RatPac Entertainment
An American media and entertainment company involved in financing and producing films, television, documentaries, theater, and podcasts.
Last updated August 25, 2026
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Overview
RatPac Entertainment is an American private media and entertainment company best known for arranging production financing and co-financing for feature films. The business is associated with filmmaker Brett Ratner and Australian businessman James Packer, and grew out of the combination of Ratner and Packer's RatPac venture with Steven Mnuchin's Dune Entertainment. Although the company has been identified most prominently with theatrical film finance, its stated activities also extend to television, documentary production, live theater, and podcasts. The company's principal predecessor was Dune Entertainment, founded by Steven Mnuchin in 2004 as a side business. Dune developed a major film-financing relationship with 20th Century Fox and participated in the financing of large-scale productions, including films in the X-Men series and Avatar. It also became involved in the acquisition and financing of film-library interests, including a 2006 transaction concerning a controlling interest in the live-action DreamWorks Pictures library. After Dune's Fox arrangement ended, Mnuchin entered discussions with Ratner and Packer, whose RatPac joint venture was newly established in the entertainment sector. RatPac-Dune Entertainment was formed in 2013. In September of that year, the venture entered into a multi-year agreement with Warner Bros. Pictures to co-finance 75 films. The arrangement made RatPac-Dune a significant source of production capital for Warner Bros. releases during the 2013–2018 period and placed the company behind a wide range of commercial, prestige, franchise, animation, horror, and documentary-related projects. Films associated with the arrangement included Gravity, The Lego Movie, Edge of Tomorrow, American Sniper, Mad Max: Fury Road, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, Suicide Squad, Wonder Woman, Dunkirk, It, and other Warner titles. The company also participated in financing or production arrangements involving Regency, New Regency, 20th Century Fox, Universal, Sony Pictures, RKO Pictures, Plan B Entertainment, and New Regency. The financing model generally involved supplying or arranging capital alongside studio distribution and production partners rather than operating as a conventional vertically integrated studio with a large in-house production slate. This structure allowed RatPac-Dune to share in the economics of numerous releases while relying on established studios for distribution, marketing, and physical or digital release operations. In November 2013, the venture finalized a credit facility led by Bank of America Merrill Lynch, reportedly with an initial capacity of $300 million and an option to increase it to $400 million. In late 2017, Access Entertainment acquired James Packer's controlling stake. The company's investment position in a library of Warner Bros. films was subsequently monetized. In late 2018, the minority stake was offered for sale, and in January 2019 Warner Bros. exercised matching rights in connection with the proposed transaction, acquiring RatPac-Dune's interests for an estimated $290 million to $300 million. The financial terms were reported by outside sources and are not treated here as audited company results. RatPac has also been associated with documentary projects, including Night Will Fall, Electric Boogaloo: The Wild, Untold Story of Cannon Films, Before the Flood, and Bright Lights: Starring Carrie Fisher and Debbie Reynolds. In 2021, the company acquired rights to Reddit WallStreetBets founder Jaime Rogozinski's life story; the resulting documentary, The New Americans: Gaming a Revolution, directed by Ondi Timoner, was released on Netflix in January 2024. RatPac's public profile therefore spans film finance, documentary production, and selected television and nonfiction projects, although detailed current operating information is limited.
History
RatPac Entertainment's history is rooted in the development of independent film-financing vehicles connected to major Hollywood studios. Its most important predecessor, Dune Entertainment, was founded by Steven Mnuchin in 2004. Dune operated as a financing company rather than as a traditional production studio, providing capital for large-scale films and sharing in their economic returns. Its most prominent early relationship was with 20th Century Fox, for which it helped finance major productions, including entries in the X-Men franchise and Avatar. Dune also participated in film-library transactions. In March 2006, Viacom agreed to sell a controlling interest in the live-action film library of DreamWorks Pictures to Soros Strategic Partners and Dune Entertainment II. The transaction closed in May 2006. These activities helped establish Dune as a substantial institutional participant in Hollywood film finance. After Dune's financing arrangement with 20th Century Fox ended, Mnuchin pursued a new partnership with filmmaker Brett Ratner and Australian businessman James Packer. Ratner and Packer had established RatPac as an entertainment venture, and the parties combined their interests in a new financing structure. RatPac-Dune Entertainment was formed in 2013. The venture's defining transaction came in September 2013, when it agreed to a multi-year co-financing arrangement with Warner Bros. Pictures covering 75 films. The agreement reportedly involved more than $1 billion in financing over its term and made RatPac-Dune a key financing partner for Warner Bros. releases. The Warner arrangement began during the release cycle for Gravity in 2013 and continued through a broad slate extending to 2017 and beyond. RatPac-Dune's associated films covered many genres and production models. The slate included major franchise and event pictures such as Mad Max: Fury Road, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, Suicide Squad, Wonder Woman, Dunkirk, and It; animation and family projects such as The Lego Movie, The Lego Batman Movie, Storks, and The Lego Ninjago Movie; and smaller or more specialized releases such as Inherent Vice, Midnight Special, and Live by Night. Some projects were financed with Warner-related entities, while others involved arrangements with outside studios and production companies. The company supplemented the Warner slate with financing relationships involving New Regency and 20th Century Fox, Universal Pictures, Sony Pictures, and RKO Pictures. It also had a financing or production relationship connected with Plan B Entertainment and New Regency. Its operating role was generally that of a capital partner: studios and production companies supplied creative, distribution, and marketing infrastructure, while RatPac-Dune participated in the financing structure and resulting economics. In November 2013, RatPac-Dune arranged a credit facility led by Bank of America Merrill Lynch. Public descriptions gave the facility an initial value of $300 million and an option to expand it to $400 million. The facility provided additional financial capacity for the company's slate-based strategy, in which exposure was spread across a large number of theatrical releases rather than concentrated in a single production. The ownership structure changed in late 2017 when Access Entertainment acquired James Packer's controlling stake. RatPac-Dune subsequently sought to realize value from its interest in a library of 76 Warner Bros. films. The stake was put up for sale in late 2018. Vine Alternative Investments submitted a high bid, but Warner Bros. exercised its contractual right to match the bid in January 2019. Warner thereby acquired RatPac-Dune's interests in the library; contemporary reporting estimated the value at approximately $290 million to $300 million. RatPac's activities have not been limited to theatrical features. The company has been associated with documentaries including I Knew It Was You: Rediscovering John Cazale, Night Will Fall, Electric Boogaloo: The Wild, Untold Story of Cannon Films, Chuck Norris vs. Communism, Before the Flood, Bright Lights: Starring Carrie Fisher and Debbie Reynolds, and Author: The JT LeRoy Story. It has also been linked to the television project Rush Hour and to later nonfiction development. In 2021, RatPac acquired rights to Jaime Rogozinski's life story. The resulting documentary, The New Americans: Gaming a Revolution, directed by Ondi Timoner, premiered on Netflix in January 2024. Publicly available information describes RatPac as continuing to operate across film, television, documentary, theater, and podcast-related entertainment, but provides limited detail about its current staff, financial performance, or active slate.
- 2024
The New Americans reaches Netflix
[1]The documentary The New Americans: Gaming a Revolution debuts on Netflix.
- 2021
Rights acquired for WallStreetBets documentary project
[1]RatPac acquires rights to Jaime Rogozinski's life story for a nonfiction project.
- 2019
Warner Bros. acquires RatPac-Dune's library interest
[1]Warner Bros. matches a competing bid and acquires RatPac-Dune's minority interests in a library of Warner films.
- 2017
Access Entertainment acquires Packer's stake
[1]Access Entertainment buys James Packer's controlling interest in the company.
- 2013
RatPac-Dune Entertainment is formed
[1]RatPac and Dune combine in a joint venture associated with Brett Ratner, James Packer, and Steven Mnuchin.
- 2013
Warner Bros. co-financing agreement
[1]RatPac-Dune signs a multi-year agreement to co-finance 75 Warner Bros. Pictures films.
- 2013
Credit facility finalized
[1]The company finalizes a credit facility led by Bank of America Merrill Lynch to support its financing slate.
- 2006
Dune expands its film-library and studio-financing activities
[1]Dune participates in the acquisition of a controlling interest in the live-action DreamWorks Pictures film library and continues financing films for 20th Century Fox.
- 2004
Dune Entertainment is founded
[1]Steven Mnuchin establishes Dune Entertainment as a film-financing business.
Products and positioning
A private, partnership-oriented entertainment financier and producer that supplies capital for studio-scale feature films while participating in selected documentary and television projects.
Film finance · 2013
Feature-film financing
RatPac's core activity has been providing or arranging capital for theatrical motion pictures. Its financing model typically combines the company with a major studio or production partner that handles development, distribution, and marketing. The resulting slate has included large franchise films, prestige dramas, comedies, animation, horror, and independent-style productions.
Film co-financing · 2013
Warner Bros. co-financing slate
The 2013 multi-year agreement with Warner Bros. Pictures covered 75 films and became RatPac-Dune's most important commercial platform. Associated releases included Gravity, The Lego Movie, American Sniper, Mad Max: Fury Road, Wonder Woman, Dunkirk, It, and other Warner titles released during the partnership period.
Documentary production and financing · 2009
RatPac documentary films
The documentary portfolio includes film-history, cultural, environmental, and biographical works. Identified projects include Night Will Fall, Electric Boogaloo: The Wild, Untold Story of Cannon Films, Before the Flood, Bright Lights: Starring Carrie Fisher and Debbie Reynolds, and The New Americans: Gaming a Revolution.
Television · 2016
Rush Hour
Rush Hour was a television project associated with RatPac Television and Warner Bros. Television. It extended the company's entertainment activities beyond theatrical feature financing into scripted television.
Brand decisions
2021
Develop a documentary about the WallStreetBets movementProduct launchBackground
The GameStop short squeeze and the rise of the Reddit WallStreetBets community generated interest in a documentary treatment of the event and its participants.
Action taken
RatPac acquired rights to Jaime Rogozinski's life story.
Aftermath
The project became The New Americans: Gaming a Revolution, directed by Ondi Timoner and released on Netflix in January 2024.
2019
Warner Bros. matches sale of film-library interestM&ABackground
RatPac-Dune's minority interest in a library of 76 Warner Bros. films was offered for sale after investors sought to exit the underlying fund.
Action taken
After Vine Alternative Investments submitted a high bid, Warner Bros. exercised its matching rights and acquired the stake.
Aftermath
Warner Bros. effectively consolidated ownership of the relevant RatPac-Dune interests in the film library.
Estimated transaction value. $290 million to $300 million (January 2019)
2017
Change in controlling ownershipM&ABackground
James Packer held a controlling stake in the company before the ownership transaction.
Action taken
Access Entertainment acquired Packer's controlling interest.
Aftermath
The transaction changed the ownership structure while RatPac continued to be associated with the company's entertainment and financing activities.
2013
Adopt a large Warner Bros. co-financing slateStrategyBackground
After Dune Entertainment's relationship with 20th Century Fox ended, the newly formed RatPac-Dune sought a major studio financing platform.
Action taken
RatPac-Dune entered a multi-year agreement to co-finance 75 Warner Bros. Pictures films.
Aftermath
The agreement made Warner Bros. the company's central theatrical partner and connected RatPac-Dune with a broad slate of commercially varied releases.
2013
Secure revolving financing capacityStrategyBackground
A multi-film co-financing strategy required substantial committed capital and liquidity.
Action taken
RatPac-Dune finalized a credit facility led by Bank of America Merrill Lynch, publicly described as $300 million with an option to reach $400 million.
Aftermath
The facility supported the company's ability to participate in studio-scale production financing.
Credit facility size. $300 million, with an option to increase to $400 million (November 2013)
Sources1 sources
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