Matchbox Pictures
Defunct Australian film and television production company
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Matchbox Pictures was a film and television production company headquartered in Sydney with production houses in Sydney, Melbourne, and Singapore.[2][3] It was formed in 2008 by Tony Ayres, Penny Chapman, Helen Bowden, Michael McMahon and Helen Panckhurst. In 2011, NBCUniversal took a majority stake in Matchbox Pictures, and full ownership by January 2014.[4]
| |
| Company type | Subsidiary |
|---|---|
| Industry | Television |
| Genre | Television production |
| Founded | 2008 |
| Founders |
|
| Defunct | 17 February 2026 |
| Headquarters | Sydney , Australia |
Area served | Australia |
Key people | Alastair McKinnon (managing director) |
| Services | Film and television program production |
| Parent | Universal International Studios (2011–2026) |
| Subsidiaries | Big & Little Films Tony Ayres Productions[1] |
| Website | matchboxpictures |
Matchbox Pictures was led by Alastair McKinnon (managing director), Matthew Vitins (COO), Debbie Lee (Director of Scripted Development), Penny Chapman (Producer), Helen Panckhurst (Head of Production), Michael McMahon (Producer), and Kate O'Connell (Finance Director).
On 16 July 2018, Matchbox Pictures and NBCUniversal backed co-founder Tony Ayres' new company, Tony Ayres Productions.[1]
On 17 February 2026, Universal International Studios announced that Matchbox Pictures will cease operations.[5]
Film
- The Home Song Stories (2007)
- Saved (2009) (TV movie)
- Lou (2010)
- The Turning – Cockleshell (2013)
- Cut Snake (2014)
- Nowhere Boys: The Book of Shadows (2016)
- Ali's Wedding (2016)
Television
| Title | Network | Years | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Anatomy | ABC TV | 2008–2013 | |
| Darwin's Lost Paradise | N/a | 2009 | Documentary |
| Saved | N/a | Tele-movie | |
| My Place | ABC Me | 2009–2011 | |
| Miss South Sudan Australia | ABC TV | 2010 | |
| Leaky Boat | 2011 | ||
| Sex: An Unnatural History | SBS | ||
| The Slap | ABC TV | ||
| The Straits | 2012 | ||
| Underground: The Julian Assange Story | Network Ten | Tele-movie | |
| Next Stop Hollywood | ABC TV | 2013 | |
| Camp | NBC | co-production with BermanBraun, Selfish Mermaid and Universal Television | |
| Formal Wars | Seven Network | ||
| Zuzu & the Supernuffs | KidsCo | ||
| Nowhere Boys | ABC Me | 2013–2018 | |
| Young, Lazy and Driving Us Crazy | Seven Network | 2014 | |
| Old School | ABC TV | 2014 | |
| Devil's Playground | Showcase | 2014 | |
| The Real Housewives of Melbourne | Fox Arena | 2014–2021 | |
| The Slap US | NBC | 2015 | co-production with Universal Television, P+M Image Nation and Scratchpad Productions |
| Room 101 | SBS | ||
| Maximum Choppage | ABC TV Plus | ||
| Deadline Gallipoli | Fox Showcase | Limited series. Co-production with Full Clip Productions | |
| Glitch | ABC TV | 2015–2019 | Second season co-production with Netflix[6] |
| The Family Law | SBS | 2016–2019 | |
| Wanted | Seven Network | 2016–2018 | co-production with R&R Productions |
| Secret City | Fox Showcase | 2016–2019 | |
| The Real Housewives of Auckland | Bravo | 2016 | |
| The Real Housewives of Sydney | Arena Binge | 2017, 2023–2025 | |
| Mustangs FC | ABC Me | 2017–2020 | |
| Australian Spartan[7] | Seven Network | 2018–2019 | |
| Safe Harbour | SBS | 2018 | |
| Everyone's a Critic | ABC TV | ||
| The Heights | 2019–2020 | co-production with For Pete's Sake Productions | |
| Stateless | 2020 | ||
| Hungry Ghosts | SBS | ||
| Young Rock | NBC | 2021–2023 | co-production with World Wrestling Entertainment, Grit & Superstition, Fierce Baby Productions, Seven Bucks Productions and Universal Television |
| Clickbait | Netflix | 2021 | Co-production with Tony Ayres Productions, Heyday Television and NBCUniversal International Studios |
| Making It Australia | Network 10 | co-production with Eureka Productions | |
| Fires | ABC TV | co-production with Tony Ayres Productions and NBCUniversal International Studios | |
| La Brea | NBC | 2021–2024 | co-production with Bad Apple, Keshet Studios and Universal Television |
| Joe vs. Carole | Peacock | 2022 | co-production with Universal Content Productions and Wondery |
| Irreverent[8] | Netflix Peacock[9] | ||
| Bad Behaviour | Stan | 2023 | |
| Class of '07 | Amazon Prime Video | ||
| Turn Up the Volume[10] | ABC Me | co-production with Film Camp | |
| House of Gods | ABC TV | 2024 |