Production company behind 'Poor Things' and 'Normal People' sees profits slip

Emma Stone won best actress at the Oscars for her role in 'Poor Things'.
After-tax profits at the multi-awarding winning production company behind the screen adaptations of Sally Rooney’s
fell by 49% to €2.32m during 2023.The €2.32m profit for the Dublin-headquartered Element Pictures last year resulted in accumulated profits rising from €7.99m to €10.32m.
The company’s cash funds last year increased more than three fold, from €857,129 to €3.3m.
Last year, the conveyor belt of quality drama from Element Pictures continued with the release of
, starring Emma Stone and Mark Ruffalo.The film achieved a worldwide box-office of $117.6m, while Emma Stone won best actress at the Oscars in March, where the film was nominated for 11 Oscars, including best picture.
In 2022, the firm, co-founded by Ed Guiney and Andrew Lowe, confirmed it sold a majority stake to global production and distribution giant Freemantle that will enable the company “to expand their capacity and continue producing television and film for international audiences”.
A note attached to the new accounts says the directors "are pleased to report a trading profit for the year and are confident of consolidating that position in the coming year”.
The company achieved the 2023 profits after taking account of non-cash depreciation costs of €176,361 and a loss on foreign currencies of €191,532.
The accounts say in the prior year, the company forgave connected company loans of €2.46m, as the directors believed "there was no chance of recoverability on these loans".
Recent film releases by Element Pictures include Yorgos Lanthimos’
, with Emma Stone, Jesse Plemons and Willem Dafoe.Mr Lanthimos’ next collaboration with Element Pictures is
, starring Emma Stone and Jesse Plemons, and is due to be released in November 2025.The number of people employed by the production company last year increased from 33 to 37.