JK Rowling production company announces 74% drop in profit
Brontë Film and TV, the production firm owned by author JK Rowling has announced a 75% drop in profits. The losses have been attributed to Covid-19-related closures, which affected theatre performances of Rowling’s Harry Potter And The Cursed Child. Meanwhile, the BBC has announced a Strike renewal following their apology to the Harry Potter creator amid the closely-followed transphobia row.
Brontë Film and TV was established in 2012 as an adaption conduit for Rowling’s expansive witchcraft and wizardry franchise. The British author founded the company in partnership with her literary agent Neil Blair and is currently the majority shareholder.
The outfit’s pre-tax profit was £1.8million ($2.2million) over the 12 months in the run-up to March 2022, compared with £6.9million over the same period one year prior. The production company’s revenue halved to £8.8million, according to a UK Companies House report.
The company’s annual earnings report cited “lower income streams and profit shares from theatrical productions which were closed for a large part of the [financial] period due to Covid restrictions.”
Meanwhile, Brontë Film and TV’s subsidiary, Harry Potter Theatrical Productions, reported revenue of £3.5million, which was down £6.6million, or a 65% drop, compared to 2021. Its pre-tax profit concurrently fell 84% to £1.1million.
In March, Brontë announced that it had struck a deal with the BBC to adapt The Ink Black Heart. The book, written by Rowling under her pseudonym Robert Galbraith, will become season six of Strike, which has been successful for the BBC so far. Production is set to begin later this year, with a premier slated for 2024.
The Strike renewal comes following the BBC’s recent apology to Rowling. Last month, guests appearing on the broadcaster’s news shows accused the author of being transphobic.
The news features failed to give a balanced debate on the topic after transgender people said they were boycotting the Harry Potter video game Hogwarts Legacy because Rowling is “anti-trans.” The BBC admitted that the discussions aired on Radio 4 and BBC Radio Scotland fell below “rigorous editorial standards”.
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