Chicken Soup for the Soul has become a $1 billion debt fiasco thanks to Redbox

The acquisition of the movie rental kiosk company has been a disaster for its new owner.

7/1/24 1:59PM

The parent company of Redbox — the chain of movie-rental kiosks decimated by the rise of streaming platforms — filed for bankruptcy protection on Friday, revealing it owes millions of dollars to film studios and retailers.

Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment, which owns Redbox as well as the steaming service Crackle, is almost $1 billion in debt.

One of its biggest creditors is Universal Studios, which is owed $16.7 million in unpaid licensing fees. The company sued Redbox earlier this year, saying it hadn't made a payment since summer 2022.

Redbox also owes Sony Pictures and BBC Studios about $9 million each, with smaller debts to Warner Bros., Lionsgate Entertainment, and Paramount.

CSSE also owes money to some of the retailers that host the kiosks; it owes Walgreens about $5 million and Walmart about $4 million.

The company acquired Redbox in 2022, which included assuming ~$360 million in debt.

Since the acquisition, it's struggled to secure new content, and its relationships with studios soured, according to the company's quarterly earnings report from May, which told investors that the company was looking to refinance its debt.

CSSE's stock has dropped 90% in the past year and has received several delisting notices from Nasdaq because its shares have been worth less than $1 for more than 30 consecutive days.

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