Annapurna Pictures, LLC

Company type	Private
Industry	Film Animation Television Video games Theatre
Founded	April 2, 2011; 14 years ago (2011-04-02)
Founder	Megan Ellison
Headquarters	Los Angeles,California , U.S.
Key people	Megan Ellison (chairwoman and CEO)
Services	Film production Television production Theatrical production Video game publisher
Divisions	Annapurna Interactive Annapurna Animation Annapurna Television Annapurna Theatre
Website	annapurna.com

Annapurna Pictures, LLC is an American independent media company founded byMegan Ellison on April 2, 2011, and based inLos Angeles,California.^[1] It is active infilm,television^[2][3] andtheatrical production, andvideo game publishing.^[4]

Annapurna Pictures was founded in 2011 by Megan Ellison as a production and financing company focusing on high-endauteur-driven cinema.^[5] Ellison had attendedUniversity of Southern California’sfilm school for two semesters and then left in 2005 and traveled the world. Among her stops wasNepal, where she trekked in the Annapurna Range of the Himalayas, for which her production company is named.^[6]

By 2014 Annapurna had produced and/or financed the filmsLawless,The Master,Killing Them Softly,Zero Dark Thirty,Spring Breakers,The Grandmaster,Her,Foxcatcher, andAmerican Hustle, and was starting production onJoy,Sausage Party,Wiener-Dog,20th Century Women, andEverybody Wants Some!!.

In December 2016, the company announced its new division,Annapurna Interactive, to produce, develop, and distribute video games. Annapurna Interactive has become a major publisher of independently made games.^[7][8]

In January 2017, the company announced it would begin distributing films, with the first beingDetroit directed byKathryn Bigelow.^{[9][10][11][12]} In May 2017,Plan B Entertainment and Annapurna announced a three-year production deal to partner on at least three films a year, with Annapurna handling distribution and marketing. As part of the deal, Annapurna received the rights toAdam McKay's filmVice starringChristian Bale asDick Cheney.^[13] Annapurna then won domestic distribution rights for theJames Bond series beatingWarner Bros.,Universal Pictures,20th Century Fox,Paramount Pictures andSony Pictures.^[14] In October 2017, Annapurna and MGM announced the formation of a US distribution joint venture in which each studio would release its films individually. Annapurna's distribution and marketing teams supported the MGM titles, which were distributed under the MGM banner while Annapurna-produced films continued to be distributed under its own banner.^{[15][16][17][18]}

In October 2018, Annapurna signed a music publishing deal withWarner/Chappell Music, which administered the studio's film and TV compositions and scores.^[19]

In February 2019, Annapurna and MGM rebranded and expanded their US distribution joint venture to release both MGM and Annapurna films underUnited Artists Releasing.^[20][21][22] After taking financial losses from distributingVice,Detroit, andDestroyer, Annapurna had to leaveBombshell just two weeks before it would start production, and also unattached itself fromHustlers.^[23]

On March 4, 2023, it was revealed byThe Hollywood Reporter thatAmazon had shut down the operations of United Artists Releasing and folded it into MGM.^[24]

In August 2024 Annapurna announced a "strategic cooperation agreement" with video game developerRemedy Entertainment during which Annapurna will co-produce and co-financeControl 2, and will also develop film and television projects involving Remedy'sAlan Wake andControl.^[25]

On September 12, 2024 news broke that the entire Annapurna Interactive Team of 25 resigned^[26] following a dispute with its owner to spin off the video-game division as an independent entity.

Annapurna producedThe Testament of Ann Lee^[27] which received a 15 minute standing ovation at theVenice Film Festival.^[28] It was purchased bySearchlight Pictures in September 2025.^[29] A partnership betweenMoomins and Annapurna was announced the next month to release the first film based on the characters to be produced in the United States.^[30]

Annapurna Animation is an American animation studio and division of Annapurna Pictures, founded by formerBlue Sky Studios executives Robert L. Baird and Andrew Millstein on December 1, 2022 and based inNorth Stamford,Connecticut.^[52] The studio's first film,Nimona, was released on June 30, 2023, onNetflix.^[53] In September 2023, Annapurna Animation announced an animated film adaptation of Annapurna Interactive's video gameStray was in development following the success ofNimona, with other games being considered to have potential adaptations.^[54]

Annapurna Television is thetelevision production company of Annapurna Pictures, launched on September 27, 2016, and was formerly headed byHBO executiveSue Naegle.^[60] In January 2017, it was reported that Annapurna Television would produce theCoen brothers' first TV project,The Ballad of Buster Scruggs.^[61]

Annapurna Interactive published its first video game,What Remains of Edith Finch, on April 25, 2017.What Remains of Edith Finch received "universal acclaim" on PC and "generally positive" reviews on PS4, according to video gamereview aggregatorMetacritic.^[64] Since 2017, Annapurna Interactive has also been responsible for publishing games includingTwelve Minutes,Donut County,Kentucky Route Zero,Outer Wilds,Sayonara Wild Hearts,Wattam,Telling Lies,Neon White andStray. The publisher has also provided funding and publication support forThe Artful Escape by Beethoven & Dinosaur,^[65]Ashen by A44 andGorogoa by Jason Roberts. Annapurna Pictures is partnering with Remedy Entertainment for the release ofControl Resonant, a sequel to the 2019 action-adventure gameControl (video_game)

Annapurna Theatre produces plays and live shows on and off-Broadway, and on London's West End.

Some of the films produced by the company have received widespread critical acclaim. In 2013 alone,Her,American Hustle andThe Grandmaster received a combined seventeenAcademy Award nominations. Commercially, results have been mixed. Some films, such asThe Master,Foxcatcher,Joy,Detroit andVice, did not recoup their budgets while others, includingZero Dark Thirty,Sausage Party andAmerican Hustle, grossed more than $100 million, with the latter earning more than $250 million worldwide.^[66][67]

• Official website

• Annapurna Pictures films
• Film distributors of the United States
• Mass media companies established in 2011
• 2011 establishments in California
• American independent film studios
• International sales agents
• Film production companies based in California
• Entertainment companies established in 2011
• Privately held companies based in Los Angeles
• Television production companies based in California

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