The Irish-based movie and TV co-production group behind Season 2 of the global Netflix ratings phenomenon, 'Wednesday' last year sourced €128m in funding from overseas investors for movie and TV co-productions here.
New consolidated accounts filed by Co Wicklow based Metropolitan Films International Ltd show that the spend by its movie and TV subsidiaries last year on various co-productions totalled €182.84m.
The group benefited from €52.32m claimed in corporation tax credits in the 12 months to the end of April 2025 which is more than four times the €11.6m the group claimed in corporation tax credits in 2024.
The directors state that "the continued availability of film tax credit incentives is a fundamental element of the attractiveness of film and television projects to Ireland".
They warn that "any risk that such incentives would be curtailed, reduced, or ceased would likely have a very significant impact on the viability of projects and the company's pipeline of projects".
The €182.84m spend was met by the €52.32m claimed in corporation tax credits and production services of €131.7m.
The directors state that €182.84m funding is spent on the production costs for all projects and that this activity was supported by 756 employees within those subsidiary companies.
Underlining a buoyant year for the group through its various co-productions, its staff costs last year increased more than three fold from €15m to €49.2m.
The directors state that of the €182m spent on film and television production, €128m was sourced from international investment.
The directors state the group considers this to be a key performance indicator when assessing how the group has performed over the year.
The accounts show that last year while the firm made €52.3m in corporation tax credit claims it received corporation tax credits of €27.32m.
The accounts make reference to Metropolitan Films International Ltd appealing to the Labour Court a large number of Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) decisions issued in December 2023 which awarded a cumulative total of €434,216 to a group of Irish Film Workers Association (IFWA) members.
The note states that "the company has been defending a small number of individual legacy claims regarding alleged employment status. These claims are heavily disputed, and the Labour Court has found in favour of the Company in all such claims to date".
The group made a modest pre-tax profit of €129,221 last year.
A large contributor to the business last year was Season Two of ‘Wednesday’ Netflix’s supernatural mystery comedy focuses on the teen years of Wednesday Addams, played by Jenna Ortega.
The first and second season of Wednesday both feature in Netflix’s top five most popular shows of all time.
A subsidiary of Metropolitan Films International, Willow Hill S2 Productions DAC behind Season 2 of Wednesday shows that it incurred €50.2m in production expenses in the 12 months to the end of April last.
The subsidiary employed 337 and its staff costs for the year totalled €14.73m.
Executive producers of 'Wednesday', Alfred Gough and Miles Millar have called the filming locations "truly magical" – and the settings included Powerscourt Demesne in Enniskerry, Charleville Castle in County Offaly and Dublin’s atmospheric Deansgrange Cemetery.
Reporting by Gordon Deegan
