Restructuring is underway at animation studio Bron Digital, live-action production company Bron Studios, and feature film studio Bron Creative, as the parent holding company cites that the pandemic and ongoing strikes gave it ‘no choice.’
BRON, the Canadian holding company for animation studio Bron Digital, live-action production company Bron Studios, and feature film studio Bron Creative has filed for bankruptcy in the U.S. and creditor’s protection in Canada, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Citing the pandemic as well as the current WGA/SAG-AFTRA strikes, the company “had no choice but to take this step in light of its financial circumstances,” said CEO Aaron Gilbert in a letter to shareholders. “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.”
The news comes after the company’s co-financing slate deals with Warner Bros. and MGM expired. Previous cost cutting efforts involved a round of artist lay-offs at Bron Digital last year.
Bron Digital is known for Netflix original animated films Klaus and The Willoughbys. The virtual production company launched in 2020 and specializes in utilizing Unreal Engine for content. Bron Studios is known for co-financing Joker and Licorice Pizza, while Bron Creative produced Columbia Pictures’ Ghostbusters: Afterlife and MGM’s CG-animated films The Addams Family and The Addams Family 2.
It is not currently known how the current restructuring will proceed, nor how several upcoming BRON projects, such as Gossamer, will be affected.
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