Plenty could be written about The Bikeriders, the $40 million Austin Butler crime drama that cruised into theaters last weekend and earned a fine-but-not-spectacular $10 million. Cue another round of think pieces pondering the viability of midbudget cinema and next-generation movie stars. Yet, behind the scenes, there’s a much stranger story about New Regency, the film’s main backer, which is in desperate need of a hit.

For decades, Regency has been a beacon of independent production in Hollywood, churning out critical and commercial blockbusters such as Pretty Woman, Fight Club, Heat, L.A. Confidential, The Big Short, and Gone Girl. But the company’s trajectory angled downward a few years ago when its founder, Arnon Milchan, a billionaire former Israeli spy and Rupert Murdoch confidant, passed the torch to his son, Yariv. Since then, Regency has released a series of flops—The Creator, Amsterdam, Deep Water, The Northman—compounded by lawsuits challenging Yariv’s management chops.