‘Joker’ financier files for bankruptcy amid losses caused by COVID-19, Hollywood stikes

LOS ANGELES —  Canadian production company Bron Studios which financed massive Academy Award nominated blockbuster films such as ‘Joker’, ‘Licorice Pizza’ and ‘Judas and the Black Messiah’ has now filed for bankruptcy.

The company had stressed financial difficulties for a long time, and the Covid-19 pandemic coupled with the recently ongoing WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes has only caused more problems for the studio.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, the company’s co-founder Aaron J. Gilbert said that the indie studio had filed for Chapter 15 bankruptcy in the United States as well as protection from creditors in Canada.

Talking about the bankruptcy, Gilbert said: “Having explored many options for many months, Bron had no choice but to take this step in light of its financial circumstances.”

“The last few years have been incredibly difficult for Bron, and things have only gotten more complicated over these past months. Covid and the many other issues affecting the media industry the last few years, most recently the strikes, have made Bron’s ability to continue its existing business impossible,” he added.

According to Variety, in recent months, Bron’s co-financing deals with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and Warner Bros. sunsetted.

He further mentioned in the statement, “Thank you to our many friends who have been there to support us. Thank you to the BRON team and to our incredible creative, production, and business partners. Thank you to the many production financing partners and our corporate backers for supporting us for all these many years.”

“Thank you to our various representatives and the many service providers for all the support and patience through a very tough few years at BRON” Gilbert’s statement concluded. “Your continued support and patience will remain critical during this restructuring process and we will continue to keep you informed as we move through this process.”

With all said and done, the various films financed and/or produced by Bron through the years have garnered much acclaim and many honours, which includes a total of 30 Oscar nominations and six wins.

Bron is only the latest example among other big companies facing financial losses and production difficulties due to the pandemic and the SAG-AFTRA and WGA strikes, which has led to downsizing of staff, delays and cancellation of many projects which has led to several other big companies like Netflix and Disney losing lots of money.