What Vertical Entertainment does

Vertical Entertainment (legal name: Vertical Films) is an independent film distribution and production company headquartered in Los Angeles, founded in 2012 by Rich Goldberg (Chairman & Founder) and Peter Jarowey (CEO & Partner). The company acquires distribution rights to independent films and releases them across theatrical exhibition and digital windows, with distribution partnerships spanning Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV+, Fandango at Home, Netflix, Hulu, Google Play, Xfinity, and Fandango ticketing. Its catalog spans genres including action, drama, horror, thriller, fantasy, romance, sci-fi, documentary, and biographical features, with a slate that includes titles such as Eden (directed by Ron Howard), Couture (starring Angelina Jolie), Hamlet (starring Riz Ahmed), Dracula, Desert Warrior, Brothers Under Fire, and Atropia (2025 Sundance U.S. Grand Jury Prize winner).

The company operates on a licensing and royalty-based revenue model, negotiating distribution rights and revenue-sharing arrangements with content providers on a film-by-film basis; specific fees and terms are not publicly disclosed. Vertical's go-to-market is sales-led, combining acquisition of distribution rights with full-service marketing and sales services for filmmakers. Its primary customer segment is independent filmmakers and production companies seeking global distribution reach, marketing expertise, and platform access that smaller production entities cannot achieve independently.

Operationally, Vertical employs 11–50 people and is privately held with no disclosed institutional investors or parent company. The company has historically operated as a VOD-led distributor and, over the past three years, has expanded into theatrical releases with a commercially-focused indie slate, competing against major studios while maintaining operational nimbleness. Its technology footprint consists of standard film distribution infrastructure and digital platform relationships, with no disclosed proprietary technology, AI/ML capabilities, or API integrations beyond standard commercial availability on third-party streaming storefronts.

Name

Vertical Entertainment

Legal name

Vertical Films

Website

https://vert-ent.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2012

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Vertical Entertainment is a Los Angeles-based independent film distribution company that acquires rights to indie films and releases them across theatrical, VOD, and streaming platforms, serving independent filmmakers with full-service marketing and sales.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Film Distribution

NAICS

Motion Picture and Video Distribution (51212), Motion Picture and Video Distribution (512120)

SIC

Services-Motion Picture & Video Tape Distribution (7822), Services-Allied To Motion Picture Distribution (7829)

akta.pro primary industry

Transactional VOD Distribution (TVOD) (MPADAJAF)

akta.pro secondary industries

Home Entertainment Distribution (Digital: TVOD/EST) (MPADAJAE), Subscription, Bundling & Membership Distribution (Game Pass-like, Humble-like) (MPAFABAI)

Keywords

• Film distribution services
• Theatrical distribution
• Video on demand
• Independent film licensing
• Streaming content distribution

Headquarters

HQ city

Los Angeles

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Marketing or Sales, Personnel, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Film Distribution Licensing: Vertical acquires distribution rights for films and generates revenue through licensing deals across theatrical release, VOD platforms, and streaming services. The company takes a commercially-focused approach with an indie slate, leveraging platform relationships to maximize revenue streams from content providers.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Vertical Entertainment is an independent film distribution company that acquires distribution rights for films and releases them across theatrical, video-on-demand (VOD), and major streaming platforms. The company provides full-service marketing and sales services for filmmakers and production companies, leveraging creative and platform relationships to maximize revenue from its commercially-focused indie slate.

Product overview

Vertical Entertainment is a leading global independent film distributor founded in 2012, releasing films across all mediums including theatrical distribution, VOD (Video on Demand), and streaming platform partnerships. The company's portfolio encompasses a diverse range of films across genres including action, adventure, comedy, drama, horror, thriller, fantasy, romance, sci-fi, documentary, biography, history, and war. Films are distributed through major streaming platforms including Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV+, Fandango at Home, Google Play, Xfinity, Hulu, Netflix, and theatrical release. The distribution slate includes theatrical releases like Couture starring Angelina Jolie, Hamlet starring Riz Ahmed, and Desert Warrior; VOD releases including Dracula directed by Luc Besson, Brothers Under Fire starring Kiefer Sutherland, and Driver's Ed; and documentary titles such as Nobu and Pinball: The Man Who Saved The Game. The company provides full-service marketing and sales solutions for filmmakers while leveraging creative and platform relationships to maximize revenue streams.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Independent Film Distribution Services Full-service film distribution including theatrical release, VOD placement, and streaming platform distribution, combined with marketing and sales services for independent filmmakers and production companies.
• The Magic Faraway Tree Family fantasy film about a big-city family forced to relocate to a remote village who discover a magical tree whose enchanted inhabitants transport the children on adventures to fantastical worlds. Distributed theatrically and via VOD/streaming.
• Couture Drama starring Angelina Jolie as an American filmmaker in Paris during Fashion Week, whose encounters with women from all walks of life spark a personal journey of self-discovery.
• Driver's Ed Comedy in which a group of teens hit the road in a stolen driver's ed car, racing against time to help a lovesick high school senior track down his college-freshman girlfriend.
• The Wizard of the Kremlin Drama set in post-Soviet Russia in which rising KGB officer Vladimir Putin joins forces with master manipulator Vadim Baranov to reshape life behind the Iron Curtain using violence and deception.
• Couples Weekend Romantic comedy in which two couples trapped in a cozy cabin by a blizzard ring in the New Year with a mysterious cocktail that strips away their inhibitions, turning their romantic getaway into chaos.
• Desert Warrior Action-adventure in which a princess flees into the Arabian desert, hunted by mercenaries, and is forged into a warrior who unites warring tribes for a last stand against a ruthless emperor.
• Brothers Under Fire Action film in which Captain Jordan Wright's squadron on leave for a wedding in Mexico encounters a murderous cartel, forcing him into a battle to save his men.
• Hamlet Modern adaptation of Shakespeare's tragedy set within London's elite South Asian community, starring Academy Award winner Riz Ahmed.
• Dracula Horror/fantasy in which a 15th-century prince denounces God after the devastating loss of his wife and inherits an eternal curse, becoming Dracula, condemned to wander the centuries guided by a single hope to be reunited with his lost love.
• We Bury The Dead Horror thriller written and directed by Zak Hilditch, starring Daisy Ridley and Brenton Thwaites.
• Atropia 2025 Sundance Film Festival U.S. Grand Jury Prize for Dramatic Features winner, written and directed by Hailey Benton Gates and starring Alia Shawkat and Callum Turner.
• Eden Film directed by Academy Award-winning director Ron Howard, starring Jude Law, Ana de Armas, Vanessa Kirby, Daniel Bruhl and Sydney Sweeney.
• My Mother's Wedding Director/writer Kristin Scott Thomas' film starring Thomas, Scarlett Johansson, Sienna Miller, Emily Beecham and Freida Pinto.
• Last Days Sci-fi thriller directed by Justin Lin and starring newcomer Sky Yang, in which the U.S. government plans to broadcast a signal making it impossible for anyone to knowingly commit unlawful acts.
• Fight or Flight Action comedy directed by James Madigan and starring Josh Hartnett and Katee Sackhoff.
• Dead of Winter Thriller starring Emma Thompson and Judy Greer, directed by Brian Kirk.
• Rosemead Drama produced by and starring Lucy Liu, written and directed by Eric Lin.
• Nobu Documentary examining culinary legend Nobuyuki Matsuhisa's empire, offering an intimate portrait of a man who has redefined global gastronomy.
• Modi Drama following Italian bohemian artist Modigliani through the streets of World War I Paris as he attempts to outmaneuver bombs, policemen, girlfriends, and critics in a desperate search of a home for his art.
• Jeanne Du Barry Period drama starring Johnny Depp as King Louis XV in the story of Jeanne du Barry, a French peasant woman whose meteoric rise through the royal court to become the King's last mistress creates a scandal of epic proportions.
• Emily The Criminal Crime thriller about Emily, who takes a shady gig buying goods with stolen credit cards supplied by a charismatic middleman, and they hatch a plan to take their business to the next level.
• The Storied Life of AJ Fikry Drama in which AJ Fikry's life hits emotional and financial rock bottom, his bookstore is in a sales slump and his most valuable possession has been stolen, until a mysterious package offers him a second chance at life and love.
• Maybe I Do Romantic comedy set in New York City in which Michelle and Allen's romance reaches the point where parents must finally meet, and the dinner quickly spirals out of control as the parents realize each spouse is sleeping with the other.
• To Catch A Killer
• She Came To Me
• The Pod Generation
• Fast Charlie Action thriller in which Charlie Swift, a fixer with a problem, must find a way to identify a target whose head is missing before he can be paid.
• American Dreamer Drama in which low-level adjunct professor Phil Loder's grand dream of owning a home is tragically out of reach until a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity comes his way.
• Asphalt City Drama in which a young paramedic is paired with a seasoned partner on the night shift in New York, revealing a city in crisis, and is tested with the ethical ambiguity that can be the difference between life and death.
• Pinball: The Man Who Saved The Game Biographical drama based on true events about GQ journalist and real-life pinball wizard Roger Sharpe, who in 1976 helped overturn New York City's 35-year ban on pinball.
• Joe Bell Biography and drama film.
• Lee Drama, biography, history, war film.

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration8 records

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core, major and standard.

• Amazon Prime VideocoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorVertical Entertainment distributes films through Amazon Prime Video platform, making content available for streaming and digital rental/purchase to Amazon's global subscriber base.
• Apple TV+coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorPartnership with Apple TV+ for distribution of Vertical Entertainment's film catalog on the Apple platform, providing access to Apple users worldwide.
• Fandango at HomecoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorDistribution partnership with Fandango at Home for VOD rental and purchase of Vertical Entertainment films.
• NetflixmajorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorContent distribution partnership with Netflix for select Vertical Entertainment films to reach Netflix's streaming audience.
• HulumajorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorPartnership with Hulu for streaming distribution of Vertical Entertainment content to Hulu subscribers.
• Google PlaystandardChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorDigital distribution via Google Play platform for Android users to rent or purchase Vertical Entertainment films.
• XfinitystandardChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorDistribution partnership with Xfinity for VOD access to Vertical Entertainment films for Comcast subscribers.
• FandangocoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorTheatrical ticketing partnership with Fandango for movie theater ticket sales for Vertical Entertainment's theatrical releases.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Direct peers

• A24: Independent film production and distribution company with a comparable slate of auteur-driven indie films distributed across theatrical and streaming platforms. A24 is Vertical's most analogous peer in the boutique indie distribution space.
• Neon: Independent distributor focused on premium and award-season indie titles across theatrical and digital platforms. Highly comparable vertically-integrated indie distributor that competes with Vertical for the same filmmakers and platform placements.
• Bleecker Street Media: Independent theatrical and home entertainment distributor focused on prestige indie films. Closely comparable boutique distributor with a similar all-windows release strategy competing for the same genre of content.
• IFC Films: Specialty division of AMC Networks distributing independent films theatrically and across VOD/streaming. Comparable indie distributor with similar platform distribution and genre mix.
• Magnolia Pictures: Independent film distributor with strong VOD and limited theatrical presence across arthouse and genre titles. Operates in the same indie distribution layer as Vertical with shared platform partnerships.
• Roadside Attractions: Long-standing independent theatrical distributor specializing in mid-budget drama and specialty films. Direct peer in the indie theatrical + VOD distribution category.

Broad incumbents

• Lionsgate: Major independent-studio-hybrid distributor with deep theatrical, VOD, and streaming reach. Larger incumbent that competes with Vertical across multiple windows but at substantially greater scale and capital base.
• Searchlight Pictures: Specialty division of The Walt Disney Company focused on prestige independent films. Broader incumbent with substantially more resources competing for the same high-end indie productions.
• Focus Features: Specialty division of Universal Pictures distributing prestige and arthouse films theatrically and digitally. Large incumbent competitor that overlaps with Vertical in the indie/specialty space.

Emerging players

• Oscilloscope Laboratories: Boutique independent film distributor focused on curated arthouse titles. Smaller-scale peer in the indie distribution layer with similar all-windows release approach.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCpR3kmSyTYszJHWEcmpcnFQ
• Facebookfacebook.com/VertEnt
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/vertical-entertainment
• Instagraminstagram.com/verticalentertainment

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Vertical Entertainment