For now, Paramount\u2019s plan is to keep both studios operating with each studio releasing about 15 films a year, but the goal is to eventually consolidate most of the studio operations around the Warner Bros. lot in Burbank in order to to eliminate redundancies with the Paramount lot on Melrose Avenue, people close to Chief Executive David Ellison said. <\/p>\n
![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/1772709734_498_.jpeg\")
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A view of the Warner Bros. Studios water tower Feb. 23, 2026, in Burbank.<\/p>\n
(Eric Thayer \/ Los Angeles Times)<\/p>\n
Paramount would not look to raze its celebrated studio lot \u2014 the oldest operating film studio in Los Angeles \u2014 because of various restrictions on historic buildings there. Paramount also has a relatively new post-production facility on site and will likely need to the studio space.<\/p>\n
Instead, the plan would be to lease out space for film productions, including those from combined Paramount-HBO streaming operations. Ellison also is considering plans to develop other parts of the 65-acre site for possible retail use, as well as renting space for commercial offices.<\/p>\n
The studios\u2019 combined property holdings are vast, and real estate data provider CoStar estimates they have about 12 million square feet of overlapping uses, including their studio campuses, offices and long-term leases in such film centers as Burbank, Hollywood and New York.<\/p>\n
Century-old Paramount Pictures Studios<\/a> is awash in Hollywood history \u2014 think Gloria Swanson as Norma Desmond desperately trying to enter its famous gate in \u201cSunset Boulevard,\u201d and other classics such as \u201cThe Godfather,\u201d \u201cTitanic\u201d and \u201cBreakfast at Tiffany\u2019s.\u201d <\/p>\n The lot, however, is a congested warren of stages, offices, trailers and support facilities such as woodworking mills that date to the early 20th century. The layout is byzantine in part because Paramount bought the former rival RKO studio lot from Desilu Productions to create the lot known today.<\/p>\n Warner Bros. occupies 11 million square feet and owns 14 properties totaling 9.5 million square feet, largely in the United States and United Kingdom, CoStar said. About 3 million square feet of that commercial property is in the Los Angeles area.<\/p>\n The firm\u2019s portfolio also includes the sprawling Warner Bros. Studios Leavesden complex in the U.K. and Turner Broadcasting System headquarters in Atlanta.<\/p>\n Paramount Skydance occupies 8 million square feet and owns 14 properties totaling 2.1 million square feet, according to CoStar. In addition to its Hollywood campus, Paramount\u2019s holdings include prominent buildings in New York such as the Ed Sullivan Theater and CBS Broadcast Center.<\/p>\n Warner Bros. operates a 3-million-square-foot lot in Burbank with more than 30 soundstages \u2014 along with space for building sets and backlot areas \u2014 where famous movies including \u201cCasablanca\u201d and television shows such as \u201cFriends\u201d were filmed. Paramount\u2019s 1.2-million-square-foot Melrose campus anchors a broader network of owned and leased production space, CoStar said.<\/p>\n Paramount\u2019s lot is already cleared for more development. More than a decade ago, Paramount secured city approval to add 1.4 million square feet to its headquarters and some adjacent properties owned by the company.<\/p>\n The redevelopment plan, valued at $700 million in 2016<\/a>, underwent years of environmental review and public outreach with neighbors and local business owners. <\/p>\n The plan would allow for construction of up to 1.9 million square feet of new stage, production office, support, office, and retail uses, and the removal of up to 537,600 square feet of existing stage, production office, support, office, and retail uses, for a net increase of nearly 1.4 million square feet.<\/p>\n The proposal preserves elements of the past by focusing future development on specific portions of the lot along Melrose and limited areas in the production core, architecture firm Rios said. <\/a> <\/p>\n The Warner Bros. and Paramount lots \u201care two of the most prime pieces of real estate in the country,\u201d Mihalka said. \u201cThese are legacy assets with a lot of potential to be [tourist] attractions in addition to working studios.\u201d<\/p>\n