Village Roadshow Leisure Group, the troubled indie producer and financier of The Matrix, Joker and extra, filed for Chapter 11 in a Delaware courtroom, citing ongoing arbitration with long-time accomplice Warner Bros. in addition to an excessively bold studio enlargement.
The corporate stated it slashed prices to save lots of and likewise tried to promote itself as an entire final yr however uncertainty surrounding the pending arbitration, ongoing for 3 years now, made that not possible, forcing it to file for chapter. It stated it has a so-called stalking horse bid of $365 million for its library and a DIP (debtor-in-possession) facility to fund operations whereas beneath courtroom supervision. A stalking horse bid units a minimal worth for an asset.
The library belongings generate income of roughly $50 million per yr, it stated.
Steve Mosko, who served as CEO of Village Roadshow since 2018, stepped down in January. In late 2024, it got here to mild that Village Roadshow had been late on funds to writers engaged on their movie and TV initiatives, and the WGA West issued a stop-work order. The submitting as we speak famous that. “important legal responsibility has hooked up because of unpaid contracts, equivalent to these with writers and consultants.”
The WB arbitration alone has generated greater than $18 million in authorized charges, “practically all of which stay unpaid, and presents the specter of a possible arbitration award that might flatten the Firm’s steadiness sheet, however that’s not the total extent of its impression.”
The corporate has over $163 million in senior secured debt.
West Hollywood-based Village Roadshow, in its submitting as we speak by Keith Maib of Accordion Companions who was named chief restructuring officer in January. Village Roadshow has been owned by Falcon Strategic Companions and Vine Media Alternatives since 2017.
who’s serving as Chief Restructuring Officer, described its as soon as “prolific co-production, co-financing, and co-ownership relationship with WB, which included the manufacturing, possession, and spinoff rights flowing from 89 titles – together with the Matrix franchise – and comprised the overwhelming majority of the Debtors’ enterprise.”
“On February 7, 2022, the Firm filed a grievance with respect to WB’s launch of The Matrix Resurrections day-and-date on HBO Max and WB’s dispute concerning the Firm’s proper to co-finance spinoff works primarily based on the Movie Library belongings co-owned with WB predominantly with regard to the Spinoff Rights Agreements … The Firm accused WB of shutting it out of its authorized and contractual rights to co-own and co-finance the sequels, prequels, spinoffs, and different spinoff works of the 89 movies that the Firm funded and co-owns and with respect to which spinoff rights are relevant.”
Village Roadshow has produced and launched over 100 movies since launch in 1997 together with The Nice Gatsby, the Ocean’s collection, Sully, The LEGO Film and Max Max: Fury Street.
Previous to the WB arbitration, Village Roadshow stated it “loved a profitable and well-known co-production and co-financing relationship with Warner Bros. Leisure Inc. and its associates (“WB”) that culminated in quite a few and continuous profitable endeavors. The Firm’s most useful belongings are a direct results of this success: the Movie Library and the Spinoff Rights (every as outlined under). Two major points led to the decline within the Firm’s monetary place: (1) the WB Arbitration, which has thwarted the Firm’s most worthwhile enterprise line; and (2) the failed and dear endeavor into the creation and manufacturing of impartial movies and scripted and unscripted tv collection (the “Studio Enterprise”), which was by no means worthwhile.”
It stated it spent about $47.5 million on improvement or initiatives that had been both by no means producer or unprofitable. Its output, together with six full-length films, 5 unscripted tv applications (together with two seasons of a sport present), and two scripted tv collection, “was in a position to notice financial achieve within the requisite time wanted to make the enterprise sustainable.”
“Finally, key stakeholders acknowledged that the Firm’s liquidity place was insurmountable within the face of the continuing authorized dispute with WB and no affordable expectation of a productive go-forward line of enterprise.”
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