Hollywood's Top Execs Pocketed $746M in 2025 While Industry Cut 17,000 Jobs

The 18 highest-paid executives in Hollywood collectively earned $746 million in 2025 — a 51% surge from $408.5 million the prior year — even as the industry shed more than 17,000 jobs across film, TV, streaming, broadcast, and news. The pay explosion was driven primarily by stock and option awards, and it came against a backdrop of industrywide consolidation, the lingering effects of the WGA and SAG-AFTRA double strike, and productions fleeing the U.S. for foreign tax incentives.

At the top of the heap sat Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav, whose compensation more than tripled to $165 million — the largest single package in the analysis. His pay was dominated by $110 million in option awards originally tied to a planned company split that never happened; instead, WBD is merging with Paramount in a $110 billion deal. Zaslav negotiated an amended contract allowing him to keep those options, and he remains eligible for an additional golden parachute of up to $887 million when that merger closes — a package WBD shareholders voted to reject, though the vote was non-binding. His CEO-to-worker pay ratio hit a staggering 1,378 to 1 against a median employee salary of $119,748.

Other notable packages: Comcast's newly minted co-CEO Mike Cavanagh saw his pay skyrocket 154% to $71.8 million after his promotion, while TKO Group CEO Ari Emanuel — the agency titan who runs the UFC and WWE parent — saw a 272% pay jump to $67.4 million. Netflix co-CEOs Ted Sarandos ($53.9M) and Greg Peters ($53.2M) actually took modest pay cuts of around 12-13%, while Paramount-Skydance's David Ellison collected $63.2 million for roughly five months of work following the Skydance merger closing in August. Disney's outgoing CEO Bob Iger got an 11% raise to $45.8 million against a median Disney employee salary of just $56,932 — a ratio of 805 to 1.

The pay gaps are stark at the lower end of the workforce. AMC Theatres CEO Adam Aron earned $15 million against a median employee salary of $12,756 — a ratio of 1,174 to 1. Cinemark CEO Sean Gamble's $10.8 million package sits at a 923-to-1 ratio against a median worker earning $11,718. By comparison, the S&P 500's average CEO-to-worker ratio in 2024 was 281 to 1. A broader analysis of 318 S&P 500 companies found media and entertainment CEO pay posted the steepest rise of any sector in the 2025 proxy season — a median increase of 117.4% — even as the sector's median shareholder return fell 28.6%.

The disparity has drawn political attention. The Los Angeles Alliance for a New Economy is pushing an 'Overpaid CEO Tax' ballot initiative that would impose higher taxes on executives earning more than 50 times their median worker's salary, with rates escalating as the gap widens. The group estimates the measure could generate over $500 million annually for housing, infrastructure, and community services. It needs 140,000 valid signatures to appear on the November ballot.