{"id":895111,"date":"2026-03-28T06:27:40","date_gmt":"2026-03-28T11:27:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2026\/03\/28\/universal-international-studios-shutting-the-survivors-producer-matchbox-pictures-after-18-years\/"},"modified":"2026-03-28T06:27:40","modified_gmt":"2026-03-28T11:27:40","slug":"universal-international-studios-shutting-the-survivors-producer-matchbox-pictures-after-18-years","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2026\/03\/28\/universal-international-studios-shutting-the-survivors-producer-matchbox-pictures-after-18-years\/","title":{"rendered":"Universal International Studios Shutting \u2018The Survivors\u2019 Producer Matchbox Pictures After 18 Years"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

\n\tUniversal International Studios<\/a> (UIS) is shutting down storied Australian production house Matchbox Pictures<\/a> after 18 years in business.<\/p>\n

\n\tSydney-based Matchbox is known for the likes of recent Netflix series The Survivors<\/em>, ABC series Dog Park<\/em>, Secret City<\/em> and International Emmy winner Safe Harbour<\/em>, but is being closed 12 years after UIS acquired the company.<\/p>\n

\n\tUIS has been evaluating Matchbox and the wider Australia<\/a> production landscape and has now come to the decision to shut the business. <\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cFollowing an extensive evaluation of the business and the broader production landscape, Matchbox will be closing after eighteen years, 12 years since its NBCU acquisition,\u201d said UIS in a statement. \u201cUniversal International Studios maintains its commitment to Australia, but as strategic priorities shift the studio is evolving its operating model in the region. Moving forward the company will evaluate production opportunities and engage with local producers and talent on a case-by-case basis as new projects emerge.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n

\n\t\t\tWatch on Deadline\t\t<\/h3>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

\n\tAustralian production is currently in a state of flux following the introduction of a law<\/a> requiring streamers to spend a portion of their local earnings on original Australian content. Whether the rules would help or hinder Australian production companies has been a key element of debate. UIS appears to have opted out.<\/p>\n

\n\tLast year, UIS made redundancies to its bases in the U.S. and Australia, as we first reported at the time<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\n\tTony Ayres Productions, the production house of Matchbox co-founder Tony Ayres, will also close as a result of the decision. He had exited Matchbox in 2018 to launch his own company with backing from his former business and UIS, and left Tony Ayres Productions last year.<\/p>\n

\n\tAyres, Penny Chapman, Helen Bowden, Michael McMahon and Helen Pankhurst launched the business in 2008 and sold a majority shareholding to NBCUniversal\u2019s international arm in 2011. Three years later, NBCU took full control. Previous senior staff have included Chris Oliver-Taylor and Matt Vitins.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cMatchbox has made an enormous contribution to the Australian film and television landscape\u00a0with groundbreaking programs that have defined our industry and captivated audiences here and around the world,\u201d said Matchbox Managing Director Alastair McKinnon in a statement to local trade IF<\/em>.\u00a0\u201cI\u2019m immensely proud of the achievements of the entire Matchbox team and the quality of work that the company has produced over the past 18 years.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tPillar of Australia production<\/strong><\/p>\n

\n\tMatchbox became a key pillar of Australia\u2019s production sector during its 18 years in operation. <\/p>\n

\n\tAn abridged list of productions include The Survivors<\/em>, which was Netflix\u2019s biggest Australian original last year; Critical Incident<\/em>; Series Mania contender House of Gods<\/em>; Irreverent<\/em>;\u00a0Cate Blanchett co-production Stateless<\/em>,\u00a0Safe Harbour<\/em>;\u00a0Secret City<\/em>;\u00a0Wanted<\/em>;\u00a0and\u00a0The Slap<\/em>, which became an international seller for DCD Rights and is considered a watershed title for Australian drama distribution.<\/p>\n

\n\tAlso notable were kids series Mustangs FC<\/em> and the BAFTA- and International Emmy-winning\u00a0Nowhere Boys<\/em>.<\/p>\n

\n\tIndustry body Screen Producers Australia CEO Matthew Deaner praised the company in a statement released after the news: \u201cThe closure of Matchbox Pictures marks the end of a remarkable chapter in the modern Australian screen industry. Over nearly two decades, Matchbox helped redefine what Australian television and film could be \u2013 ambitious, internationally confident and unapologetically local in voice.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cThe company\u2019s creative and business leadership was widely recognised, including three\u00a0SPA\u00a0Media Super Production Business of the Year Awards and multiple honours across Drama Series, Miniseries, Telemovie and Children\u2019s categories. Just as importantly, Matchbox\u2019s impact extended beyond the screen. Chris Oliver-Taylor served as President of\u00a0SPA\u00a0during his time as CEO, and Matt Vitins contributed as a an Advisory Councillor.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cMany writers, producers and craftspeople built careers through its productions, and its legacy will continue through the people and projects it nurtured. Matchbox helped demonstrate that Australian stories could resonate far beyond our borders, and that contribution will endure across the industry.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tMatchbox produced the ABC\u2019s new hit series Dog Park and The Survivors, which was Netflix\u2019s most watched Australian show in the second half of 2025. Previous acclaimed works include House of Gods (Series Mania, Best Actor Award 2024), Critical Incident, Stateless starring Cate Blanchett and Yvonne Strahovski (Berlin Film Festival 2020), the International Emmy Award-winning Safe Harbour, political thriller Secret City featuring Jacki Weaver and Anna Torv, and the paranormal drama Glitch, named by The New York Times as one of the Best TV Shows on Netflix.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Universal International Studios (UIS) is shutting down storied Australian production house Matchbox Pictures after 18 years in business. Sydney-based Matchbox is known for the likes of recent Netflix series The Survivors, ABC series Dog Park, Secret City and International Emmy winner Safe Harbour, but is being closed 12 years after UIS acquired the company. UIS<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":895112,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[805,3108],"tags":[7713,9310],"class_list":{"0":"post-895111","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-international","8":"category-universal","9":"tag-international","10":"tag-universal"},"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/895111","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=895111"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/895111\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/895112"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=895111"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=895111"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=895111"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}