Series of costly losses in 2023 contributed to Just for Laughs insolvency: report
A report filed in Quebec Superior Court details the reasons behind the financial troubles that led the parent company of the Just for Laughs comedy festivals to cancel its flagship event and seek protection from its creditors.
The Thursday court filing from an insolvency trustee shows Groupe Juste pour rire inc. posted a net loss of more $7.9 million in the first 10 months of 2023.
Among the factors the trustee says tanked its revenue was a March comedy festival in London that led to a loss of around $800,000 after ticket sales fell short of expectations.
Groupe Juste pour rire also lost about $2 million on the 2023 edition of the Montreal Just for Laughs festival, which the trustee says the company knowingly staged at a loss in an attempt to match the scale of the one held before the COVID-19 pandemic.
A production of the musical comedy "Hair" was another costly enterprise.
The trustee says changes to YouTube and Facebook video monetization rules, and the TVA Groupe's decision not to purchase the 24th season of the company's prank comedy television show "Gags," also reduced revenue.
- This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 16, 2024.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
More than 115 cases of eye damage reported in Ontario after solar eclipse
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
Toxic testing standoff: Family leaves house over air quality
A Sherwood Park family says their new house is uninhabitable. The McNaughton's say they were forced to leave the house after living there for only a week because contaminants inside made it difficult to breathe.
Decoy bear used to catch man who illegally killed a grizzly, B.C. conservation officers say
A man has been handed a lengthy hunting ban and fined thousands of dollars for illegally killing a grizzly bear, B.C. conservation officers say.
B.C. seeks ban on public drug use, dialing back decriminalization
The B.C. NDP has asked the federal government to recriminalize public drug use, marking a major shift in the province's approach to addressing the deadly overdose crisis.
OPP responds to apparent video of officer supporting anti-Trudeau government protestors
The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) says it's investigating an interaction between a uniformed officer and anti-Trudeau government protestors after a video circulated on social media.
An emergency slide falls off a Delta Air Lines plane, forcing pilots to return to JFK in New York
An emergency slide fell off a Delta Air Lines jetliner shortly after takeoff Friday from New York, and pilots who felt a vibration in the plane circled back to land safely at JFK Airport.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau on navigating post-political life, co-parenting and freedom
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
Last letters of pioneering climber who died on Everest reveal dark side of mountaineering
George Mallory is renowned for being one of the first British mountaineers to attempt to scale the dizzying heights of Mount Everest during the 1920s. Nearly a century later, newly digitized letters shed light on Mallory’s hopes and fears about ascending Everest.
Loud boom in Hamilton caused by propane tank, police say
A loud explosion was heard across Hamilton on Friday after a propane tank was accidentally destroyed and detonated at a local scrap metal yard, police say.