Vertical Entertainment has acquired U.S. distribution rights to the Cliffhanger reboot, directed by Jaume Collet-Serra and starring Lily James and Pierce Brosnan, after the film's original distributor Row K Entertainment collapsed earlier this year. According to World of Reel, Vertical is targeting a spring 2027 wide theatrical release, with February 24 as a possible date.
Row K arrived at TIFF in September 2025 with the scale and ambition of a studio. The distributor, launched by Media Capital Technologies and led by former IMAX Entertainment president Megan Colligan, acquired Cliffhanger in an eight-figure deal within days of its debut at the market. Row K co-chairs Christopher Woodrow and Raj Singh called it "an exciting addition to Row K's growing slate and a clear example of the kind of event-level films we are bringing to the marketplace." They planned a 3,000-screen wide release for August 2026.
That release never came. After Gus Van Sant's Dead Man's Wire, Row K's first theatrical release, bombed in January 2026, the distributor began to unravel. By March, reports of unpaid bills and executive departures surfaced. Maude Apatow's directorial debut Poetic License was picked up by Sony Pictures Classics. Charlie Harper remained in limbo. Cliffhanger spent months waiting as a potential deal with Neon failed to materialize.
The film follows a mountaineer and his daughter who must confront kidnappers and survive in the Dolomites. Originally, Sylvester Stallone was attached to the project but exited in 2024 due to creative differences, leading to Collet-Serra reorienting around Brosnan and James. The $100 million production was independently financed through international pre-sales and private investment. According to World of Reel, the film tested very well, which may have made it attractive to Vertical despite the months of distribution uncertainty.
For a film this size, the Row K saga is a cautionary case study in the limits of distributor ambition. Vertical has inherited a project that was built for a big moment. Whether spring 2027 delivers one remains to be seen.
