LOS ANGELES (AP) – Relativity Media, the struggling “mini major” Hollywood studio behind movies such as “Immortals” and “Mirror Mirror,” filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection Thursday.
The filing will allow the studio led by chairman and CEO Ryan Kavanaugh to continue to operate while restructuring. The company owes some $340 million to creditors.
The filing with the bankruptcy court for the Southern District of New York comes after a spate of lawsuits between it and an entity called RKA Film Financing that had lent it $84 million to market movies. RKA claims Relativity inappropriately used most of the money to stay afloat instead of on marketing. Relativity says that use of the money was never prohibited.
The bankruptcy filing came a day after Relativity announced it was laying off 75 of its approximately 350 employees.
The company amassed its fortunes co-financing big budget movies developed by major studios Universal Pictures and Sony Pictures Entertainment, like “Fast & Furious 6” and “21 Jump Street.”