Actor Mark Ruffalo weighed into the Paramount Warner Bros merger row on Wednesday, backing a state-led push to block the $110bn tie-up between Paramount Skydance (NASDAQ: PSKY) and Warner Bros. Discovery (NASDAQ: WBD).
Twelve states, led by California attorney-general Rob Bonta, are suing to stop the deal, according to the California Department of Justice.
What Ruffalo actually said
Ruffalo, known for playing The Hulk in Marvel’s Avengers films, posted his criticism on X, arguing the deal chiefly benefits those positioned to profit from it, as first reported by Benzinga.
His post named no bank executive. He blamed the Ellison family’s “cozy relationship” with President Trump and what he called ‘a partisan and compromised DOJ’ for the merger not being halted, the Benzinga report shows. J.P. Morgan is listed as a financial adviser to Warner Bros. Discovery in the transaction, per an SEC filing, which may explain any unstated link to chief executive Jamie Dimon, but no source ties Ruffalo’s remarks to Dimon directly.
Twelve states, one restraining order
Bonta’s coalition secured an early legal win: a federal court granted a temporary restraining order pausing the merger process, according to the California Department of Justice. Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery have separately agreed to pause the deal process until a June deadline, Bloomberg reported.
The Writers Guild of America has filed its own suit targeting the merger, adding a labour-union front to the states’ antitrust case, according to Deadline. CBS News put the deal’s value at $110bn, matching the California DOJ’s figure, though Fortune reported the same lawsuit as targeting an “$81 billion” merger — a discrepancy that has gone unresolved in public reporting.
The domestic legal fight contrasts with the deal’s progress abroad. Britain’s antitrust watchdog cleared the merger in early August, Bloomberg reported, leaving the transaction advancing internationally even as US states litigate to stop it.
Insider filings cluster around the row
Paramount insiders filed Form 4 disclosures on 11 August. Chief executive David Ellison and executive Andrew Brandon-Gordon each lodged filings that evening, according to SEC EDGAR records timestamped 21:09 and 21:10 UTC respectively.
Separately, four Form 4 filings tied to Warner Bros. Discovery — including entries for director Gerhard Zeiler and Samuel Di Piazza Jr. — were filed on 12 August, per SEC EDGAR. The two companies’ insider filings fell on consecutive days but are unconnected disclosures from separate issuers.
Paramount Skydance’s most recent 10-Q shows diluted earnings per share of $0.15 for the period ended 31 March 2026, alongside net income of $168m on revenue of $7.35bn, according to its SEC filing. The company’s own data flags that the EPS figure may reflect either quarterly or year-to-date reporting for that period-end, a caveat SEC EDGAR attaches to the disclosure. The prior fiscal year ended in a loss, with FY2025 diluted EPS of -$0.53 and a net loss of $586m, the company’s 10-K shows.
Positioning shifts as the case plays out
PSKY shares closed 0.74% higher over 24 hours, trading at $9.56, and are up 8.07% over 20 days, according to consolidated exchange data. Trading volume ran 1.75 times the 20-day average.
Short interest in the stock has also climbed. FINRA’s daily short-sale data show PSKY’s short ratio rising to 0.622 on 12 August, up from 0.293 on 28 July, according to FINRA figures.
Ruffalo has said in a podcast interview that he assumes he is already “on a list” for opposing the merger, describing fear among Hollywood figures about speaking out against the Ellisons, according to Complex. Market participants are watching the June deadline set by the two companies, alongside any appeal of the restraining order secured by Bonta’s coalition, for the next move in the case.
This article is for information only and is not investment advice or a recommendation to buy or sell any asset. Markets move quickly; figures are correct as sourced at the time of writing. Always do your own research before making financial decisions.
