Harry Potter TV series maker falls into the red as shooting starts
A company run by the new co-producer of the James Bond franchise entered the red ahead of starting work on the new Harry Potter TV series, it has been revealed.
Heyday Television is a joint venture between Heyday Films, which was founded in 1996 by producer David Heyman, and Universal International Studios.
In March this year, Heyman was announced as the new co-producer of the James Bond franchise alongside Amy Pascal by Amazon MGM Studios.
The pair have taken over from Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson who stepped back after signing a deal for Amazon MGM Studios to take full control of the franchise.
Now, new accounts filed with Companies House have revealed that London-based Heyday Television fell to a pre-tax loss of £2.8m in 2024.
The loss comes after the business reported a pre-tax profit of £281,000 in 2023 but it did make a loss of £752,000 in 2022.
The new results also show its turnover fell sharply from £45.4m to £18.5m.
Shooting has recently started on the new Harry Potter TV series at Warner Bros Studios Leavesden.
As well as Heyday Television, the series is being produced by HBO Entertainment, Warner Bros Television and Brontë Film & TV – which is owned by JK Rowling.
In a statement signed off by the board, Heyday Television said its lower turnover in 2024 was due to a subscription video on demand title being delivered in 2023 and no new project being completed last year.
Profit dips at owner of Harry Potter maker
Heyday Television is the TV arm of Heyday Films which has been behind the likes of the Harry Potter film franchise, the Paddington movies and box office smash Barbie.
According to its most recent set of accounts, for the year to 31 March, 2024, Heyday Films achieved a profit of £3.8m, down from £4.1m in the prior 12 months.
its joint venture partner, Universal International Studios, is yet to file its results for 2024.
For 2023, the firm’s turnover was slashed from £62.7m to £34.7m while its pre-tax loss widened from £5.3m to £44.3m.
As well as Heyday Television, Universal International Studios’ subsidiaries include Working Title, UMSI Productions and Matchbox Pictures, which is based in Australia.
New accounts filed for Working Title in the UK show the division’s turnover dipped from £13m to £12.3m in 2024.
Its pre-tax profit rose slightly from £528,000 to £584,000 over the same period.
The UK arm of Working Title has been behind the likes of Lord of the Rings, Love Actually and British cult classics Hot Fuzz and Shaun of the Dead.