Mark Ruffalo Slams Paramount-Warner Bros. $111 Billion Merger After Judge Clears Final Hurdle
Actor Mark Ruffalo vows to keep fighting Paramount Skydance's $111 billion takeover of Warner Bros. Discovery after a federal judge approved a settlement that removes the last legal obstacle, while Paramount names Mattel CEO Ynon Kreiz as co-CEO of the combined company.
Actor and activist Mark Ruffalo is refusing to stand down in his campaign against Paramount Skydance's roughly $111 billion takeover of Warner Bros. Discovery, even after a federal judge cleared the final legal barrier to the deal. U.S. District Judge Araceli Martínez-Olguín approved Paramount's settlement with 12 state attorneys general on Sept. 30, removing the last obstacle to a merger that would place CNN, HBO and Warner Bros. under the control of a single corporate family.
Hours after the ruling, Ruffalo took to X to condemn the outcome in blunt terms. «This merger will stifle creativity, weaken free speech, and cost people their jobs—it is a bad deal for this country and should never have been approved,» he wrote. He described the approval as «an incredibly disappointing outcome for the hundreds of thousands of us who stood up to block it,» but insisted the fight is not over. «This grassroots movement isn't going to fade away and neither is our resolve,» he added, framing the battle as part of a broader effort against «corrupt oligarch billionaires trampling the interests of everyday people to line their own pockets.»
The settlement, reached Sept. 21 with states led by California Attorney General Rob Bonta, imposes a series of conditions on the combined company. It must release at least 30 films in theaters annually for the first two years, rising to 32 per year for the following three. At least four films a year must be independent productions, and each counted film must remain in theaters for at least 45 days, with wide releases barred from subscription streaming for at least 90 days. The company must also spend an additional $300 million a year on U.S. film production above the two studios' combined 2025 levels and cannot sell or close either Los Angeles-area lot for at least five years. Falling short of the annual film quota triggers a $30 million penalty per missing film, split among entertainment-industry health and retirement funds, the Motion Picture & Television Fund and a National Association of Attorneys General fund. A shortfall would also force Paramount to sell its minority stake in Miramax.
Within 180 days of closing, the company must create a five-member News Editorial Independence Board composed of established journalists. The board will set editorial principles for CBS News and CNN and resolve disputes over alleged violations. Colorado and Washington joined the broader settlement but declined to sign off on the editorial board terms.
Ruffalo's criticism has extended beyond Paramount CEO David Ellison to his father, Oracle cofounder Larry Ellison, who personally guaranteed $40.4 billion to back his son's pursuit of Warner Bros. The feud escalated on Aug. 21 when Ruffalo shared a video of Safra Catz, Oracle's executive vice chair and a Paramount board member, describing «really profoundly scary technologies» Oracle provided to Israel's military after the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attack. Ruffalo warned those technologies «will most likely be merged into one of the largest media conglomerates in the world and one day used on you.» Paramount responded that it was «troubled when antisemitic tropes are invoked in purported service of a business dispute,» calling the use of terms like «genocide» and «apartheid» in a corporate transaction «a bridge too far.» Ruffalo fired back the next day, calling the accusation «appalling and fundamentally dishonest» and saying his criticism of Israeli government actions and military technology contracts should not be conflated with hostility toward Jewish people.
Shortly after the ruling, Paramount announced that Mattel CEO Ynon Kreiz will join the company Oct. 5 as co-CEO of the combined company alongside David Ellison. Before the settlement was announced, Ruffalo had publicly pressed Bonta not to make a deal, writing on X: «Don't you dare @AGRobBonta, do not cave.» He noted that 5,670 filmmakers had urged the attorney general to fight the merger and that more than 75,000 people had signed a petition against it.
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