$169. That’s it.
That’s how much “Charlie Harper” averaged per theater when it opened domestically on 650 screens at the end of September.
A year ago, Row K Entertainment tried to make roughly $80 million in acquisitions at the Toronto International Film Festival, according to insiders. It picked up four films to distribute: “Charlie Harper,” “Dead Man’s Wire,” “Poetic License” and “Cliffhanger.”
Last month, the troubled indie distributor put the last of its TIFF 2025 pickups in theaters — one of only two it actually ended up releasing. The Nick Robinson/Emilia Jones romantic drama barely grossed roughly $110,000 on its opening weekend, Row K reported.
The box office blip marks the latest stumble for the troubled indie distributor co-founded by Christopher Woodrow, who made a name for himself in Hollywood running Worldview Entertainment, only to be ousted by the company over allegations of embezzlement. Row K launched in August 2025 with great fanfare, laying out plans to put out up to 10 wide releases a year, aimed at the space between studio tentpoles and boutique labels.
Then reality hit.
The company’s president and chief marketing officer, Megan Colligan and Ben Carlson, left in March. A company insider said some vendor invoices date back six months and bills still haven’t been paid.
In response to TheWrap’s inquiry, a Row K spokesperson said that “the majority of outstanding vendor invoices have been paid, and we expect to settle the remaining balances in due course.”
Still, the lack of financial planning has struck many indie film veterans as odd.
“I think Row K was designed in a way that they had no backup if every single film they put out didn’t hit, and that’s particularly surprising because they had some institutional money that you’d think would have done more due diligence,” one distribution insider told TheWrap.
In January, Row K released its first film, Gus Van Sant’s thriller “Dead Man’s Wire,” to a dismal $3.8 million box office, but after that things got even rougher. Maude Apatow’s “Poetic License” was initially scheduled for release in May, but the date was delayed after rumors swirled that Row K couldn’t afford to put it out. In March, Row K dropped it. The same thing happened with the $60 million budgeted “Cliffhanger” — as a planned August release date loomed, Row K looked to offload that film as well, eventually selling it to indie distributor Vertical.
Yet despite the turmoil, Row K was in attendance at this year’s TIFF and the company’s spokesperson told TheWrap that it would be looking to acquire new films. But no deals have been announced, and most insiders who spoke to TheWrap said they believe the company is finished.
Asked about its future, Row K said, “Over the past several months, we have devoted considerable time and resources to restructuring and strengthening Row K. We have been actively positioning the company for its next phase of growth. We expect to make several significant announcements in the coming months and look forward to a strong 2027 and beyond.”
Releasing “Charlie Harper”
So why did “Charlie Harper” get released? It’s all due to the combined intense pressure from the film’s producer and foreign sales agent Patrick Wachsberger and CAA Media Finance Co-Head Roeg Sutherland, TheWrap has learned. “Wachsberger held their feet to the fire,” an insider with knowledge of the film said of the former Lionsgate Motion Picture Group co-chairman.
Wachsberger did not respond to numerous requests for comment.
A Row K spokesperson said the minimal marketing for “Charlie Harper” was handled by “a mix of consultants, agencies and in-house personnel.” TheWrap also learned that one individual ran the film’s social media marketing campaign by posting on an X/Twitter account that had been dormant for six months until Sept. 15.
“Charlie Harper” centers on the complicated relationship between Charlie (Nick Robinson) and Harper (Emilia Jones) and unfolds in a non-linear way, illustrating the shifts in how they relate to one another over time. It received mixed-solid reviews out of TIFF and stands at 59% on Rotten Tomatoes.
A company spokesperson blamed the dismal opening weekend on a “particularly competitive weekend for specialty releases,” asserting the company believes it has a “long commercial life ahead” with its PVOD and Pay-TV windows.
CAA has been close to Row K from the start. TheWrap previously reported that Sutherland has been integrally involved in helping to build the company. CAA Media Finance also represented the filmmakers on the “Cliffhanger” sale that eventually landed at Vertical.
An insider previously told TheWrap that Row K never formally closed its deal to acquire “Cliffhanger.” Neon’s Decal label was rumored to be taking the film around Cannes before backing out, according to Deadline.
TheWrap has learned that “Cliffhanger” actually sold to Vertical for barely $3 million. An individual with knowledge of the project denies the $3 million figure.
How Row K got here
Media Capital Technologies, led by Woodrow, announced the formation of Row Kon Aug. 26, 2025. Former Imax Entertainment and Paramount exec Colligan was named president shortly thereafter. At the time, Row K, co-led by Woodrow and fellow principal Raj Singh, a former investment analyst and CEO of National Lampoon, declined to say how much it had raised beyond “significant funding.”
Woodrow was already notorious for his controversial exit from Worldview Entertainment in 2014 amid allegations of embezzlement. The company shut down the following year. He countersued for $55 million, and the parties settled in 2018 in a walkaway agreement with no money exchanged and Woodrow cleared of fault.
Within weeks of launching, Row K was buying in Toronto.
“Dead Man’s Wire” was the first test. Row K released it in January to dismal box office after the company spent about $5 million to acquire it and another $5 million to market it, according to an insider.
Then the company had to give up “Poetic License.” Sony Pictures Classics eventually picked it up.
This spring, Colligan and Carlson left the company, TheWrap reported, and Row K canceled its CinemaCon presentation. Woodrow and Singh said at the time they were making “a deliberate pivot toward a more commercially focused slate.”
But Row K has made no more acquisitions after that.
No shortcuts
There’s certainly an audience for the sort of films Row K pursued. Over the last couple of years, the specialty box office, after struggling to regain its footing following the COVID pandemic, has pivoted away from the older moviegoers that once defined it in the 2010s and towards a more discerning, Letterboxd-loving crowd that has shown up for films like Mubi’s “The Substance” and A24’s “Marty Supreme.”
But as one rival executive who spoke to TheWrap anonymously pointed out, building an indie distributor that audiences recognize that can turn out specialty hits on a regular basis isn’t something that happens overnight. During A24’s first year in operation in 2013, its five theatrical releases combined for approximately $28 million, with half of that coming from the $14.1 million run of Harmony Korine’s “Spring Breakers.” A24’s latest film, “Primetime,” exceeded $28 million in less than 10 days of wide theatrical play.
“Row K just thought they could shortcut their way to the top and quickly found out they can’t,” the exec said. “This is a hit-driven business, but you have to operate in a way that allows you to keep making attempts even during long periods where that hit doesn’t come.”
That is especially necessary at a time when Pay One deals that determine where a film streams first, like the one that A24 has with HBO Max, have largely shriveled up as streamers opt instead to pick festival titles they are interested in a la carte, along with the indie distributors they can partner with.
“At TIFF, we got a call from HBO Max about a title they were interested in and let us know they were open to working with us, but also said they were talking to three other studios,” the exec said. “That’s how it works with the streamers nowadays. It’s much more cost effective to just have one big Pay One deal, and most of them have that right now, and then just do festival deals on a film-by-film basis. If Row K was hoping with all these big acquisitions to make a big slate deal, that wasn’t going to happen.”
Breaking into the box office as a distributor is a marathon, not a sprint, and it’s not uncommon for a company to leave little theatrical mark. Take Black Bear, a longtime production/film financing company that last year made its first foray into U.S. distribution with the Sydney Sweeney boxing film “Christy,” which only made $1.95 million at the box office. Its more recent titles haven’t fared much better, as the Jake Gyllenhaal/Henry Cavill thriller “In the Grey” grossed $5.7 million domestically this past summer while the female-focused comedy “Spa Weekend” grossed $7 million. Now its head of U.S. distribution is leaving the company.
But Black Bear has its production division to fall back on, having worked on Netflix’s Oscar-nominated drama “Train Dreams” and A24’s prison drama “Sing Sing” in recent years. The studio has also found some success as a U.K. distributor with films like “Longlegs,” the 2024 indie horror hit which grossed $10.4 million in that country.
What’s Next
When asked how many staffers remain at Row K, a company spokesperson said it “continues to operate with a dedicated team of employees and outside consultants,” but declined to reveal specifics.
Singh and Sutherland are scheduled to speak on a panel at the new European Investment Hub at Rome’s MIA market Oct. 19-23 . A CAA insider added, however, that Sutherland is not confirmed to attend. In a separate session, Singh plans to unveil a new financing venture.
Many find that relationship unusual.
“It’s odd to me that he’s propping them up the way he is,” a film finance insider said of Sutherland. “I don’t know why anyone would trust them with their money, and I don’t know that they have any money.”
Sutherland did not respond to TheWrap’s request for comment.
A second film finance insider also found it “odd” that Sutherland is still working with the duo.
“Roeg thinks Woodrow is so good at raising money,” the second film finance insider said. “But he’s even better at spending it recklessly. I’m not sure it’s a con as much as that.”
Jeremy Fuster contributed to this report.
The post What Happened to Row K? From Splashy Acquisitions to a $110,000 Opening appeared first on TheWrap.
