Horror Industry News — Saturday, March 7, 2026

Weekend box office: Pixar’s Hoppers opened around $41M domestic, while Warner Bros.' $80M noir monster The Bride! tanked with an estimated $7–8M start; Paramount/Spyglass’ Scream 7 suffered a 74% second-week drop after a $63.6M opening but still ranks No. 2 this weekend.

Blumhouse–Atomic Monster and Behaviour Interactive have hired David Leslie Johnston‑McGoldrick and Alexandre Aja to write a feature adaptation of the hit survival-horror game Dead by Daylight (movie rights picked up in 2023); Wan and Blum produce and the search for a director is underway.

Paramount (in the $111B Paramount–Skydance acquisition of WBD) plans to consolidate operations around the Warner Bros. Burbank lot over time, repurpose Paramount’s Melrose lot for commercial/office/retail use and lease space for film production — a move aimed at eliminating redundancies across two premium studio lots.

Jason Blum says post-merger Blumhouse–Atomic Monster will lean harder into known horror IP while preserving capacity for sub-$1M and ultra-low-budget originals, signaling a dual strategy of franchise focus and continued micro-budget development.

UK–Ireland box office in February fell 18% YoY to £82.2M; Paramount’s Scream 7 opened to £5M for the month (a franchise-record opening weekend of £3.3M) and could reach £10M across its run—Comscore-provided figures highlight ongoing theatrical resilience for horror franchises.

Ian Tuason’s Undertone, an A24 horror film inspired by his caregiving experience, was shot in his childhood home and centers on a podcast-host duo unraveling eerie audio files; the film opens theatrically March 13 and emphasizes immersive sound design and a largely single‑performer on‑screen approach.

Maggie Gyllenhaal describes building a distinctive IMAX visual language for The Bride! (a monstrous, stylized take on Bride of Frankenstein) that shapes tone and spectacle for the film’s theatrical presentation.

Dread Central reports Chris Pine will headline Netflix’s survival thriller Yeti, directed by Conjuring filmmaker Michael Chaves, promising a high-stakes, creature-driven narrative for the streamer.

JoBlo review praises Capcom's new Resident Evil: Requiem as an intense, well-paced horror entry that splits play between FBI analyst Grace Ashcroft and series staple Leon S. Kennedy, highlighting strong voice work (Antony Byrne) and classic Resident Evil puzzle-based design.

UK financiers at Glasgow Film Festival say indie financing is morphing post‑streamer era: Ashland Hill, Goldfinch and Media Finance Capital stress flexibility, virtual stages and sales-agent-led presales, and cite ~$1M as the sweet spot for elevated-genre budgets.

John Valley’s thriller American Dollhouse will world‑premiere in SXSW 2026’s Midnighters program on March 13 — a festival launch that positions the Austin director’s film for genre exposure and buyer interest.

Shudder is ending The Last Drive‑In with Joe Bob Briggs as a regular series but will continue the franchise as four quarterly live specials through 2026 starting with 'Joe Bob's Wicked Witchy Wingding' in April, maintaining the host’s role in Shudder’s seasonal programming.

Unifrance staged the 31st Rendez-Vous With French Cinema in New York with a 22-film lineup (including Julia Ducournau’s Alpha and François Ozon’s The Stranger) drawing U.S. buyers and distributors such as Sony Pictures Classics, Neon and Mubi despite some filmmaker cancellations tied to geopolitical tensions.

JoBlo review of slasher Dolly calls it a brutal, grindhouse-styled backwoods horror with solid practical FX and standout physical performance from wrestler Max the Impaler, but criticizes derivative Leatherface echoes, uneven plotting, and familiar slasher beats; theatrical release March 6, 2026.

Skyline Media secured Apple TV distribution for Vietnamese psychological thriller Sister Sister across 36 territories starting March 8 (largest Vietnamese release on the platform in ~10 years); the film grossed $2.7M domestically in Vietnam and has spawned a follow-up that earned $4.6M.

Performers at The Basement — an LA immersive horror escape-room operator — ratified a collective‑bargaining agreement with Actors’ Equity, making them the world’s first escape‑room employees to secure a union contract after organizing two years ago.

Blumhouse Television hired Abbey Morris as SVP Development & Programming to oversee scripted development under Melissa Aouate, bringing experience from Irish Cowboy Productions and Netflix collaborations (Umbrella Academy, Horizon Zero Dawn adaptation).

Sam Raimi says he conceded a creative disagreement with lead Dylan O’Brien on tone for horror-comedy Send Help, allowing O’Brien to push his character darker early on to enhance the later moral flip; film stars Rachel McAdams and centers on stranded coworkers whose power dynamic reverses.

Paramount's Scary Movie 6 trailer returns franchise staples Anna Faris and Regina Hall, is directed by Michael Tiddes with the Wayans writing, and is drawing controversy for jokes that punch down (gender identity) and politicized satire signaled by Marlon Wayans' comments about 'cancel culture.'

James G. Robinson, the veteran producer and co-founder of Morgan Creek Productions, has died at 90, leaving behind a legacy of influential films and a major imprint on 1980s–90s Hollywood.

Character actor Corey Parker, who appeared in Friday the 13th: A New Beginning and had a recurring TV role on Will & Grace, has died at 60 after a cancer diagnosis.

A trailer has been released for 1000 WOMEN IN HORROR, the upcoming documentary headed to Shudder that spotlights female voices in the genre.

AV Club traces Resident Evil's design DNA to arcade-era replayability—ranking, resource management, New Game+ and mastery loops—and argues those mechanics underpin why the franchise's replay-focused structure endures into modern remakes like Resident Evil 4 and 2026's Resident Evil Requiem.

Alan Ritchson says Netflix’s War Machine pushed him physically for a role that mixes military action with a sci‑fi/otherworldly killing machine, and he and director Patrick Hughes describe demanding production conditions and plans to collaborate again.

Midsummer Scream returns to Long Beach Convention Center August 7–9, 2026 with the theme “Horror Musicals,” selling passes now and positioning the convention as a large fan/creator marketplace for immersive horror experiences.

Dread Central exclusively reveals the second-wave lineup for an unnamed footage festival, teasing a stunning selection of found-footage and archival horror screenings.

Screen Daily’s UK-Ireland release calendar lists 2026 theatrical dates across distributors—highlighting genre titles arriving this spring such as Lee Cronin’s The Mummy and Ready Or Not 2: Here I Come—useful for acquisition and exhibition scheduling.

Drew Goddard is actively writing and set to direct The Matrix 5 with Lana Wachowski as an EP; the script is in development with no cast confirmations or release timeline announced.

Screen Daily is maintaining an updated 2026 festivals and markets calendar listing global dates (SXSW, Cannes/Marche, FrightFest Glasgow, Fantasia-adjacent slots and dozens more), a practical planning resource for buyers, sellers and genre programmers.

Horror/mystery author Stephen Graham Jones is announced as a Guest of Honor at the Locus Awards.

BayView Entertainment will release Anthony DiBlasi’s thriller Missionary to digital platforms in March; DiBlasi (Last Shift) directs Dawn Olivieri, Mitch Ryan, and Kip Pardue in a domestic-obsession thriller.

A PGA spotlight contrasts Jason Blum and Amy Pascal, positioning Blum as the forward-facing producer model tied to low-budget, high-concept horror while critiquing Hollywood’s shrinking middle ground.

Bloody Disgusting runs a 40th‑anniversary retrospective on John McTiernan's supernatural horror Nomads, situating the film within the tradition of young directors using horror to break into features.

Smile 3 is in development but franchise creator/director Parker Finn is reportedly unlikely to return to direct as he’s attached to other projects (including a Possession remake) and has a multi‑year first‑look deal with Paramount; previous entries' budgets/grosses ($17M budget -> $217M global for Smile 1; Smile 2 ~$137M) underscore continued franchise profitability.

Paramount set Paranormal Activity 8 for May 21, 2027 with Ian Tuason directing and a co-finance/production partnership with Blumhouse-Atomic Monster; producers include James Wan, Jason Blum and franchise creator Oren Peli, and the announcement reiterates the franchise’s unusually high ROI and legacy as a low-budget horror cash cow.

Sony and Spyglass are moving forward on a Heart Eyes sequel: Joel Ruben confirms the script is finished, pre‑production is underway, and Mason Gooding is in negotiations to reprise his praised lead role; original made $33M worldwide on an $18M budget.

Is God Is — Aleshea Harris’s Southern‑Gothic revenge horror adapted from her play — hits U.S. theaters May 15, 2026 via Amazon MGM/Orion with a high‑profile cast including Kara Young, Mallori Johnson, Sterling K. Brown, Janelle Monáe and Vivica A. Fox; production began in 2024 with Tessa Thompson’s Viva Maude producing.

Wolf Creek: Legacy is in production in South Australia with John Jarratt returning as Mick Taylor, Sean Lahiff directing, supporting cast including Jay Ryan and Laura Gordon; Cineverse and Bloody Disgusting hold North American distribution with a planned wide theatrical release in fall 2026.

Christian Bale voiced support for whoever tackles Lionsgate's planned American Psycho remake (reportedly to be directed by Luca Guadagnino); casting is unconfirmed despite prior links to Austin Butler and speculative mentions of Patrick Schwarzenegger, and no production timeline or release date has been announced.

Jirô Nagae’s feature adaptation of Chilla’s Art game The Convenience Store premiered at FrightFest Glasgow, earning praise for faithfully translating the game’s J‑horror atmosphere into a tense, limited‑location film that balances fan Easter eggs with a coherent police‑procedural subplot.

Karl Urban says he'd happily reprise Judge Dredd and welcomes franchise continuity even if not involved, while a separate new Dredd effort has Taika Waititi attached to direct with Drew Pearce writing; the 2012 film’s original run made roughly $41M at box office.

Creator Steven Conrad says HBO limited series DTF St. Louis sprang from real-life hookup-app wreckage among middle-aged friends and features leads Jason Bateman, David Harbour and Linda Cardellini in a suburban murder-mystery where an affair spirals into homicide.

Mick Garris' TV adaptation of Stephen King's Desperation starred Ron Perlman as Sheriff Collie Entragian possessed by the entity Tak; the 130-minute network event is praised for production values and strong cast work but criticized for bloat and TV-scale limitations that undermined the material's pacing.

Constantine (2005), starring Keanu Reeves and directed by Francis Lawrence, is experiencing renewed streaming popularity on AMC+ and the article notes ongoing sequel development with Reeves confirming another draft of a script is circulating and hopeful studio interest.

WGA members overwhelmingly (97%+) approved bargaining priorities ahead of talks with the AMPTP starting March 16 that focus on shoring up the health plan (which lost $122M across 2023–24), expanding AI protections and boosting minimum pay and residuals; talks led by chief negotiator Ellen Stutzman with co-chairs John August and Danielle Sanchez‑Witzel, while AMPTP is led by new president Gregory Hessinger.

SAG-AFTRA and the AMPTP extended contract talks for another week under a mutual media blackout—talks began Feb 9—and the schedule now pushes into the week of March 9 ahead of upcoming WGA and DGA negotiations, keeping the possibility of stoppages and production disruption live.

Netflix has acquired Ben Affleck’s AI-focused production tech company InterPositive, bringing the team (under 20 people) into Netflix with Affleck as a senior advisor; the deal is framed as protecting creative choice amid upcoming union talks about AI, though financial terms were not disclosed.

Curzon CM Development Fund has 14 projects in its pipeline but hasn’t yet distributed any of the four finished titles after larger buyers stepped in; Curzon is expanding its Curzon Creates in‑house talent initiative to develop and produce micro-budget features and potentially widen submissions beyond its staff.

Stephen Hibbert — writer and actor best known to film fans for playing the Gimp in Pulp Fiction and for TV comedy writing credits — died at 68; colleagues including Roger Avary and Eli Roth remembered him fondly.

Senators Elizabeth Warren and Richard Blumenthal urged a CFIUS national security review of Paramount Skydance’s $111B bid for Warner Bros. Discovery — flagged for roughly $24B in financing from Saudi, Qatari and Abu Dhabi sovereign funds — while the Treasury has so far not committed to a review.

Banijay and All3Media reached a roughly $8B mega-merger creating a 170-label production group; All3Media brand will be retired, Marco Bassetti becomes CEO, Jeff Zucker chairs the JV backed by RedBird IMI, and the companies identified about €50M (~$58M) of synergies in distribution, rights and back-office.

Amazon MGM Studios has hired Buddy Marini from Warner Bros. Discovery to lead its Japan operations, tasking him with expanding local originals across film, TV and anime and reporting to Nicole Clemens as Prime Video doubles down on Japanese content.

A24 will release Kane Parsons’ feature Backrooms theatrically May 29; the film—based on Parsons’ viral YouTube series—stars Chiwetel Ejiofor, Renate Reinsve, Mark Duplass and others, was directed by Parsons from a Will Soodik script, and counts A24, The North Road Company/Chernin, 21 Laps and Atomic Monster among financiers/producers.

First teaser poster released for the supernatural thriller Obsession, with the full trailer scheduled to arrive tomorrow — marketing rollout underway ahead of release.