Latest news with #KeithMaib
Yahoo
18-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Hollywood producer behind 'Joker' and 'The Matrix' files for bankruptcy
LOS ANGELES (WJET/WFXP) — Hollywood producer Village Roadshow Entertainment Group (VREG), best known for 'Joker' and 'The Matrix' trilogy, filed for bankruptcy on Monday. The Chapter 11 bankruptcy, filed jointly with its 33 affiliated entities, comes as the film producer continues to face increasing financial burdens. One of the two primary reasons behind the company's decline is its ongoing arbitration battle with Warner Bros. Discovery. The legal battle began when Warner Bros. filed for arbitration in early 2022 alleging that VREG had failed to provide a payment exceeding $100 million under its co-financing deal on 'The Matrix Resurrections.' In response, VREG filed its lawsuit a week later arguing that Warner Bros. sabotaged the theatrical release of 'The Matrix Resurrections' by releasing the film on streaming simultaneously with the theatrical debut to boost subscriptions to its streaming platform. 'WB's strategy not only ensured that 'The Matrix Resurrections' would be a bust at the box office, but it also inflicted serious harm to the entire 'Matrix' franchise,' the suit alleged. 'There can be no doubt that the abysmal theatrical box office sales figures from 'The Matrix Resurrections' dilute the value of this tent pole franchise as a film's lack of profitability generally prevents studios from investing in additional sequels and derivative films in the near term.' According to that lawsuit, VREG said it ended up paying millions to make up for lost box office revenue. According to Variety, the dispute went well beyond the 'Matrix' issue, with Village Roadshow arguing that Warner Bros. was shutting it out of its rights to co-finance as many as 15 projects. In 2022, a judge denied Village Roadshow's request for an injunction and ordered the case to arbitration, where the case remains active, with a hearing scheduled for April 25. In the bankruptcy filing, the company's chief restructuring officer Keith Maib said 'Even if the WB Arbitration is resolved, the Company believes that it has irreparably decimated the working relationship between WB and the Company, which has been the most lucrative nexus for the Company's historic success in the entertainment industry,' As a result of the legal battle, the company was left with over $18 million in unpaid legal fees. The second reason cited in the company's decline is 'the failed and costly endeavor into the creation and production of independent films and scripted and unscripted television series (the 'Studio Business'), which was never profitable.' The venture required approximately $47.5 million in development expenses. These studio plans followed an ownership change in the late 2010s, and from 2018 to the present, the company had 99 feature films in development, 67 unscripted television series, and 166 scripted television series. Only six feature films, five unscripted television series, and two scripted series went into production. However, these projects failed to generate sufficient profit to sustain the Studio Business. In December, the Writers Guild of America put the company on its 'strike list' after the company failed to pay its writers on several projects. In February, it became clear to key stakeholders that the company's debt could soon become insurmountable, prompting stakeholders to implement cost-saving measures. The company reduced its workforce in 2024 from 45 employees to just five in the U.S. and six financial professionals in Australia. It also vacated its larger Los Angeles office, opting for a smaller, less expensive space. The company attempted to sell certain assets out-of-court prior to the filing, which failed. Now, the company's assets will be sold in court following a bidding process. A stalking horse bidder, identified as CP Ventura LLC, has agreed to pay $365 million for the company's library. This bidder will acquire the assets if no other suitable bid is made during the process. The library alone generates around $50 million in annual revenue. VREG has created a massive library of award-winning blockbuster movies, with over 108 films to its name. Some of these include the aforementioned 'Joker' and 'The Matrix' trilogy; however, their other recognized films include 'The Great Gatsby', 'Mad Max: Fury Road' and 'Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005)' just to name a few. In total, their library has amassed over $19 billion in global box office sales, 34 No. 1 openings, 19 Academy Awards, and six Golden Globes. The case is Village Roadshow Entertainment Group USA Inc, et al., filed in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware, case no. 25-10475. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
BBC News
18-03-2025
- Entertainment
- BBC News
The Matrix film producer files for bankruptcy
Village Roadshow Entertainment Group, the film production company behind franchises such as The Matrix, Ocean's and the Joker, has filed for bankruptcy protection in the US, according to a filing with a Delaware firm has blamed its financial troubles on a legal battle with its former partner Warner Bros (WB) and a "failed and costly endeavour" into the production of independent films and television a bid to mitigate some of its financial problems, Village Roadshow is proposing to sell its extensive film library for $365m (£281m).The company's debts are estimated to be between $500m and $1bn, according to the court documents. Village RoadShow and WB produced and co-owned dozens of films over the years but their relationship soured in early 2022 after the release of the latest Matrix film - The Matrix Resurrections - on the streaming platform HBO Roadshow alleged WB had shut it out of its rights to any sequels and prequels of the films the two companies had previously worked on together."The WB arbitration has caused the company to incur more than $18m in legal fees, nearly all of which remain unpaid", chief restructuring officer Keith Maib said in a court legal battle, according to Mr Maib, has "irreparably decimated the working relationship" between the two companies, ultimately ending "the most lucrative nexus" for Village Roadshow's historic other issue faced by Village Roadshow was a costly studio business launched in 2018. None of the films or television series independently produced as part of that endeavour delivered any other film companies in the US, Village Roadshow also struggled with a slump in demand from the pandemic and the disruption from the strike action by Hollywood actors and writers, which started in May December, the Writers Guild of America banned its members from working with Village Roadshow over the company's alleged failure to pay its contributors.
Yahoo
17-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Film Company Behind The Matrix Files Bankruptcy Amid Warner Suit
(Bloomberg) -- The film production house behind The Matrix and Ocean's sagas filed for bankruptcy in the US amid a long-drawn legal battle with Warner Bros Discovery Inc. ICE Eyes Massive California Tent Facility Amid Space Constraints How Britain's Most Bike-Friendly New Town Got Built Washington, DC, Region Braces for 'Devastating' Cuts from Congress The Dark Prophet of Car-Clogged Cities Saving the Signature Sound of Washington, DC Village Roadshow Entertainment Group sought bankruptcy protection in Delaware on Monday with $223.8 million in asset-backed secured notes and $163.1 million of senior secured debt, according to court documents. The company, based in both the US and Australia, had struggled to bounce back from the pandemic slump and the 2023 Hollywood writers' strike, which delayed film productions. Its liquidity problems, however, stemmed largely from an ongoing arbitration with long-standing partner Warner. In 2022, Village Roadshow Entertainment filed an arbitration over the release of The Matrix Resurrections, the latest chapter of the movie series, on the HBO Max streaming platform, allegedly depriving the company of theater revenues. The company also accused Warner of 'shutting it out of its rights to co-own and co-finance' new chapters of the films that it had first developed, it said in the filing. The threat of a potential arbitration award 'could flatten the company's balance sheet' and even if the lawsuit is resolved, its key relationship with Warner has been 'irreparably decimated,' Village Roadshow Entertaiment said. The company was founded in 1997 and has produced and released over 100 films, including Joker, The Great Gatsby and The LEGO Movie. Owned by Falcon Strategic Partners and Vine Media Opportunities since 2017, Village Roadshow Entertainment appointed Keith Maib, a senior managing director at Accordion Partners, as chief restructuring officer in January. The company has an agreement existing creditors for a debtor-in-possession facility to facilitate the sale of its assets through bankruptcy. CP Ventura LLC is a so-called stalking horse bidder for its library assets. The case is Village Roadshow Entertainment Group USA Inc., 25-10475, US Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware. The Real Reason Trump Is Pushing 'Buy American' Nvidia Looks Past DeepSeek and Tariffs for AI's Next Chapter How America Got Hooked on H Mart How Trump's 'No Tax on Tips' Could Backfire for the Working Class Snap CEO Evan Spiegel Bets Meta Can't Copy High-Tech Glasses ©2025 Bloomberg L.P. Sign in to access your portfolio
Los Angeles Times
17-03-2025
- Business
- Los Angeles Times
‘Joker,' ‘Matrix' producer files for bankruptcy protection amid Warner Bros. fight
Village Roadshow Entertainment has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, a dark turn for the once-prolific film financing company that backed the 'Joker,' 'The Matrix' and 'Ocean's Eleven' movie franchises. The West Hollywood-based company blamed its ongoing legal battle with longtime partner Warner Bros. for its collapse, according to a Monday filing in U.S. bankruptcy court in Delaware. Village Roadshow also conceded that its ambitious push into producing independent films and television programs before the pandemic was unprofitable, exacerbating its financial woes. The breach of contract lawsuit against Warner Bros. came after the studio introduced 'The Matrix Resurrections' in December 2021 on its HBO Max streaming service the same day the film was released in movie theaters. Village Roadshow complained that the Burbank studio's pivot away from an exclusive theatrical release had destroyed the value of a key franchise. Village Roadshow's predicament is a stark example of how the entertainment industry's shift to streaming has upended once vibrant businesses. Since its founding in 1997, Village Roadshow has co-produced and co-financed more than 100 movies that together generated more than $19 billion in worldwide box office receipts, according to court documents. 'A confluence of macro-economic factors have weighed heavily on the company's balance sheet,' Keith Maib, an executive with Accordion Partners who is serving as chief restructuring officer for the Village Roadshow liquidation, wrote in a declaration. The disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2023 writers' and actors' strikes and major entertainment companies' embrace of streaming helped crater the company, Maib wrote. The bankruptcy filing was designed to facilitate 'orderly sales of the debtor's assets,' he said. Village Roadshow is controlled by Vine Media Opportunities, Falcon Strategic Partners and a Canadian limited partnership, 1397225 Ontario Ltd. The company said its assets are worth an estimated $100 million to $500 million. But it has more than 200 creditors and debts of $500 million to $1 billion, according to the filing. Village Roadshow owes more than $11 million to Kirkland & Ellis in Los Angeles for professional services. Its debt to the Writers Guild of America West tops $1.4 million. (The WGA put Village Roadshow on its strike list in December for nonpayment.) The filing also shows that Village Roadshow owes Bryan Cranston's Moonshot Entertainment Inc. $794,000 for development costs and another $250,000 to Sony Pictures Television. Former Sony executive Steve Mosko, who joined Village Roadshow in 2018 as chief executive, left earlier this year. He had attempted to build Village Roadshow into an independent studio that produced its own movies and television shows. But the Mosko-led campaign to remake the company into a full-service studio proved costly and untimely. Village Roadshow put into development 99 feature films, 166 scripted television series and 67 unscripted series. Of those, six movies and seven television series went into production. 'No film or television series that was produced was able to create a profit that could sustain the studio business,' Maib wrote. Village Roadshow's legal battle with Warner Bros. was the last straw. The company's dispute against Warner Bros. remains unresolved in arbitration — more then three years after the lawsuit was filed. In late 2021, Warner Bros. was recalibrating due to the lingering effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. The company, then owned by AT&T, was prioritizing gaining subscribers to support its streaming service over its traditional business of releasing movies to cinemas. That's when it placed 'The Matrix Resurrections' on HBO Max. Village Roadshow said it has spent more than $18 million in legal fees to try to resolve the Warner Bros. dispute — fees that remain unpaid. While the firm also worked on movies with Sony Pictures Entertainment and Paramount Pictures, its most valuable assets were produced in conjunction with Warner Bros., including 'Mad Max: Fury Road' and 'The Lego Movie.' The company co-produced and co-financed 91 films with Warner Bros. by arranging some $4.5 billion in financing. Village Roadshow's library assets generate about $50 million a year in revenue, according to Maib's declaration. Last year, Village Roadshow engaged Goldman Sachs Group to sell some library assets, but uncertainty caused by the lingering Warner Bros. dispute scuttled the effort. The company then engaged Sheppard Mullin Richter and Solic Capital Advisors, which came up with a 'stalking horse bidder' to buy the assets following the Chapter 11 process, Maib wrote. A year ago, the company had about 45 employees in the U.S. and Melbourne, Australia. In its move to slash costs, the firm now has fewer than a dozen employees. As of this month, the company's monthly overhead is about $300,000.
