Chris Aronson, who was let go as Paramount‘s head of domestic distribution last year, has filed a lawsuit accusing the company of reneging on an agreement to pay him $1.3 million.
Aronson was fired as part of the executive shakeup that followed the Skydance merger. Shortly before the deal closed, he signed an extension that would have kept him on through December 2028.
According to his suit, filed in L.A. Superior Court, Aronson should have been fully paid out for the remainder of the deal. But Paramount took the position that it could only pay him for two years, leaving him $1.3 million short of a full payout.
The suit argues that Aronson, then 69, was wrongfully fired in part due to his age, and replaced by a much younger executive. The suit alleges that workers 55 and above have represented a disproportionate share of the recent layoffs.
Paramount hired Shaun Barber, a top distribution exec at Lionsgate, to take on Aronson’s role.
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Aronson was hired in 2019, following a lengthy career at Fox that ended in the wake of the Disney merger. As head of domestic distribution at Paramount, he was responsible for the rollout of “Top Gun: Maverick,” and installments in the “Mission: Impossible,” “A Quiet Place” and “Sonic the Hedgehog” franchises.
On Sept. 29, 2025, weeks after Skydance closed its acquisition of Paramount, Aronson was called into a meeting and informed that he was being let go “without cause” and would be fully paid out on his contract. There was also a suggestion of a consulting deal, though that never materialized, the complaint states.
It was only after Aronson left the company, in December, that his lawyers flagged a provision in Paramount’s severance agreement that limited his payout to two years. Aronson’s lawyers argue that Paramount’s lawyers are misreading an IRS provision that affects the timing of severance payouts.
The suit alleges that Paramount’s unlawful termination has caused him some $4 million in economic damages. He is seeking punitive damages as well.
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Paramount did not immediately respond to a request for comment.