Global Road Entertainment, an upstart film studio that sought to bridge the gap between movie markets in the United States and China, has hit a dead end.

The Los Angeles-based film studio filed for Chapter 11 protection Thursday in Wilmington, Delaware, listing between $100 million and $500 million in assets and liabilities. The downfall of the debtor, known as Open Road Films in bankruptcy court filings, comes less than a year after former Bear Stearns Cos. banker Wei Donald Tang acquired the company.