David Ellison vows Paramount-Warner Bros. Discovery merger won't cut film output

Paramount Skydance Chief David Ellison made a surprise appearance at CinemaCon on Thursday, assuring movie theater owners that the studio’s planned acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery.

LAS VEGAS — Paramount Skydance chief David Ellison made a surprise appearance at CinemaCon on Thursday, assuring movie theater owners that the studio’s planned acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery would not hurt the movie business.

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“I wanted to look every single one of you in the eye and give you my word: Once we combine with Warner Bros., we are going to make a minimum of 30 films annually, across both studios,” he told attendees of CinemaCon, the annual industry event where studios bring in their stars and offer a sneak peek at their upcoming slates.

His speech came just days after Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., sent a letter to the studio executive requesting that he testify about the impact of the deal at a hearing that took place on Wednesday. Paramount’s head of public policy responded to the senator saying that Ellison couldn’t attend the hearing “as he is attending a funeral due to a death in the family,” according to a copy of the letter, which was obtained by NBC News.