Skydance Inherits a Mountain of Warner Bros. Box Office Losses as the Ex-Film Chiefs’ Slate Hits Hard

Hollywood mergers usually begin with a victory lap. Executives talk about synergies, franchises and growth, and the first few weeks are a showcase of confidence. For the new owners of Warner Bros., the start has been very different, as a series of box office disasters has turned the studio’s film division into a headline of its own.

Skydance, the company David Ellison formed after Paramount closed its roughly $110 billion acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery on October 6, now controls two historic film studios. It also inherits a Warner Bros. slate that has struggled badly this year. The latest Skydance Warner Bros. losses report puts a number on the problem.

Page Six reports that Skydance has been left with more than $800 million in 2026 losses from the slate overseen by Warner Bros.’ former film chiefs, with more box office disappointments on the horizon. That total comes from the outlet’s own reporting and hasn’t been independently confirmed by the studio. Still, the individual pieces that other outlets have tallied show how steeply the studio’s theatrical fortunes have fallen.

Variety has estimated that ‘The Bride!’ will lose about $100 million theatrically after taking in $24 million worldwide against a $90 million budget. ‘Supergirl’ earned $126 million globally against a $170 million budget, and it is projected to lose about $80 million. Other titles, including ‘Practical Magic 2’ and ‘The End of Oak Street’, are estimated to have lost between $25 million and $40 million each.

The biggest hit came from ‘Digger’, Tom Cruise’s satirical drama directed by Alejandro G. Iñárritu. It opened on October 2 to $8 million domestically on 3,300 screens, with a budget that rose from $125 million to between $160 million and $180 million. After a 60% drop in its second weekend, Variety reported the studio was bracing to lose about $245 million.

One report says Skydance executives were shocked to see the extent of the loss when they opened the books, and that the damage could reach $250 million or more. If that holds, it would rank among the biggest box office bombs of the century. It was also Warner Bros.’ last release before the merger closed.

The slump is striking because it follows a historic run. Michael De Luca and Pamela Abdy, who led the studio’s film division, oversaw a banner 2025 that included ‘A Minecraft Movie’, ‘Superman’, ‘Weapons’, ‘Sinners’ and ‘One Battle After Another’, with a global slate that grossed $4.37 billion. ‘One Battle After Another’ won Best Picture, even though it reportedly lost around $100 million theatrically.

In 2026, the picture reversed. None of the studio’s releases has crossed $100 million domestically, and its share of the box office fell from 21% in 2025 to about 6% this year, according to Variety. Warner Bros. Discovery also reported a 46% drop in theatrical revenue in the second quarter.

De Luca and Abdy’s departure was reported on October 2, days before the merger closed, with Paramount film heads Dana Goldberg and Josh Greenstein taking charge of both studios. Reports say the pair learned of the decision through news reports, and that they have told associates they have been in talks about a next act at Netflix. Skydance may also offer them producing deals.

Analysts and commentators have been divided on the decision. Some see it as a natural response to a rough year and a clash with Ellison’s cost-focused strategy, while others argue the executives took big creative risks that paid off in the past.

Skydance inherits close to 40 movies in various stages of development that were greenlit by De Luca and Abdy. Some of them could still be hits, and one of the biggest is ‘Dune: Part Three’, which Deadline described as a potential $1 billion-grossing year-end tentpole. 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.

The financial pressure is real. Skydance’s market value has fallen to under $40 billion, less than half what Warner Bros. Discovery and Paramount were worth before the merger, and the company has a goal of finding $6 billion in cost savings. Every large loss makes that mission harder.

The story highlights how fast fortunes can change in the movie business. A studio that was celebrated a year ago is now associated with some of the year’s biggest flops, and the executives who led it are gone. Whether the new leadership can turn things around will depend on a handful of high-stakes releases in the coming months.

For viewers, the immediate effect is likely to be a shift in the kinds of films the studio makes. Ellison has said he wants a diverse slate and has called ‘Sinners’ his favorite film of last year, but he has also signaled a stronger focus on profitability.

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