If Relativity Studios was a person, it would really need a hug right now. As if their bankruptcy wasn't enough of a setback to any chance of remaining a Hollywood player, the studio has now gone ahead with plans to remove three of their films from their official release schedule. If you were looking forward to The Disappointments Room, The Bronze, or Before I Wake, then it looks like you're going to be sulking in the same corner that Relativity is taking up in your local movie theater.
Variety reports that in anticipation of their bankruptcy auction on October 1st, Relativity has decided to indefinitely postpone release on all three films. The main reason all three films were delayed is pretty much the same reason that the film Masterminds was pulled out of release last month: Relativity can't afford to promote any of their upcoming movies properly. What's interesting is that fellow Relativity release Autobahn is not mentioned in the list of films being temporarily shelved, though one would assume by this point that it's only a matter of time before that happens.
If you read through the details of Relativity's bankruptcy deal, though, there's another, more clear reason why these films aren't being released. According to previously reported proceedings, Relativity Studios needs to pay back the loans they received from financiers like RKA Film Financing before any of these properties can be sold and properly released. The final twist on the whole damned mess is the fact that the money that is owed to Relativity's financiers – which is estimated at around $75 million – was for promotional expenses on their films, expenses that the studio has been accused of funneling into keeping their own doors open for a little while longer.
The biggest losers of the battle Relativity Studios is waging are, of course, the films that were supposed to have their day in the sun, and the darkness of the theater, and the filmmakers behind them. The Disappointments Room was supposed to be I Am Number Four director D.J. Caruso's return to feature films, and both The Bronze and Before I Wake could have been winners in their own right. Though The Bronze was met with mixed buzz after it debuted back at Sundance, and Before I Wake honestly looked like a late September non-starter. We'll never know how well these films would have done in their original release windows, and it'll be hard for them to escape the damaged goods reputation they've unintentionally taken on thanks to Relativity.
Relativity Studios will be on the auction block on October 1st. If you've ever wanted to own a motion picture studio, as well as a starter pack of pre-made films, and have a few extra millions sitting around, now's your chance.
