Village Roadshow, the production house that gave The Matrix films and was one of the partners behind the multiplex boom in India, has filed for bankruptcy in the US amid a long-drawn legal battle with Warner Bros Discovery Inc. (Also read: The Matrix turns 25: Keanu Reeves’ seminal film is that rare sci-fi movie where nothing is dumbed down)
Village Roadshow files for bankruptcy
Village Roadshow Entertainment Group, which produced franchises like the Matrix and Ocean’s 11, 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 theatre 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 Entertainment said.
Village Roadshow and PVR
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.
In the 1990s, Village Roadshow heralded the multiplex boom in India when it formed PVR (originally Priya Village Roadshow) in collaboration with the Bijlis. Village Roadshow pulled out of the agreement in 2003. Over time, PVR—now PVR INOX—became the largest cinema chain in South Asia.
(With Bloomberg inputs)