Village Roadshow Australia 'not impacted' by Village Roadshow Entertainment Group's USA bankruptcy filing

The Australian-based Village Roadshow Group (VRG) has released a statement advising that is not impacted by the USA-based Village Roadshow Entertainment Group’s (VREG) bankruptcy filing and has set plans to terminate its association with the company.

The statement was released following news of VREG’s Chapter 11 bankruptcy, explaining that VREG is an entirely separate operation from Village Roadshow Group.

Formed in 1954, VRG includes Village Roadshow Theme Parks, Roadshow Distributors, Roadshow Productions, Village Roadshow Studios and Village Cinemas.

The Australian-based company advised “Village Roadshow Group is not impacted by VREG’s financial issues. Further, Village Roadshow Group’s nearly 50-year relationship with Warner Bros remains as strong as ever and is not impacted.”

The statement added that Village Roadshow Group - which holds 3% of VREG - has had no strategic, operational control, management oversight, or financial stake in the USA-based company.

Village Roadshow Group says it was informed of VREG’s bankruptcy filing in the press.

VRG Chief Executive Clark Kirby added in a separate statement “as former owners of VREG, we are extremely disappointed to read in the press that VREG has filed for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy in the USA and I have immediately sent notice to terminate VREG’s use of the Village Roadshow name.”

VRG went on to say that it’s “businesses continue to be market leaders in their sectors and highly profitable.”

In its filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, VREG cited an overly ambitious studio expansion, staff layoffs and an ongoing arbitration dispute with Warner Bros. for breach of contract over the simultaneous release of The Matrix Resurrections as being behind the move.

Image: Promotion for VREG's Joker: Folie à Deux in New York's Times Square. Credit: Shutterstock.