Less than eight months after it launched, Row K Entertainment, a new Hollywood distribution label, is being beset with unpaid bills and concerns about its finances.
Eight sources from outside the company and within told Variety that cash flow has been an increasingly urgent issue at Row K since its inception last summer. Vendors and consultants haven’t been paid for months, six of the sources say, resulting in work stoppages and legal threats.
After a splashy debut at the 2025 Toronto International Film Festival, where the company acquired four movies, Row K’s slate looks imperiled. One of the films that Row K picked up during TIFF, Maude Apatow’s directorial debut “Poetic License,” has been pushed from a planned May release to September, insiders say. The decision has baffled Apatow’s team and inner circle. This includes the film’s producer (her father, Judd Apatow) and the film’s star (her mother, Leslie Mann). The film earned glowing reviews when it debuted at TIFF and screened at SXSW. Had it not moved, Maude Apatow would have released the film at the same time she will star in the anticipated third season of “Euphoria.”
Other titles on the slate include January’s “Dead Man’s Wire” from Gus Van Sant and the romantic indie “Charlie Harper.” At the center of the storm sit Row K founders Christopher Woodrow and Raj Singh. The former is a producer with prolific credits (Alejandro González Iñárritu’s Oscar winning “Birdman”), who was caught up in a contentious 2014 lawsuit with backers from his former company Worldview Entertainment. That suit claimed Woodrow embezzled and mismanaged funds. In 2018, Woodrow and Worldview walked away from litigation with neither party admitting liability. Singh has a smaller profile in the business, though he formerly served as CEO of comedy shop National Lampoon.
“Row K’s release of ‘Dead Man’s Wire’ has provided an important opportunity to evaluate and refine our strategy as a new entrant building in a highly competitive marketplace. Like many early-stage companies, we moved quickly to establish a slate and are now taking a more measured, disciplined approach – prioritizing commercially viable titles, strengthening our internal infrastructure, and aligning our team accordingly,” Woodrow and Singh told Variety in a statement.
The pair operates through the holdings company Media Capital Technologies, which first caught industry attention as a co-financier of Lionsgate’s film slate in 2024. Their Row K pitch was undeniably sexy: a nimble acquisitions and distribution label for smaller and mid-budget films with commercial appeal. The indie sector is desperate for more buyers given the amount of media consolidation that has taken place in recent years.
The creative team at Row K, led by IMAX and Paramount Pictures vet Megan Colligan, are living a professional “nightmare,” according to one source with close knowledge of the company. Phones ring constantly with demands for payment from scores of outside vendors – music rights owners to audio visual teams – as Woodrow and Singh have consistently kicked the can down the road. “The money is coming” is a constant refrain inside the sleek Sunset Blvd. offices of Row K, multiple sources said.
The cash issue is confusing to many, as Media Capital Technologies has touted backing from MassMutual, a sizeable insurance and financial services company. But sources say that MCT’s relationship with MassMutual isn’t that of an equity investor. Instead, it acts as a credit facility for the company. Another insider familiar with Media Capital Technologies said MassMutual’s investment in Row K is layered and includes operating capital. MassMutual could not be reached for comment.
“As is standard in our industry, certain payments are scheduled in alignment with incoming receivables as part of prudent working capital management, and we remain in active communication with our partners to ensure all obligations are met in a timely fashion. Row K is well-capitalized, continues to support its existing projects, and is focused on long-term, sustainable growth with a clear emphasis on commerciality,” Woodrow and Singh added.
CAA helped build Row K. The agency’s media finance group provides a pipeline of talent and movies for sale to the wider industry. While there’s a perception that CAA has a stake in its business, an agency insider said CAA serves only as an advisor. Wealthy media investor Michael Lambert also has an advisory role. The former domestic TV president at 20th Century Fox amounts to little more than an elder statesman who keeps an office and occasionally drops into meetings, per sources. CAA had no comment on the matter.
While Colligan and top lieutenants continue to report to work, the relationship between the creative execs and Woodrow and Singh is distressed. It’s unclear how long they will remain with the company. Not only are the creatives humiliated to leave important consultants unpaid, the team has also watched anxiously as Woodrow and Singh have openly expressed doubts about the viability of the movies they purchased at TIFF, per numerous sources. Another Row K insider said Woodrow and Singh still have faith in their team. Variety has learned that three top Row K employees — Colligan, Chief Revenue Officer Mo Rhim and Chief Marketing Officer Ben Carlson — have retained attorney Bryan Freedman to address their concerns about ongoing financial and practical issues at Row K.
The company’s first release was “Dead Man’s Wire,” which carried a mid-seven-figure price tag and grossed just $2.5 million in the U.S. earlier this year. An insider at Row K admitted that the founders “learned a great deal” from the release, which will represent millions in losses. The company only hired a financial controller for Row K in the weeks before “Dead Man’s Wire” hit theaters.
“Poetic License” was set for the top of this summer, though sources said the decision to push it was made at the behest of Woodrow and Singh, who doubted the film’s earning potential. Another source said Maude Apatow delivered the final cut of her film to Row K at the end of February and has yet to receive payment (violating the sale contract, the source added, as funds are due within 10 days of receiving the print). Other sources said that Row K has not “accepted delivery” of the Apatow movie, which suggests the company may not have the funds available to fulfill the contract.
Woodrow and Singh’s real reason for pushing the date, two of the sources believe, was to force Team Apatow to walk. Stakeholders in the project are distressed, as there’s no indication the film won’t be a commercial success between positive reviews and the profile of the Apatow family. One Row K insider said Apatow’s team originally desired a late 2026 release and were convinced otherwise. A different source close to the film said this was blatantly false, and that the film is a “love letter” to Mann and was always intended for a Mother’s Day rollout. The date change threw promotional plans into chaos, another source added. A promotional college tour featuring Maude Apatow was scrapped. Long-lead press like magazine covers have already been booked.
“Poetic License” was snapped up by Row K in a competitive auction, and sources suspect that talks with the other interested TIFF buyers will resume in the coming days. Reps for Maude Apatow had no comment. WME, the agency representing the Apatow family and the sales agent on “Poetic License,” also declined to comment.
Woodrow and Singh are said to have greater faith in “Cliffhanger,” a reboot of the Sylvester Stallone film starring Lily James and Pierce Bronson, set for August. Two insiders familiar with that deal said that, despite press releases announcing the acquisition, Row K never formally closed the transaction with CAA. This leaves the film open for a new buyer in the event that Row K’s troubles continue. The fourth film set up at Row K, Emilia Jones and Nick Robinson’s “Charlie Harper,” will move forward with release per one source. Row K still intends to attend next month’s CinemaCon, the annual convention of movie theater owners, and to touch down at the Cannes Film Festival in May as an active buyer.
This week Row K made it clear that it is still looking for projects to distribute, announcing that it had bought “Mister,” an action-comedy with Walton Goggins and Chloe Grace Moretz.
“This film exemplifies the kind of star-driven, big-screen entertainment we’re building Row K around,” Woodrow and Singh upon the acquisition, adding, “and it’s a powerful addition to our growing slate.”
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