The Weinstein Company (usually credited or abbreviated as TWC) was an American independent film studio, founded in New York City by Bob and Harvey Weinstein on March 10, 2005. TWC was one of the largest mini-major film studios in North America as well as in the United States; prior to the firing of Harvey Weinstein following allegations of sexual harassment and rape against him, as well as financial troubles that followed. The studio eventually declared bankruptcy in February 2018, with independent studio Lantern Entertainment acquiring a majority of its film library and assets. Founder and chief executive Bob Weinstein previously owned a small stake in the company. The company dismissed joint founder and chief executive Harvey Weinstein in October 2017, after over 100 women came forward to accuse him of sexual harassment, abuse, assault, or rape. On February 26, 2018, the Weinstein Company announced in a statement that it would declare bankruptcy following the collapse of a buyout deal with an investor group led by Maria Contreras-Sweet. However, the TWC board and the investor group confirmed on March 1, 2018, that they had reached a deal in which TWC would sell all of its assets for US$500 million. On March 6, 2018, the acquisition deal collapsed again after the studio had an extra debt of US$50 million revealed. The company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on March 19, 2018. On May 1, 2018, Lantern Capital emerged as the winner of the studio's bankruptcy auction. History Early years The Weinstein Company was founded on March 10, 2005, and officially launched that October. following the departure of Harvey and Bob Weinstein from Miramax Films, which they had co-founded in 1979, and sold to The Walt Disney Company on June 30, 1993. They retained ownership of Dimension Films. Their first releases in 2005 included the dramatic thriller Derailed (starring Jennifer Aniston, Vincent Cassel and Clive Owen), the offbeat comedy-drama Transamerica (starring Felicity Huffman) the computer-animated family film Hoodwinked, the World War II–era comedy-drama Mrs Henderson Presents (starring Judi Dench and Bob Hoskins), and the caper comedy The Matador (starring Pierce Brosnan and Greg Kinnear). In February 2006, TWC announced a distribution pact with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM). MGM distributed the product domestically in theatres, while TWC retained long-term ownership of their product. On July 13, 2006, the Weinsteins and Robert L. Johnson announced the creation of a joint venture studio titled Our Stories Films, which