Rough House Pictures

What Rough House Pictures does

Rough House Pictures is a privately held film and television production company founded in 2009 and headquartered in Los Angeles, California. The company was co-founded by Danny McBride, Jody Hill, and David Gordon Green, a recurring creative trio whose long-tenured partnership forms the foundation of the business. Rough House produces scripted comedy and horror content, with its television slate anchored by a long-running relationship with HBO that has yielded Eastbound & Down, Vice Principals, and The Righteous Gemstones. Its film work is anchored by the Halloween reboot trilogy co-produced with Blumhouse and Miramax and distributed theatrically by Universal Pictures between 2018 and 2022. The company operates with a small team of approximately 1-10 employees.

The company's business model rests on two revenue streams: episodic television production fees from premium cable and streaming buyers (notably HBO, with secondary deals at Netflix, Peacock, and Amazon Prime Video), and feature film production participation on theatrically released titles. Revenue mechanics combine upfront production budgets, producer fees, and contingent backend participation on film performance, which can be material for hit titles. The Halloween trilogy generated significant theatrical revenue for its distributor, though the production company's specific share is undisclosed; the closing installment (Halloween Ends, 2022) marks the completion of that franchise arc. Distribution relationships function as the company's primary go-to-market, with limited indication of direct-to-consumer or owned-platform activity.

Rough House Pictures has no disclosed evidence of technology, AI, or platform infrastructure beyond traditional production services. Its competitive position is built on the durability of its founder relationships and sustained buyer trust rather than on scale, technology, or capital. Forward visibility is constrained: the Halloween franchise has concluded, no announced successor film property is visible in the source data, and the company has not signaled expansion via M&A, geographic growth, or new vertical activity. The business is best understood as a creator-driven independent production entity whose value is concentrated in a small number of high-value buyer relationships and the continuing output capacity of its founding team.

Name

Rough House Pictures

Legal name

Rough House Pictures Inc.

Website

https://roughhousepictures.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2009

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Rough House Pictures is a Los Angeles-based independent film and television production company founded in 2009 by Danny McBride, Jody Hill, and David Gordon Green, producing comedy and horror content for HBO, Universal Pictures, Netflix, and other streaming platforms.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Los Angeles

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Television Series Licensing: Production and licensing of television series to broadcast and cable networks such as HBO, generating recurring revenue through episode orders and licensing fees
2. Film Distribution: Production and distribution of feature films to theatrical releases, streaming platforms (Netflix, Peacock TV, Amazon Prime), and digital retailers (iTunes)
3. Music Licensing: Production company soundtracks and music associated with television series, distributed through Spotify playlists

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels6 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Rough House Pictures is a film and television production company that develops, produces, and licenses original scripted television series and feature films for major broadcast and streaming platforms. Its catalogue includes the Halloween horror franchise reboot (2018, 2021, 2022), multiple HBO comedy series (Eastbound & Down, Vice Principals, The Righteous Gemstones), and a slate of independent feature films spanning comedy, drama, horror, and documentary genres.

Product overview

Rough House Pictures is a film and television production company that produces comedic and dramatic content for major streaming and broadcast platforms. The company's portfolio spans multiple TV series (The Righteous Gemstones on HBO, Eastbound & Down on HBO, Vice Principals on HBO, Tarantula on TBS, Chozen on Prime Video) and a diverse catalog of feature films including the recent Halloween franchise reboot (Halloween 2018, Halloween Kills 2021, Halloween Ends 2022), independent films (Arizona, Flower, Dayveon, Joe, Prince Avalanche), and additional titles across comedy, drama, horror, and documentary genres. The company also produces supplementary digital content including music playlists and behind-the-scenes extras distributed via Spotify and dedicated extra pages.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• The Righteous Gemstones Comedy series about a world-famous televangelist family, distributed on HBO.
• Vice Principals HBO comedy series starring Danny McBride and Walton Goggins as rival high school administrators; 2 seasons, 18 episodes, TV-MA.
• Eastbound & Down HBO comedy series starring Danny McBride as Kenny Powers, a former baseball star who returns to teaching; 4 seasons, 29 episodes, TV-MA.
• Tarantula TBS series set at the Tierra Chula Resident Hotel focusing on Echo Johnson and the misadventures of its residents.
• Chozen

Quantifiable outcome

• Four-season HBO series with 29 episodes for Eastbound & Down
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered minor, core and flagship.

• Peacock TVminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 1 January 2021Streaming platform partnership for Halloween Kills (2021) distribution following theatrical release.
• Universal PicturescoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 1 January 2018Distribution partnership for the Halloween franchise reboot (2018) and subsequent sequels Halloween Kills (2021) and Halloween Ends (2022). Universal Pictures handles theatrical distribution.
• NetflixminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 1 January 2017Streaming distribution partnership for select films including The Legacy of a Whitetail Deer Hunter (2017).
• TBSminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 1 January 2017Television network partnership for Tarantula (2017) series production and broadcast.
• HBOflagshipChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 1 January 2009Long-standing partnership with HBO for original television series production. Rough House Pictures produces content exclusively for HBO including Eastbound & Down (2009), Vice Principals (2016), and The Righteous Gemstones (2019).

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Direct peers

• STXfilms: Independent film and television studio producing mid-budget films for theatrical and streaming release. Comparable to Rough House in producing cross-genre features distributed across Netflix, Amazon, and other streaming partners.
• Annapurna Pictures: Independent film and television studio producing director-driven and creator-driven content. Comparable to Rough House in operating as an indie production outfit with curated film slates and selective streaming/network distribution, although larger in scale.
• Blumhouse Productions: Independent film and TV production company specializing in horror, similar in genre focus to Rough House. Both companies operate lean production models anchored by a signature creative voice (Jason Blum vs. McBride/Hill) and have produced Halloween-era horror tentpoles distributed by Universal Pictures.
• NEON: Independent film production and distribution company releasing distinctive, often genre-adjacent films. Comparable to Rough House in producing indie-leaning features distributed across streaming and digital retailers, with overlap in dark-comedy and genre sensibilities.
• Plan B Entertainment: Talent-driven independent production company producing prestige film and TV. Comparable to Rough House as a creator-anchored production entity that places projects with premium buyers (e.g., Netflix, HBO) across drama, comedy, and genre work.
• Duplass Brothers Productions: Independent production banner run by sibling creators Mark and Jay Duplass producing comedies and dramas for HBO, Netflix, and other platforms. Highly comparable to Rough House as a small, talent-anchored production company that supplies original content to premium streamers.
• A24: Independent film and television production and distribution company known for distinctive genre-spanning content. Comparable to Rough House as a privately held indie producer with strong critical brand identity that licenses to major platforms across streaming, cable, and theatrical.
• Abso Lutely Productions: Independent production company co-founded by Tim Heidecker and Eric Wareheim producing comedy content. Comparable to Rough House as a small creator-driven comedy production banner with distributed television and film output, though smaller in catalog.

Broad incumbents

• Legendary Entertainment: Large-scale film and television production company with genre-heavy slate including horror and sci-fi tentpoles. Comparable to Rough House in genre overlap, but with much greater capital, deal volume, and franchise infrastructure.
• Lionsgate: Major independent studio with broad film and television operations including horror franchises. Comparable to Rough House as a horror-adjacent producer (Saw, Hostel), but at vastly larger scale and as a vertically integrated distributor.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/roughhousepictures
• Xx.com/roughhousepics
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/rough-house-pictures

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 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 Rough House Pictures