Redbox Parent Company Files for Bankruptcy

Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment, the parent company of Redbox, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on Friday, according to court papers and media reports. In the filing, the company reported debts of at least $970 million and assets of $414 million.

The filing also indicated the company owes millions to Universal Studios ($16.7 million), Sony Pictures Home Entertainment ($9.1 million), Lionsgate ($4.6 million) and BBC Studios Americas ($9 million) as well as to Walgreens ($5 million) and Walmart ($4.1 million). In 2023, the company reported a net income loss of $636 million.

The company has repeatedly missed payroll, The Verge reports.

Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment, which was founded in 2016, bought Redbox in 2022 and operates approximately 27,000 of its red rental kiosks around the United States.

The publishing branch of the company is not impacted by the bankruptcy filing.

Chicken Soup for the Soul was founded in 1993 by Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hansen, two motivational speakers who released the popular inspirational book series of the same name. Its original book featured essays meant to help readers feel better, much as “chicken soup has a healing effect on the body of the ill.”

The company went on to publish more than 300 titles and has sold at least 500 million copies of its book worldwide.

This story was first reported by Deadline.