Harry Potter and the Cursed Child maker remains in the red amid West End troubles

The company behind the Harry Potter and the Cursed Child stage play remains in the red amid falling sales and show closures, it has been revealed.

The joint venture which produces the show across the world has reported a turnover of £41.3m for the year to 31 March, 2024, down from the £45.2m it achieved in the prior 12 months.

Newly-filed accounts with Companies House also show its pre-tax loss went from £960,026 to £876,003 over the same period.

The last time the joint venture made a pre-tax profit was the £955,945 it achieved in the year to 31 October, 2020.

Harry Potter Theatrical Productions was founded by JK Rowling and Neil Blair in 2013 to develop and produce the stage play Harry Potter and the Cursed Child.

The team works with Sonia Friedman Productions and Colin Callender’s Playground through their joint venture, HPCC Group, to produce and invest in or licence the play.

In the year, productions were staged in London, New York, Hamberg, Tokyo, Melbourne and Toronto.

The Melbourne production closed in July 2023 following a five-year run while Toronto also closed that month after a run of just over a year.

A total of 544,257 tickets were sold in the year, up from 496,214.

West End decline hits Harry Potter play

A statement signed off by the board said: “The drop in revenue reflected a wider industry turnover rend in the UK, with West End earnings falling after an exceptionally strong 2022, which had been boosted by a surge in post-Covid demand.

“In London, the popularity of the original two-part production of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child endures with the show celebrating its seven-year anniversary during the period.

“The show remains profitable and continues to make profit distributions during the year.

“The single-part New York production continues and has become the fifth-longest-running play in Broadway history.

“The New York production was also profitable during the period and made profit distributions to the benefit of the group.

“Both London and Broadway have an open-ended run and currently the directors expect this to continue. The licensed productions are ongoing.

“During the year, the group agree a brand new worldwide schools’ licence, which will enable participating schools to produce a special adaptation of the show.

“Beyond the financial period under review, a new North American tour opened, starting in Chicago in September 2024, with future performances in Los Angeles and Washington DC also confirmed.”

Theatre owner stages successful year

In June, City AM reported that turnover at Nimax Theatres, the West End operator behind iconic London venues including The Palace, Garrick and Apollo Theatres, increased to almost £33m over the 12 months ending 1 October, 2023.

The total was up from just under £32m in the year before and 10 per cent higher than the period ending 29 September, 2019 – the group’s final results before the pandemic hit.

The company also remained in the black despite pre-tax profit dipping slightly from £8.5m to £7.5m over the course of the year.

Nimax said much of the success could be attributed to long running shows, with three theatres in its group accommodating year-long productions: Harry Potter and The Cursed Child and The Play That Goes Wrong, playing at The Dutchess and Palace Theatres respectively and the musical Six, which finished its second full-year run at the Vauderville.

In October, City AM reported that profit  at Warner Bros’ Harry Potter studio tour near London passed £100m as it created more than 100 jobs to cope with the rising demand for the attraction.

The business behind Warner Bros Studio Tour London – The Making of Harry Potter, achieved a pre-tax profit of £100.8m for 2023.

The new total came after Warner Bros Studios Leavesden posted a pre-tax profit of £79.7m for 2022.

The accounts also showed that the firm’s turnover rose from £247.1m to £258.4m over the same period.

To deal with the increased demand for the tour, the business increased its headcount from 622 to 724 in the year.

Warner Bros Studio Tour London – The Making of Harry Potter is a walk-through exhibition in Leavesden, Hertfordshire and is owned by the US film studio’s tours division.

It opened to the public in 2012 and houses a permanent exhibition of authentic costumes, props, and sets utilised in the production of the Harry Potter films, as well as behind-the-scenes production of visual effects.