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Bristol, U.K.-based animation studio Aardman — known for the iconic claymation properties Wallace & Gromit, Chicken Run and Creature Comforts — is restructuring after posting $720,000 in losses for last year, and while many studios face increased production costs. The cost cutting measures include making <5% of its 425-person staff redundant (20 positions). Reportedly, a third of these exits were voluntary, and Aardman hopes to rehire some departing employees on a freelance basis.
The studio has also created new positions, including a senior licensing manager and sales executive, who will focus on more extensively capitalizing on existing Aardman IP.
The studio told Deadline that its £550,135 pre-tax loss for 2023 was largely due to a £1.75 million impairment of unrecouped costs on its 2022 CGI series Lloyd of the Flies. Without this chunk, the studio shows a profit of £1.6M. Aardman posted a a profit of £1.56M in 2022. Revenue declined by 16% to £26.7M in the year to December 31, 2023.
In its report, Aardman noted that Lloyd‘s global potential has been impacted by “current very challenging market conditions.” The write-down mirrors the studio’s early situation with its preschool Shaun the Sheep spin-off series, Timmy Time, which eventually sold to 80 territories.
The studio also echoed many other U.K. studios in noting record high overhead costs due to increases costs related to energy, facility rentals, technology and offering competitive pay to its animation talent.
Aardman’s next project, Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl, will debut on the BBC (U.K.) and Netflix (worldwide) this winter, following its World Premiere as the closing film of AFI FEST at the end of October. The studio is also working on Shaun the Sheep Season 7 and a new pilot for a project called Sugarloaf.
[Source: Deadline]
