Canada’s Bron Studios Plans Restructure After Filing For Bankruptcy

Canadian production and financing company Bron Studios announced it has filed for cross-border bankruptcy, and CEO and co-founder Aaron L. Gilbert says a restructure is in the works

According to a company memo, Bron has filed for credit protection with the Supreme Court of British Columbia in Canada and Chapter 15 in the U.S.

In a memo, Gilbert said the company has been struggling for several years to recover from the negative impact of the Covid pandemic and that the recently launched WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes have created an insurmountable challenge in that recovery. It’s also worth noting that co-financing deals with MGM and Warner Bros. have recently lapsed.

Bron is best known for its work on major Hollywood live-action fare like Joker, Licorice Pizza, and House of Gucci, but also produced the feature The Willoughbys – under the Bron Animation banner – and provided production services for The Addams Family animated features.

In the summer of 2020, as a response to the Covid pandemic, the company launched Bron Digital, a new division dedicated exclusively to animation. Projects at Bron Digital include Fables, a show that retells classic fairy tales and fables in each episode, and Gossamer, a series adaptation of Lois Lowry’s novel.

Last year, Bron Digital teamed with Florida-based entertainment development company Falcon’s Beyond to co-develop animated TV series, feature films, video games, location-based entertainment, and consumer products.

In a statement released by the company on Wednesday, 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…

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 support 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. 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.