David Ellison, CEO of entertainment giant Paramount Skydance (PSKY), was likely not a completely welcome presence at CinemaCon, the gathering of theater owners who want to see the latest in technology and upcoming film releases. But he was there anyway, trying to soothe worried theater operators about the upcoming merger. Investors seemed pleased by the attempt, if only slightly, as Paramount Skydance shares were up fractionally in the closing minutes of Thursday’s trading.
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Much of what Ellison had to say was familiar. Paramount will agree to the 45-day exclusive window for theatrical releases. Others were less certain, offered less time, or were merely making plans to keep the window open longer. But Paramount is now on record with the 45-day window. Paramount also plans to commit to a three-month cycle for movies to stay on streaming video-on-demand platforms, which is roughly the current equivalent of a video store run before going to Paramount+.
Further, Paramount promised to keep the pipeline going, with the new Paramount releasing a “minimum” of 30 movies theatrically across both studios. That is actually a step up; Paramount released eight theatrical releases in 2025. Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) reportedly released 11. So between the two of them, reaching 30 would represent more releases. Though it is likely that that number would not count until 2027, the first full year under the unified banner.
More About the Avatar Leak
The leak of Legend of Aang: The Last Airbender is still leaking fallout, with reports suggesting that a Nickelodeon employee sent the original hacker the complete film via email. Subsequent reports suggest that was not the case after all, proving how complex this whole situation is becoming.
Yet, the Airbender movie is also proving a focal point for theater owners’ concerns. This movie was originally coming to theaters, after all, but Paramount decided to pivot and cut the theaters out of the picture altogether. Now, the movie will release on Paramount+. This might be part of why Ellison hit CinemaCon recently, in an attempt to mollify theater owners that what they see happening this year will not happen in the future under a unified banner.
Is Paramount Stock a Good Buy Right Now?
Turning to Wall Street, analysts have a Moderate Sell consensus rating on PSKY stock based on five Holds and five Sells assigned in the past three months, as indicated by the graphic below. After a 6.67% rally in its share price over the past year, the average PSKY price target of $11.38 per share implies 3.19% downside risk.
