Paramount chief executive David Ellison has reportedly told senior staff he intends to move the studio's headquarters out of California if the antitrust lawsuit blocking its $111 billion merger with Warner Bros. Discovery is not resolved by 1 October, according to Puck. The threat marks a striking reversal from Ellison, who as recently as February wrote to state lawmakers pledging to keep Paramount "true to our roots" in Southern California, having previously relocated the firm's headquarters from New York to its historic Los Angeles lot. The shift matters because Paramount is fighting attorneys-general from California and eleven other states over the mega-merger, and faces a penalty of $7 million a day from October if the deal remains unresolved, giving Ellison a clear financial incentive to threaten relocation.

Several states, including Tennessee, Texas and Georgia, have reportedly been courting Paramount, raising the prospect that one of Hollywood's oldest studios, whose 65-acre lot is partly a century old, could leave the neighbourhood entirely. In his February letter to Senator Adam Schiff and Representative Laura Friedman, Ellison had promised increased theatrical production, continued licensing of Paramount and Warner Bros. content, and more jobs for Los Angeles creative talent and local businesses. That earlier commitment now sits uneasily alongside the relocation threat, prompting frustration from lawmakers who note that Paramount's century-long success has depended on local crews, writers and businesses.