Indie film firm cuts workforce

After a string a box-office disappointments, the indie film company Broad Green Pictures is laying off about 15 workers and is shutting down its production division in an effort to refocus its business strategy, which still includes distribution.

The layoffs at Broad Green account for 20% of its 75 employees. The Los Angeles company was founded in 1994 by brothers Gabriel and Daniel Hammond as a label that would create and distribute theatrical films through in-house development and production, as well as through acquisitions and partnerships.

Broad Green has specialized in indie cinema and arthouse fare but has recently expanded its reach to genre films in a bid to reach bigger audiences.

The internal restructuring, which was first reported by Deadline, comes as Broad Green is reeling from several box-office flops, including last month’s horror release “Wish Upon.”

Other commercial disappointments include “Bad Santa 2” and Terrence Malick’s abstract art films “Knight of Cups” and “Song to Song.”

The company has partnered with Amazon Studios to release titles such as Nicolas Winding Refn’s highbrow horror movie “The Neon Demon” and the Australian movie “The Dressmaker,” starring Kate Winslet.

Its biggest commercial success to date is the 2015 drama “A Walk in the Woods,” starring Robert Redford, which grossed $29.5 million domestically.

The upheaval doesn’t bode well for Matt Alvarez, who was named head of production at Broad Green last year. Alvarez was a producer on “Straight Outta Compton” and came to Broad Green after a stint at Relativity Media, another film company that has fallen on hard times.