A few months ago, Hollywood was convinced that Michael De Luca and Pamela Abdi were about to be fired as co-presidents of Warner Bros. Pictures. A few hits and one epic comeback can make all the difference.
On Wednesday, Warner Bros. Discovery head David Zaslav confirmed in an internal memo to staff that De Luca and Abdi’s contracts will be renewed for an unspecified period.
“When I first arrived at the studio, one of my key objectives was to recommit this storied company to its theatrical roots, renew Warner Bros.’ long-standing role as the home of the world’s greatest storytellers, and reestablish this iconic studio as an industry leader in quality and box office success,” Zaslav wrote. “Having Mike and Pam lead this team was an important step in achieving these goals, and we are pleased to share with everyone that we have re-signed them to ensure that they and this team can continue the great work they do bringing the best films to theaters around the world for years to come.”
Zaslav, who reportedly interviewed De Luca and Abdi to replace him earlier this year after the failures of films such as “Joker: A Folie à Deux,” “The Alto Knight” and “Mickey 17,” praised the duo for having “made over $4 billion in worldwide box office revenue in just 11 films.” After a rocky start to 2025, their fortunes changed with the release of blockbuster hits like “A Minecraft Movie,” which grossed nearly $1 billion, and zeitgeist hits like “Sinners” and “Weapons.” This year, nine of the studio’s films debuted at number one at the global box office.
Not all were commercially successful. Paul Thomas Anderson and Leonardo DiCaprio’s political thriller “One Battle After Another” received rave reviews from critics when it was released in September, but grossed just over $100 million at the worldwide box office, a disappointment considering its $130 million budget. Warner Bros. will be making other bold bets in the coming months, including Emerald Fennell’s adaptation of Wuthering Heights and Maggie Gyllenhaal’s monster movie The Bride. The studio also plans to release sequels to Mortal Kombat and Dune.
If there was bad blood from having to hunker down in the wind for months as Hollywood speculated about their fate, Abdi and De Luca didn’t betray it in their own notes to staff.
“From our first meeting with David, we knew that his unwavering vision, leadership, and commitment to targeting filmmakers with a singular vision would return Warner Bros. to its founding principles of making fearless, entertaining, and worthy films for audiences of all ages,” they wrote. “We are privileged to do this work because of the support and trust he has placed in us and in you. We could not be more excited to lead this team as we continue to introduce exciting films in the coming years and make every movie experience an event worthy of the Warner Bros. shield.”
