The company claimed to have drastically cut its costs to save and even tried to sell in its entirety last year.
Village Roadshow Entertainment Groupindependent and financier producer of the franchises Matrix and Jokeramong others, it declared bankruptcy, citing an ongoing arbitration with its long -standing partner Warner Bros.as well as an expansion of study too ambitious.
The company claimed to have drastically cut its costs to save and even tried to sell in its entirety last year, but uncertainty around pending arbitration, which has been ongoing for three years, made it impossible, forcing it to declare in bankruptcy. He said he has a sale offer of 365 million dollars for his library and a Credit Line of DIP (debtor in possession) to finance his operations while under judicial supervision. An offer of sale of 365 million dollars establishes a minimum price for an asset.
Library assets generate income of approximately 50 million dollars per year, he said.
Village Roadshow’s financial problems
Steve Mosko, who served as executive director of Village Roadshow since 2018, resigned in January. At the end of 2024, it was revealed that Village Roadshow had been delayed in payments to the scriptwriters who worked in their film and television projects, and the WGA West issued an order of suspension of works. Today’s presentation said that a significant responsibility has been generated due to unpaid contracts, such as writers and consultants.
Only the WB arbitration has generated more than 18 million dollars in legal fees, “almost all of which still do not pay, and presents the threat of a possible arbitration award that could flatten the company’s balance, but that is not the total scope of its impact.”
Village Roadshow, based in West Hollywood, owned by Falcon Strategic Partners and Vine Media Opportunities since 2017, has more than US $ 9 S163 million in guaranteed senior debt.
The company, in its presentation today by Keith Maib of Accordion Partners, who was appointed restructuring director in January, described its “prolific co -production relationship, co -financing and co -ownership with WB, which included the production, property and rights derived from 89 titles, including the Matrix franchise, and understood the vast majority of the business of debtors.”
On February 7, 2022, the company filed a lawsuit regarding the launch of The Matrix Resurrections by WB in HBO Max and the WB dispute on the company’s right to co -finance derived works based on the assets of the film library with WB, mainly with respect to the derived rights agreements. The company accused WB of excluding it from its legal and contractual rights to co -ownership and co -financing of sequelsprequels, spin-offs and other works derived from the 89 films that the company financed and of which it is co-owner, and with respect to which the derived rights are applicable.
Source: Ambito
I am an author and journalist who has worked in the entertainment industry for over a decade. I currently work as a news editor at a major news website, and my focus is on covering the latest trends in entertainment. I also write occasional pieces for other outlets, and have authored two books about the entertainment industry.
