What Happened to Row K? From Splashy Acquisitions to a $110,000 Opening

$169. That’s it.

That’s just how much “Charlie Harper” balanced per theater when it opened locally on 650 screens at the end of September.

A year back, Row K Entertainment attempted to make approximately $80 million in acquisitions at the Toronto International Film Festival, according to experts. It got 4 movies to disperse: “Charlie Harper,” “Dead Man’s Wire,” “Poetic License” and “Cliffhanger.”

Last month, the struggling indie supplier put the last of its TIFF 2025 pickups in theaters– among just 2 it in fact wound up launching. The Nick Robinson/Emilia Jones romantic drama hardly earned approximately $110,000 on its opening weekend, Row K reported.

Package workplace blip marks the current stumble for the struggling indie supplier co-founded by Christopher Woodrow, who went far for himself in Hollywood running Worldview Entertainment, just to be ousted by the business over accusations of embezzlement. Row K introduced in August 2025 with terrific excitement, setting out strategies to put out approximately 10 broad releases a year, focused on the area in between studio tentpoles and shop labels.

Truth hit.

The business’s president and chief marketing officer, Megan Colligan and Ben Carlson, left in March. A business expert stated some supplier billings go back 6 months and costs still have not been paid.

In reaction to TheWrap’s questions, a Row K representative stated that”most of impressive supplier billings have actually been paid, and we anticipate to settle the staying balances in due course.”

Still, the absence of monetary preparation has actually struck lots of indie movie veterans as odd.

“I believe Row K was developed in a manner that they had no backup if each and every single movie they put out didn’t struck, which’s especially unexpected due to the fact that they had some institutional cash that you ‘d believe would have done more due diligence, “one circulation expert informed TheWrap.

In January, Row K launched its very first movie, Gus Van Sant’s thriller”Dead Man’s Wire,”to a depressing$3.8 million ticket office, however after that things got back at rougher. Maude Apatow’s”Poetic License”was at first set up for release in May, however the date was postponed after reports swirled that Row K could not manage to put it out. In March, Row K dropped it. The very same thing occurred with the $60 million allocated “Cliffhanger”– as a prepared August release date loomed, Row K aimed to unload that movie also, ultimately offering it to indie supplier Vertical.

Regardless of the chaos, Row K was in participation at this year’s TIFF and the business’s representative informed TheWrap that it would be looking to obtain brand-new movies. No offers have actually been revealed, and the majority of experts who spoke to TheWrap stated they think the business is ended up.

Inquired about its future, Row K stated,” Over the previous numerous months, we have actually dedicated substantial time and resources to restructuring and enhancing Row K. We have actually been actively placing the business for its next stage of development. We anticipate to make a number of substantial

statements in the coming months and eagerly anticipate a strong 2027 and beyond.”

Launching” Charlie Harper”

Why did”Charlie Harper”get launched? It’s all due to the combined extreme pressure from the movie’s manufacturer and foreign sales representative Patrick Wachsberger and CAA Media Finance Co-Head Roeg Sutherland, TheWrap has actually discovered. “Wachsberger held their feet to the fire,”an expert with understanding of the movie stated of the previous Lionsgate Motion Picture Group co-chairman.

Wachsberger did not react to many ask for remark.

A Row K representative stated the very little marketing for” Charlie Harper”was managed by “a mix of specialists, firms and internal workers.”TheWrap likewise discovered that a person private ran the movie’s social networks marketing project by publishing on an X/Twitter account that had actually been inactive for 6 months up until Sept. 15.

“Charlie Harper”centers on the complex relationship in between Charlie(Nick Robinson) and Harper(Emilia Jones)and unfolds in a non-linear method, showing the shifts in how they connect to one another with time. It got mixed-solid evaluations out of TIFF and stands at 59 % on Rotten Tomatoes.

A business representative blamed the miserable opening weekend on a” especially competitive weekend for specialized releases,”asserting the business thinks it has a”long industrial life ahead” with its PVOD and Pay-TV windows.

CAA has actually been close to Row K from the start. TheWrap formerly reported that Sutherland has actually been integrally associated with assisting to develop the business. CAA Media Finance likewise represented the filmmakers on the “Cliffhanger” sale that ultimately landed at Vertical.

An expert formerly informed TheWrap that Row K never ever officially closed its offer to obtain “Cliffhanger.” Neon’s Decal label was reported to be taking the movie around Cannes before backing out, according to Deadline.

TheWrap has actually discovered that “Cliffhanger” in fact offered to Vertical for hardly $3 million. A private with understanding of the task rejects the $3 million figure.

How Row K got here

Media Capital Technologies, led by Woodrow, revealed the development of Row K on Aug. 26, 2025. Previous Imax Entertainment and Paramount officer Colligan was called president quickly afterwards. At the time, Row K, co-led by Woodrow and fellow primary Raj Singh, a previous financial investment expert and CEO of National Lampoon, decreased to state just how much it had actually raised beyond”considerable financing.”

Woodrow was currently well-known for his questionable exit from Worldview Entertainment in 2014 amidst accusations of embezzlement. The business closed down the list below year. He countersued for $55 million, and the celebrations settled in 2018 in a walkaway arrangement without any cash exchanged and Woodrow cleared of fault.

Within weeks of introducing, Row K was purchasing in Toronto.

” Dead Man’s Wire”was the very first test. Row K launched it in January to depressing ticket office after the business invested about$5 million to obtain it and another$ 5 million to market it, according to an expert.

The business had to provide up” Poetic License. ” Sony Pictures Classics ultimately selected it up.

This spring, Colligan and Carlson left the business, TheWrap reported, and Row K canceled its CinemaCon discussion. Woodrow and Singh stated at the time they were making “an intentional pivot towards a more commercially focused slate.”

Row K has actually made no more acquisitions after that.

No faster ways

There’s definitely an audience for the sort of movies Row K pursued. Over the last number of years, the specialized ticket office, after having a hard time to restore its footing following the COVID pandemic, has actually rotated far from the older spectators that when specified it in the 2010s and towards a more critical, Letterboxd-loving crowd that has actually appeared for movies like Mubi’s “The Substance” and A24’s “Marty Supreme.”

As one competing executive who spoke to TheWrap anonymously pointed out, constructing an indie supplier that audiences acknowledge that can turn out specialized hits on a routine basis isn’t something that occurs over night. Throughout A24’s very first year in operation in 2013, its 5 theatrical releases integrated for around $28 million, with half of that originating from the $14.1 million run of Harmony Korine’s “Spring Breakers.” A24’s newest movie, “Primetime,” went beyond $28 million in less than 10 days of broad theatrical play.

“Row K simply believed they might faster way their method to the leading and rapidly discovered they can’t,” the officer stated. “This is a hit-driven company, however you need to run in such a way that permits you to keep making efforts even throughout extended periods where that hit does not come.”

That is particularly needed at a time when Pay One offers that identify where a movie streams initially, like the one that A24 has with HBO Max, have actually mostly shriveled up as banners choose rather to choose celebration titles they have an interest in a la carte, together with the indie suppliers they can partner with.

“At TIFF, we got a call from HBO Max about a title they had an interest in and let us understand they were open to dealing with us, however likewise stated they were talking with 3 other studios,” the officer stated. “That’s how it deals with the banners nowadays. It’s a lot more expense efficient to simply have one huge Pay One offer, and the majority of them have that today, and after that simply do celebration offers on a film-by-film basis. If Row K was hoping with all these huge acquisitions to make a huge slate offer, that wasn’t going to occur.”

Burglarizing package workplace as a supplier is a marathon, not a sprint, and it’s not unusual for a business to leave little theatrical mark. Take Black Bear, a long time production/film funding business that in 2015 made its very first venture into U.S. circulation with the Sydney Sweeney boxing movie “Christy,” which just made $1.95 million at package workplace. Its more current titles have not fared better, as the Jake Gyllenhaal/Henry Cavill thriller “In the Grey” earned $5.7 million locally this previous summer season while the female-focused funny “Spa Weekend” earned $7 million. Now its head of U.S. circulation is leaving the business.

Black Bear has its production department to fall back on, having actually worked on Netflix’s Oscar-nominated drama “Train Dreams” and A24’s jail drama “Sing Sing” in current years. The studio has actually likewise discovered some success as a U.K. supplier with movies like “Longlegs,” the 2024 indie scary hit which earned $10.4 million because nation.

What’s Next

When asked the number of staffers stay at Row K, a business representative stated it “continues to run with a devoted group of staff members and outdoors experts,” however decreased to expose specifics.

Singh and Sutherland are arranged to speak on a panel at the brand-new European Investment Hub at Rome’s MIA market Oct. 19-23. A CAA expert included, nevertheless, that Sutherland is not verified to participate in. In a different session, Singh prepares to reveal a brand-new funding endeavor.

Lots of discover that relationship uncommon.

“It’s odd to me that he’s propping them up the method he is,” a movie financing expert stated of Sutherland. “I do not understand why anybody would trust them with their cash, and I do not understand that they have any cash.”

Sutherland did not react to TheWrap’s ask for remark.

A 2nd movie financing expert likewise discovered it “odd” that Sutherland is still dealing with the duo.

“Roeg believes Woodrow is so proficient at raising cash,” the 2nd movie financing expert stated. “But he’s even much better at investing it recklessly. I’m not exactly sure it’s a con as much as that.”

Jeremy Fuster added to this report