A few months ago, Hollywood was convinced that Michael De Luca and Pamela Abdy were about to be fired as co-heads of Warner Bros. Pictures. What a difference a few hits and one epic comeback can make.
On Wednesday, Warner Bros. Discovery chief David Zaslav confirmed in an internal note to staff that De Luca and Abdy’s contracts were being renewed for an unspecified amount of time.
“When I first arrived at the studio, recommitting this storied company to its theatrical roots, renewing Warner Bros. longstanding role as a home for the world’s best storytellers, and reestablishing this iconic studio to its position as an industry leader in terms of quality and box office success were among my key objectives,” Zaslav wrote. “Bringing Mike & Pam on to lead this team was an important step to achieve those goals, and I am excited to share with you that we have re-upped their deal to enable them to continue the stellar work they and this team will do over the next several years bringing the very best movies to cinemas around the world.”
Zaslav, who had reportedly been interviewing replacements for De Luca and Abdy earlier this year in the wake of flops like “Joker: Folie à Deux,” “The Alto Knights” and “Mickey 17,” praised the duo for “surpassing $4 billion at the global box office with just 11 films.” After a rough start to 2025, the pair’s fortunes shifted with the release of blockbusters like “A Minecraft Movie,” which grossed nearly $1 billion, as well as zeitgeist-y hits like “Sinners” and “Weapons.” This year, nine of the studio’s films debuted in first place at the global box office.
Not everything has been a commercial success. “One Battle After Another,” Paul Thomas Anderson and Leonardo DiCaprio’s politically charged thriller, scored with critics when it debuted in September, but its global haul of just over $100 million is a disappointment given its $130 million budget. The coming months will see Warner Bros. make other bold bets, including Emerald Fennell‘s adaptation of “Wuthering Heights” and Maggie Gyllenhaal’s monster movie, “The Bride!” The studio will also release sequels to “Mortal Kombat” and “Dune.”
If there was any bad blood from having to twist in the wind for months as Hollywood speculated about their fate, Abdy and De Luca didn’t betray it in their own note to staff.
“We knew from our first meeting with David that his unwavering vision, leadership and resolve to be a destination for filmmakers with singular visions would lead Warner Bros. back to its founding principles of making fearless, entertaining and cinema worthy films for audiences of all ages,” they wrote. “We have the privilege to do this job because of the support and trust he has put in us, and in all of you. We could not be more excited to be leading this team as we introduce an exciting slate of films in the coming years and continue making every film experience an event worthy of the Warner Bros. shield.”
Source link
