Warner Bros. movie chiefs Michael De Luca and Pamela Abdy used a Toronto Film Festival keynote on Friday to make a clear case for the studio’s big-screen philosophy: take risks, back filmmakers and keep the slate broad enough to serve both art and commerce.
Speaking at TIFF: The Market, the pair said Warner Bros. intends to keep pushing a mix of original projects and franchise-driven movies rather than treating those approaches as opposing strategies. De Luca framed the studio’s mandate as one rooted in the creative business of moviemaking.
“There’s no real line. We are in the business to monetize art. It’s an interesting dichotomy in the film industry. They don’t need to conflict,” De Luca said.
Abdy echoed that view, arguing that cinema still has a role beyond simple commercial measurement. “Cinema has to be radical. And these filmmakers have a lot to say. And there’s a lot going on in the world, and there’s a lot coming at us every day,” she said. “Cinema is one place storytelling can bring communities together, where you can learn about something you don’t know anything about, and it can change your heart and mind.”
Their comments come as Warner Bros. has been associated with recent box office titles including Sinners, Weapons and the Oscar-winning One Battle After Another. De Luca and Abdy both pointed to the importance of supporting top directors and creative voices when studios choose to take chances on movies.
A slate built to spread risk
Abdy told the TIFF: The Market audience that Warner Bros. will continue to pursue a diverse slate, whether through original IP or by expanding franchises. The approach, she said, is intended to balance different kinds of films for different segments of the moviegoing audience.
“We really believe in an eclectic slate. We try each year to have different kinds of movies for all kinds of audiences. It’s a balance,” Abdy said.
De Luca warned that when studios retreat from original IP, they create an opening for competitors. He rejected the idea that mining a studio vault for sequels and franchise material should come at the expense of original filmmaking.
“It’s short-sighted to be exclusively looking for things that are safe on paper. Why not do both?” De Luca said.
The Warner Bros. operation overseen by De Luca and Abdy includes Warner Bros. Pictures, New Line Cinema, Warner Bros. Pictures Animation and, more recently, the label Clockwork. De Luca described Clockwork as part of the studio’s effort to meet audiences and talent in areas beyond the traditional studio pipeline.
“With Clockwork, we want to be where the audience is, in the acquisition space and the independent space and the emerging talent space,” he said.
Industry dealmaking looms, but not onstage
The Toronto appearance took place as efforts by Paramount Skydance to complete its deal for Warner Bros. Discovery have reached what the source material describes as fever pitch, following an earlier tug-of-war between Netflix and Paramount. De Luca and Abdy did not directly address the merger during their keynote.
Paramount Skydance has said that, after absorbing WBD, it plans to invest $30 billion annually in production and release at least 30 films a year. Against that backdrop, Abdy’s comments positioned Warner Bros.’ film strategy around variety rather than a single lane of “safe” material.
De Luca also suggested that the industry should stop using the pre-pandemic marketplace as its central commercial benchmark as Hollywood looks toward a box office rebound in 2026. He characterized the current movie business as one that now spans both theatrical and streaming release environments.
“I hate looking backwards. We always try to look forward,” De Luca said.
Abdy added that major studios should resist reducing performance to simple annual comparisons, emphasizing the individual nature of each film. “We’re not making widgets. Every movie is different,” she said.
For Warner Bros., the message from Toronto was that scale and risk are not mutually exclusive. De Luca and Abdy presented the studio’s film identity as one built on a wide range of projects: movies designed for different audiences, driven by both established properties and original ideas, and shaped by filmmakers the studio is willing to back.