What Archery Pictures does

Archery Pictures is an independent UK-headquartered film and television production company founded in 2014 by Kris Thykier, registered in England and Wales as Archery Pictures Limited. The company develops and produces premium scripted drama series and theatrical feature films for major global buyers, including Sky Atlantic, Netflix, Channel 4/National Geographic, Paramount+, Apple TV+, Amazon Prime, and Searchlight Pictures. Its slate spans thriller and crime drama (Riviera, MobLand, Hijack, The State), young adult adaptation (Fate: The Winx Saga), WWII espionage (Operation Mincemeat), and prestige drama (Miss Sloane, Woman in Gold, Kick-Ass), with cumulative global box office above $400M and a BAFTA nomination for The State.

The business operates a project-based production model with approximately ten core staff and a layered ecosystem of strategic partners. It runs the Mews Films comedy label in joint venture with Elysian Film Group, a multi-year JV with Idris Elba's Green Door Pictures, and co-production arrangements with See-Saw Films, Rainbow Group, 101 Studios, MTV Entertainment Studios, and Fremantle. Revenue is generated through production fees, network/streamer commissions, distribution advances, P&A financing, and backend participation in both TV (licensing/royalties) and theatrical (licensing/royalties) rights.

Go-to-market is sales-led and relationship-driven: Archery pitches projects directly to commissioning editors, attaches A-list talent (Tom Hardy, Pierce Brosnan, Helen Mirren, Idris Elba, Bradley Cooper, Colin Firth), structures co-production financing, and negotiates worldwide distribution with partners like Fremantle. Marketing relies on trade-press coverage in Deadline, Variety, and The Hollywood Reporter, a professional website, and the publicity value of high-profile talent attachments. The company is privately held by founder-CEO Kris Thykier, with no disclosed external institutional investors or parent entity.

Name

Archery Pictures

Legal name

Archery Pictures Limited

Website

https://archerypictures.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2014

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Archery Pictures is a London-based independent film and TV production company that develops and produces premium scripted drama series and theatrical features for major global buyers, including Netflix, Sky Atlantic, Paramount+, Apple TV+, Amazon Prime, Channel 4, and Searchlight Pictures.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

London

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Supply Chain, Others

Revenue model

1. TV Series Production: Development and production of TV series for networks and streaming platforms including Sky Atlantic, Netflix, Channel 4, Paramount+, Apple TV+, and Amazon Prime. Revenue generated through production fees, licensing deals, and backend participation.
2. Feature Film Production: Development and production of theatrical feature films. Revenue includes production fees, distribution advances, P&A financing, and box office participation. Films produced have grossed over $400 million at the global box office.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels6 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Archery Pictures is an independent film and television production company that develops, packages, and produces premium scripted TV series and feature films for global broadcasters, streaming platforms, and theatrical distributors. It sells commissions and licenses to networks such as Sky Atlantic, Netflix, Channel 4, Paramount+, Apple TV+, and Amazon Prime, attaching A-list acting talent and securing co-production financing. The company also operates the Mews Films comedy label and a joint venture with Idris Elba's Green Door Pictures.

Product overview

Archery Pictures is a UK-based film and TV production company founded by Kris Thykier in 2014, encompassing his earlier film company PeaPie Films. The company operates as a single unified production house producing international commercial films and television content across multiple genres. Their portfolio spans premium TV series including Riviera (Sky Atlantic), Fate: The Winx Saga (Netflix), MobLand (Paramount+), Hijack (Apple TV+), and The State (Channel 4), alongside feature films such as Operation Mincemeat, Miss Sloane, Woman in Gold, and Kick-Ass. The company also operates Mews Films, a comedy-focused production label in partnership with Elysian Film Group, and maintains a joint venture with Idris Elba's Green Door Pictures. The company has produced content generating over $400 million at the global box office.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Riviera Premium scripted drama series for Sky Atlantic spanning three seasons (2017-2020), starring Julia Stiles as an American art curator navigating the French Riviera.
• Fate: The Winx Saga Netflix young adult drama series based on the Italian animated franchise Winx Club, following five friends at a magical boarding school in the Otherworld. Produced in association with Rainbow Group.
• The State BAFTA-nominated four-part limited series for Channel 4 / National Geographic following four young British men and women who become ISIS recruits in Syria.
• Operation Mincemeat WWII espionage thriller feature film based on Ben Macintyre's best-selling book about Operation Mincemeat, starring Colin Firth and Matthew Macfadyen, released to critical acclaim.
• MobLand Paramount+ organized crime series directed by Guy Ritchie, starring Tom Hardy, Pierce Brosnan, and Helen Mirren, about two warring crime families clashing in a battle that threatens to topple empires.
• Hijack Apple TV+ seven-part thriller told in real time, following a hijacked plane from Dubai to London over a seven-hour flight, starring Idris Elba.
• Luther: The Fallen Sun Netflix feature film starring Idris Elba as brilliant but disgraced detective John Luther, who breaks out of prison to hunt down a sadistic serial killer.
• Miss Sloane Political thriller feature film starring Jessica Chastain as one of the most sought-after lobbyists in Washington D.C., released in 2016.
• Woman in Gold Drama feature film starring Helen Mirren and Ryan Reynolds about a Jewish woman's fight to reclaim family possessions seized by the Nazis, including Gustav Klimt's famous portrait, released in 2015.
• Kick-Ass Superhero comedy feature film starring Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Nicolas Cage, and Chloë Grace Moretz, released in 2010.
• Mews Films UK comedy production label housed within Archery Pictures in partnership with Elysian Film Group, developing comedy movies for the domestic UK theatrical market with a focus on underrepresented talent.
• Moriarty Modern crime drama TV series in development with Fremantle, reimagining Sherlock Holmes' nemesis as a Professor of Criminal Psychology at Durham University who secretly operates as a criminal mastermind, written by Chris Cornwell and Oliver Lansley.

Named customers8 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• FremantlecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 28 May 2026Collaboration on Moriarty series (working title), a modern crime drama reimagining Sherlock's iconic villain. Fremantle is handling worldwide sales. The series is written by Chris Cornwell and Oliver Lansley, with no casting or network attachment yet announced. Timing coincides with the lapse of copyright in Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes stories.
• Green Door Pictures (Idris Elba)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 11 January 2021Multi-year joint venture between Archery Pictures and Idris Elba's Green Door Pictures to work together on select future film and TV projects. The partnership enables Green Door to ramp up development and production capabilities while Archery benefits from Elba's talent and industry connections. Archery CEO Kris Thykier described Elba as 'one of the best actors of his generation, an acclaimed director and a genuine force of nature.'
• Elysian Film GroupcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 11 November 2020Joint venture to launch Mews Films, a UK comedy production label focused on developing a slate of comedy movies for the domestic theatrical market. Elysian Film Group's distribution arm (EFGD) will release films in the UK. The venture aims to develop content from Black, Asian, Minority Ethnic and female talent underrepresented in mainstream theatrical comedy.
• Kurban Kassam (Mews Films MD)minorOthers · 11 November 2020Rising UK producer joins as managing director of Mews Films, reporting to Kris Thykier, Danny Perkins, and Alex Marshall. Kassam's credits include Sally Potter's The Party and The Road Not Taken.
• Georgina Gordon-SmithminorOthers · 8 January 2020Hired from Working Title Television to newly-created role of Head of Development, overseeing development of film and television projects. Previously worked at United Agents where she created and ran the book-to-film department. Reports to founder Kris Thykier and creative director Judy Counihan.
• Rainbow GroupcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-production partner on Fate: The Winx Saga. Rainbow Group, founded by Iginio Straffi, created the original Winx Club animated series in 2004, which became one of the most successful animated series in Europe. Archery produces the live-action adaptation in association with Rainbow.
• 101 StudioscoreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerProduction partner on MobLand, produced in association with 101 Studios and MTV Entertainment Studios. 101 Studios handles production financing and distribution through Paramount Global Content Distribution.
• MTV Entertainment StudioscoreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerProduction partner on MobLand alongside Showtime/MTV Entertainment Studios and 101 Studios. The series premiered on Paramount+ in March 2025 with record-breaking viewership.
• See-Saw FilmscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-production partner on Operation Mincemeat alongside See-Saw Films (Charles S. Cohen, Iain Canning, Emile Sherman) and Cohen Media Group. See-Saw Films is the Oscar-winning production company behind The King's Speech, which reunited with Colin Firth on this project.
• Judy Counihan (Creative Director)minorOthersCreative director who previously oversaw the company's development slate before Georgina Gordon-Smith's appointment. Key personnel in Archery's creative leadership team.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Baby Cow Productions: UK indie founded by Steve Coogan and Henry Normal producing comedy and drama (Philomena, Stan & Ollie, This Time with Alan Partridge). Comparable scale and London base.
• Bad Wolf: Welsh/UK indie producer of His Dark Materials, Industry, and I Hate Suzie. Comparable scale and genre focus on premium drama for streamers and broadcasters.
• Sister Pictures: London-based independent production company producing premium scripted drama (Chernobyl, Killing Eve) for global streamers. Closely comparable in scale, genre focus, and buyer relationships to Archery Pictures.
• Neal Street Productions: Sam Mendes-founded UK indie producing Penny Dreadful, Call My Agent, and The Franchise. Comparable scale and premium drama focus.
• See-Saw Films: UK/Australian indie producer behind The King's Speech, Top of the Lake, and co-producer of Archery's Operation Mincemeat. Comparable in producing prestige film and TV with international co-production structures.
• New Pictures: All3Media-owned UK indie producing premium drama (The Missing, Baptiste, Karen Pirie). Comparable in scale, genre, and producing for global streamers.
• Carnival Films: UK producer of Downton Abbey and the Poirot franchise, owned by ITV Studios. Comparable in producing high-end British drama with global distribution.
• Left Bank Pictures: UK indie behind The Crown, Outlander, and Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan. Produces premium drama for global streamers and US networks at a comparable scale to Archery.

Broad incumbents

• Heyday Films: David Heyman-founded producer of the Harry Potter franchise and Marriage Story. Larger UK indie operating in premium film and TV with global distribution.
• Working Title Films: One of the UK's largest indie producers (Love Actually, Bridgerton) operating across film and TV. Significantly larger than Archery but operates in the same premium scripted market.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/profile.php
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/archery-pictures-limited

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Subsidiaries2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Archery Pictures