How the Directors Guild Ratified Its Four-Year Studio Contract

The Directors Guild of America has ratified a new four-year contract with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, the bargaining group for motion picture, television and streaming producers. Members voted to approve the agreement in late June 2026, closing a negotiating round that began on May 11. The guild announced the result on June 26, 2026.

According to TheWrap, the same producers' group has now reached four-year agreements with the Writers Guild of America and SAG-AFTRA as well. The guild's releases give no vote count or turnout, and no dollar figures for the raises. The details available to readers therefore come mainly from the guild's list of main terms.

How the Tentative Agreement Was Reached

The DGA and the AMPTP announced a tentative four-year agreement on Tuesday, June 9, 2026, in Los Angeles. Talks had started on May 11, about four weeks earlier. The guild's 70-member Negotiating Committee was led by National Executive Director Russell Hollander, Chair Jon Avnet and Vice-Chair Karen Gaviola.

The committee represented every DGA membership category, according to the guild. The agreement followed more than 18 months of preparation and negotiations.

The AMPTP said it was pleased to have reached the tentative agreement and appreciated the hard work and commitment of its guild partners, according to TheWrap.

At the tentative stage, the terms stayed confidential. The guild said it would not release them publicly until its National Board finished reviewing the deal, consistent, it said, with its longstanding practice.

Under the guild's process, members see the details after the board's review.

The Three Stages Between a Deal and a Contract

The guild's June 9 announcement describes the path from a tentative agreement to ratification in three steps. First, the National Board reviews the tentative agreement. Second, the details go to the membership for consideration and ratification. Third, the guild gives members more information after the board's review.

The committee's leaders presented the deal's details to the board at a specially convened meeting.

The board's recommendation was announced on June 12, 2026. Its members voted unanimously to recommend ratification of the new four-year collective bargaining agreement. The guild then set the close of the membership vote for Thursday, June 25, 2026, at 5:00 p.m. PT.

The board's recommendation does not itself ratify the contract. Members decide in the vote, and the guild's later release reported that they had approved the agreement.

The sequence treats the board's vote and the membership vote as separate steps, each with its own date.

The guild said members could get further details through its official communications.

The Main Terms the Board Recommended

The June 12 announcement quoted DGA President Christopher Nolan listing three priorities: securing the Health Plan, protecting jobs and keeping members secure as artificial intelligence affects the industry. Nolan said the guild had succeeded in those areas and gained in many others.

The announced terms cover health care, pay, residuals, a skills program, artificial intelligence and tax policy.

The board described the health plan contributions as the largest in the plan's history, intended to ensure its future stability.

Salary increases and what the board called meaningful residuals improvements apply across all areas. A new employer-funded skills enhancement program was created as part of the generative artificial intelligence protections.

On artificial intelligence, the agreement renews the 2023 artificial intelligence safeguards, which reaffirm that the work must be performed by a person. It also includes enhanced generative artificial intelligence protections, including director control over AI-generated footage.

The companies' most senior management committed to advocate for a federal film and television tax incentive, the board said.

The June 12 announcement gives no percentages for the residual increases or the health plan contributions, so the size of those changes is not stated in it.

What the Membership Vote Confirmed

A DGA release dated June 26, 2026, said members had voted overwhelmingly to ratify the new four-year agreement. The statement was issued by Nolan and Hollander and cited more than 18 months of preparation and negotiation. The contract is described as a new four-year BA/FLTTA agreement.

The guild said it had achieved critical wins for members' economic and creative rights. The release thanked the 70-member Negotiating Committee, led by Avnet and Gaviola, along with members and staff.

The release also pointed to the guild's 90 years of advocacy, enforcement and education, and to the industry's ongoing challenges.

The AMPTP also dates the DGA's ratification announcement to June 26, the same day as the guild's release. Its page also lists the tentative agreement on June 9.

A Timeline From Talks to Ratification

Talks between the DGA and the AMPTP began on May 11, 2026. The tentative agreement was announced on June 9, and the board's unanimous recommendation followed on June 12.

The June 12 announcement came three days after the tentative deal and 13 days before the membership vote was set to close. The vote was set to close on Thursday, June 25, 2026, at 5:00 p.m. PT.

TheWrap reported that the tentative deal came exactly three weeks before the current contract was set to expire on June 30.

The guild's ratification release followed on June 26, 2026, one day after the vote was set to close.

From talks in May to a membership vote in late June, the process moved through the board's review in between.

How the Deal Fits the 2026 Contract Round

The AMPTP describes itself as the official collective bargaining representative for motion picture, television and streaming production companies. It says it has worked in support of its mission for over 40 years, represents hundreds of producers and negotiates nearly sixty industry-wide agreements with unions and guilds.

The AMPTP's website posts updates on the DGA, SAG-AFTRA and WGA deals. Its updates were published April 24 for the WGA's ratification, June 4 for SAG-AFTRA's and June 26 for the DGA's. Its updates also include a SAG-AFTRA tentative agreement announced May 2.

TheWrap reports that the producers' group has four-year agreements with all three major entertainment guilds, and that this is the length it has used in each of those deals. It gives SAG-AFTRA members' ratification as 91.42 percent in favor, and Writers Guild members' April ratification as 90.4 percent in favor.

For members, the most specific items in the guild's announcements are the health plan contributions, the salary increases and the residual improvements. Those three areas are named in the board's list of main terms, which the guild published on June 12.

For the studios, the AMPTP has said it is pleased with the tentative agreement. The terms available so far come from the guild's summary of main terms.