RESOLVING THE LEDGER
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The assessment comes from CVL Economics , which notes that the union of the two entertainment conglomerates will force the companies to cut costs aggressively as they try to pay down nearly $80 billion in debt. The study's authors estimate that the merger could have a much wider impact across the state, putting at risk 10,360 jobs, ranging from producers and agents to people who rent sound equipment. The study notes that tax incentives in states like Georgia and New Jersey, as well as foreign countries like the United Kingdom have already led to an exodus of production out of California, costing the state 52,000 jobs over the last four years. Related Stories The Paramount-WBD Merger Has Documentary Filmmakers on Edge, as They Fear for the Future of Archival Footage Paramount Positions 'Possession' Remake with Callum Turner and Margaret Qualley as Summer Blockbuster
In a statement to Variety , a spokesperson for Paramount said the job defections make the sale of Warner Bros. Discovery more pressing. Paramount has promised to produce 30 movies a year between the two studios, dwarfing the output of any other legacy studio, and to adhere to a longer theatrical window. It also has pledged to invest $30 billion annually in production.
""L.A. County's own economic report underscores what we have been saying all along: our industry is in decline, production is down and jobs are being lost — and lost for good if we don't act," a Paramount spokesperson said.
Paramount's spokesperson added that its plan means "more production that supports more jobs over time, and ultimately, a stronger, more durable entertainment industry for generations to come."
While the bulk of the research centers on macroeconomic issues and the constriction in the major studio space, the study also provides a sobering look at what ails the indie film sector. It notes that even as more companies released movies in theaters, there are more films being self-distributed than ever. Instead of finding an established buyer, in many cases, producers financed a theatrical run themselves.
The share of U.S. theatrical releases reaching screens without being acquired rose from 4.7% in 2021 to 21% in 2025, the report said. It noted that at Sundance, the number of films acquired and subsequently released theatrically fell from 104 in 2019 to 53 in 2025. At the same time, the number of companies releasing films in theaters increased from 308 in 2015 to 365 in 2025, as streamers began to embrace cinemas. Yet, the number of these companies acquiring films produced by others declined from 166 to 149.
"Independent films are still reaching theaters, but producers are increasingly doing so without a buyer assuming the cost and risk of release," the study's authors note. "A smaller acquisition market means fewer opportunities to sell a completed film and transfer that risk to a distributor—making independent production a more difficult and financially exposed pathway."
Now, that said, neither Warner Bros. nor Paramount have acquired many independently produced films, at least of the completed variety, of late. Years ago, Warner Bros./New Line bought "Blinded by the Light" at Sundance and Paramount shelled out for "Top Five" at TIFF, but today most indie films are snapped up by speciality labels, if they are purchased at all. After folding its arthouse label, Warner Independent Pictures in 2008, Warner Bros. got back into the business last year with the launch of Clockwork . As for Paramount, it turned out the lights on its prestige arm, Paramount Vantage, in 2013. But that was when the Redstones ran things.
So, as bad as the merger could be for the entertainment industry, as devastating as it may prove to the California economy, it's a stretch to pin the blame for the indie sector's nosedive on David Ellison .
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