Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection as it grapples with almost $1 billion in debt. The media company, best known for owning the Redbox movie rental kiosk brand, informed its employees of its filing on Saturday, which was done with a Delaware bankruptcy court.
The filing states that the company owes $970 million, and lists multiple unsecured creditors, including Walmart, Sony Pictures, Universal Studios, and Paramount Pictures, among others. “Overnight we filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection,” a message to employees read. “In connection with the filing, we have applied for approval of a debtor in possession [DIP] loan. Upon court approval, we expect payroll to be funded early in the week and funding for this upcoming week’s payroll to also be secured. We also expect to have the funds to reinstate medical benefits back to May 14, 2024 and going forward. We will provide regular updates.”
Earlier this month, an SEC filing from the company stated that its net losses last year was $636.6 million, up drastically from 2022’s $111.2 million. The filing stated that unless funding for the company was secured, bankruptcy could be considered a possibility.
Besides Redbox, Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment is also known as the parent company of Crackle and Popcornflix, both of which are ad-supported free streaming services.
