Former Paramount Pictures Domestic Theatrical Distribution President Chris Aronson is suing David Ellison for breach of contract and seeking over $4 million in damages over his termination from the company last year.
In a lawsuit filed in Los Angeles Superior Court, Aronson says that he agreed to a renewed fixed-term contract in June 2025 that would’ve extended his employment through Dec. 1, 2028. However, less than three months later, he was terminated from the company along with nearly 100 employees following the closing of the Skydance merger.
Aronson’s lawsuit alleges that Paramount attempted to rewrite his contract and short him more than $1.3 million and that the company has avoided paying the full value of his contract after he was terminated without cause. He also claims Paramount’s workforce data shows that older employees, especially those age 55 and above, were terminated at “disproportionately higher rates” and that being replaced by a “substantially younger executive” is not an isolated event.
“They are part of a broader pattern from which a jury may reasonably infer age-based targeting, pretext and discriminatory motive,” the lawsuit states. “This case is about a broken promise and an age-skewed replacement decision.”
Aronson is seeking a jury trial and more than $4 million in damages. A Paramount spokesperson declined to comment.
Aronson joined Paramount in 2019 under then studio chief Jim Gianopulos, with whom Aronson had worked with during his 14-year stint at 20th Century Fox from 2005 to 2019.
During his time at Paramount, Aronson helped construct a film slate in 2022 that led to nearly $1.3 billion in domestic grosses, the studio’s best year since 2011. That was driven primarily by the $718 million grossed by “Top Gun: Maverick,” but also included hits like “Sonic the Hedgehog 2,” “The Lost City,” “Scream,” and “Jackass Forever.”
Along with “Top Gun: Maverick” and the “Sonic” films, other Paramount movies Aronson worked on include two “A Quiet Place” films, two “Mission: Impossible” films, two “Paw Patrol” films, “Rocketman,” “IF,” “Smile,” and “Killers of the Flower Moon.”
Following Aronson’s termination from Paramount, he was replaced by Shaun Barber, Lionsgate’s former co-president of worldwide theatrical distribution, who is in his fifties.
A source familiar with the matter tells TheWrap that Paramount has a two-year payout cap for employees that was set prior to the Skydance merger. The person also notes that Aronson’s attorney Barry Kaufman helped put together his contract in 2025.
The latest lawsuit against Paramount comes as 12 state attorneys general and the Writers’ Guild of America are suing to block the pending $110 billion Warner Bros. Discovery merger. A Paramount shareholder and a group of consumers have also sued to block the merger, though the latter was dismissed by a judge.
