100 million and $80 million respectively.

Smaller releases added to the problem. ‘Practical Magic 2’ and ‘The End of Oak Street’ are each estimated to have lost between $25 million and $40 million. According to Variety, no Warner Bros. release has crossed $100 million domestically in 2026, and the studio’s share of the box office has fallen from 21% last year to about 6%.

Warner Bros. Discovery also reported a 46% drop in theatrical revenue in the second quarter. It’s a striking turnaround for a studio coming off such a celebrated year. The losses also come as the overall box office is having its best year since before the pandemic.

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De Luca and Abdy reportedly learned they wouldn’t join the combined company through overnight news reports rather than a call from Ellison. They will be paid through 2030, and they have reportedly told associates they are discussing a next move at Netflix.

Paramount film heads Josh Greenstein and Dana Goldberg are set to oversee both studios. A new Warner Bros. chief, either hired from outside or promoted internally, will report to them, and De Luca and Abdy may still receive producing deals with Skydance.

Skydance inherits nearly 40 projects in development that De Luca and Abdy greenlit, and the slate ahead carries real stakes. ‘Dune: Part Three’ is being positioned as a potential $1 billion year-end tentpole that could help offset the losses.

The 2027 lineup includes ‘Man of Tomorrow’, ‘Godzilla x Kong: Supernova’, ‘The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum’ and an ‘Ocean’s 11’ prequel. Ellison has signaled a stronger focus on profitability, so those projects will likely face close scrutiny as the new company tries to recover.

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