LeBron James’ media production company has bled tens of millions in the last two years, with more losses on the horizon, recently unearthed documents show.
SpringHill, James’ production company he co-founded with his manager Maverick Carter in 2020, has apparently never made any money.
According to a recent report from Bloomberg, the company has lost millions since its inception as it simultaneously produced race-based movies and LeBron-centric productions.
In 2022, the company reportedly lost $17 million, with losses piling up in 2023, adding another $28 million in the red. The report states that SpringHill is expected to lose millions more in 2024, as well.
With 250 employees currently, the company is said to require staff cuts in order to be profitable in the coming years. The aim is to have SpringHill making money by the end of 2025.
Co-founder Carter told Bloomberg that a shift in the industry toward “profitability” was to blame, along with strikes and poor projects.
“The entertainment market shift in 2022/2023 toward profitability brought rising costs, slower buyer decisions, and impacts from industry strikes, prompting us to recalibrate, including writing off underperforming projects to position ourselves for future growth.”
He added that the company is expected to exceed its 2024 projections.
‘We built this business with LeBron, not around him.’
This claimed profitability “shift” is typically true of larger movie studios, who traditionally absorbed losses from poorly performing productions in hopes that a summer blockbuster or two will provide the majority of profits.
The bulk of SpringHill’s movie productions however, have race-centric plots that seemingly did not take off as hoped.
This includes “Dreamland: The Burning of Black Wall Street,” released in 2019, which focuses on racial conflict in Ohio.
“Black Ice,” a somewhat self-explanatory title about the history of black hockey players, was released in 2022 with James as an executive producer.
“Rez Ball,” a movie about basketball on a Navajo reservation, included James as one of the producers.
“We built this business with LeBron, not around him,” Carter said. The co-founder also noted the basketball star “remains deeply engaged in driving the vision and mission he helped shape, focusing more actively on certain passion projects.”
This is evident given that SpringHill released “Space Jam: A New Legacy” as follow-up to the massively successful “Space Jam” that starred Michael Jordan in 1996. The 2021 continuation starred James, instead.
In 2023, a biographical drama about James’ high school basketball days was released (“Shooting Stars“), which was based on James’ own memoir.
Investors will reportedly put another $40 million into the flailing venture, with Carter saying the company has the proper team to “adapt” to the changing industry landscape.
Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!
The post LeBron James’ media company lost almost $50 million in 2 years while pumping out woke movies appeared first on TheBlaze.
