David Zaslav (in the picture), the Chief Executive Officer of Warner Bros. Discovery Inc., has started meeting with candidates who could replace film studio heads Michael De Luca and Pamela Abdy, according to people familiar with the matter, a Bloomberg report has stated.
The talks with potential successors are at an early and informal stage, and a final decision on the futures of De Luca and Abdy has not been made, said the people, who asked to not be identified discussing private conversations.
“The rumor of an imminent leadership change at the studio is not accurate,” Robert Gibbs, a spokesperson for Warner Bros. Discovery, said in a statement.
De Luca and Abdy’s contracts expire in 2026. Zaslav hired the two executives — Mike and Pam, as they’re known in Hollywood — to restore the standing of Warner Bros. shortly after closing Discovery Inc. ‘s $43 billion merger with AT&T Inc.’s WarnerMedia in 2022.
But Warner Bros. has continued to struggle, releasing several pictures, including ‘Joker: Folie à Deux’ and ‘Mickey 17, which have disappointed at the box office.
De Luca and Abdy have signed development and production deals with actors Tom Cruise and Margot Robbie, and purchased projects from directors including Alejandro González Iñárritu and Paul Thomas Anderson. To secure some of those films at auction, Warner Bros. agreed to pay prices rival studios couldn’t justify, the people said.