ScreamWire Daily

Warner Bros. celebrated a $4.4B worldwide 2025 haul and launched a new specialty label Clockwork while downplaying the pending $110B Paramount Skydance acquisition looming over the company; execs announced plans to release 18 films annually and previewed genre titles including Clayface (a Batman villain horror film) and Evil Dead Burn footage.

Paramount (Skydance‑aligned) has picked up a new project from Osgood Perkins set in the Longlegs universe with Nicolas Cage returning as star/producer; the film is not a direct sequel, Neon stepped aside as scope/budget expanded, and Paramount is rapidly leaning into horror via on‑lot genre labels and first‑look deals.

Blumhouse and James Wan’s Atomic Monster release Lee Cronin’s The Mummy’s Awakening theatrically April 15, 2026 — a strictly horror-driven, psychological reimagining of the 1932 original starring Jack Reynor, Laia Costa and May Calamawy; the piece situates the film within the Universal monster lineage and references the 2017 Tom Cruise Dark Universe’s $400M/$125M topline as context.

MovieWeb/THR roundup: Warner’s CinemaCon reveal positions Cregger’s The Flood (Aug. 11, 2028) as Spielberg-backed Amblin production and ties it to the studio’s plan to capitalize on Weapons’ near-$270M/$38M profitable run, underscoring WB’s genre-focused slate strategy.

CinemaCon confirmed an R-rated Bloodborne animated movie produced by PlayStation Productions, Lyrical Animation and Jacksepticeye (Seán McLoughlin); Sony says the film will stay faithful to the game's gothic horror but no creative team, cast, or firm release window (reportedly targeting 2028‑29) has been announced.

Mark Ruffalo will join Senator Cory Booker’s spotlight hearing via Zoom to speak about the proposed Paramount–Warner Bros. Discovery merger; Paramount CEO David Ellison declined to attend citing a family funeral, while advocates and WGA reps are participating and scrutiny of the deal continues.

Netflix will add Jordan Peele-produced supernatural psychological horror HIM to its streaming library on Apr. 19 — the film grossed $28M worldwide on a reported $27M budget and had mixed critical/audience response following its Sept. 19, 2025 theatrical release.

The Playmaker signed on as international sales agent for Oliver Kienle’s English-language supernatural horror Don’t Kill Loretta, a German co-production supported by ÖFI+ and FFA that will launch at Cannes with a planned theatrical release beginning in early 2027.

Tommy Wirkola’s shark-survival thriller Thrash (Netflix), produced by Adam McKay, streams now and is recommended—features Phoebe Dynevor, Whitney Peak, Djimon Hounsou, practical gore effects, and climate-change–adjacent stakes.

Sony showcased first-look mech-vs-kaiju footage for Takashi Yamazaki’s Grandgear at CinemaCon 2026, positioning it as a potential spiritual successor to Pacific Rim; studio hype is early-stage and no official budget for Grandgear has been announced (article references past Pacific Rim box office figures).

Nielsen reports Stranger Things 5 drew 30.6 million viewers in its first 28 days, topping all series (streaming or traditional) for the 2025–26 season and underscoring Netflix’s dominance with seven titles in the top 20.

Prime Video Philippines has committed to a seven-title local slate with ABS-CBN and GMA spanning political thriller, psychological suspense, crime and family drama — the licensed slate also includes the horror anthology Gabi ng Lagim scheduled for June, and the service plans additional Korean and Filipino licensed titles across 2026.

Screen Gems acquired Deon Taylor’s thriller The Intruder at Cannes (deal announced during the market), signaling the studio is adding genre-thriller content to its slate headed toward distribution.

Don Mancini confirmed at Steel City Con he is writing a new theatrical Child's Play feature meant to be scary and modeled on Curse of Chucky; the film will remain canon with the Syfy TV series and aims to bring Chucky back to movie theaters after a 22-year absence.

Beyond Fest announced an expansion to Chicago with a first edition slated for April 2026, marking a notable geographic growth for the genre-focused festival and opening a new Midwest platform for horror/genre premieres and exhibitors.

Parasomnia, James Ross II’s feature debut, premiered at Overlook and was acquired by Shudder pre-premiere; critics praise its dream-horror imagery and lead Jasmine Mathews while noting some narrative sluggishness.

Antenna Releasing announced ORGANONYM!, a metaphysical horror feature from director Graham Skipper, marking the boutique distributor’s first original film acquisition and signaling a move into original indie horror distribution.

Horror host Joe Bob Briggs is wrapping The Last Drive-In and launching a new production company, signaling a pivot from hosting into producing and potential IP/content creation in the genre space.

At CinemaCon Sony’s Tom Rothman framed an aggressive theatrical push — advocating longer exclusivity windows and cheaper admission — while the studio rolled out a broad slate including Spider-Man and an Insidious sequel clip.

MGM+ renewed the horror series FROM for a fifth and final season, concluding the show's multi-season run on the streamer.

Brainstorm Media will open Affection — a time-loop/psychological horror starring Jessica Rothe as a woman trapped in an unfamiliar looping life — in select theaters May 8.

Frogman Returns, Anthony Cousins’ found-footage sequel, screened at Panic Fest 2026 and is regarded as an improvement over the 2023 cult original—upgraded production values, bigger effects and expanded mythos make it accessible even to viewers who haven’t seen the first film.

Universal Fan Fest Nights will bring new fandom experiences and activations to Universal Studios Hollywood (event-focused consumer programming intended to deepen studio/park engagement with genre fans).

Coverage of American Horror Story season 13 indicates the anthology will revisit fan-favorite seasons Coven and Murder House and lists streaming destinations for each season — signals legacy‑arc strategy for the franchise ahead of the new season.

Sydney Chandler has been cast as Nosferata on Creature Commandos Season 2 — the animated DCU series blends wartime action with horror elements and is part of James Gunn/Peter Safran’s rebooted DC Universe.

Loopr and ODIUS released a 10-minute gameplay video for zombie shop sim ZOMBUTCHER: Monster Business Simulator, showing a full gameplay loop that combines stealth-action with shop-management mechanics.

Seth Breedlove's documentary High Strangeness in the Bennington Triangle, exploring Vermont's paranormal hotspot, will stream starting April 28.

Kier-La Janisse is launching a film distribution arm under the Spectacular Optical label to release curated genre and cult films, expanding an existing author/filmmaker brand into distribution.

GrimmVision is releasing four Grimmfest titles — Content, Self Driver, Shadows of Willow Cabin, and Tribe — to UK digital platforms this spring (April–May 2026).

Manchester-made thriller Past Life is getting a UK cinema rollout (Showcase Cinemas exclusive 20–26 March) with regional screenings across multiple cities and a preview Q&A in Stockport featuring director Simeon Halligan and producer Rachel Richardson Jones.

CreatorVC is rereleasing a documentary, Aliens Expanded, as a 40th‑anniversary edition celebrating James Cameron's Aliens and its place in sci‑fi horror history; this is archival/anniversary content rather than new production.

Indie haunted-house film Good Boy from debut director Ben Leonberg is being issued on limited-edition VHS by Witter Entertainment with two variant slipcases, positioning the film for collector-driven physical release buzz.

MPA chief says a federal film tax incentive is possible, signaling renewed industry lobbying for federal-level incentives to bring production back to the U.S.; this could reshape location economics if legislation advances.

The Producers Guild launched a Sustainability Tool Kit to help producers implement emissions-lowering production practices and build business cases for eco-friendly choices on sets, offering production and storytelling guidance and developed with labor groups and PGA task force members.

Juan Devis, formerly CCO at PBS SoCal/Public Media Group of Southern California, has been named president of Film Independent effective April 20 to lead the nonprofit and Spirit Awards programming, replacing Josh Welsh.

Barbie Ferreira is steering toward an indie-film career and cites a long-standing fascination with the macabre and death (she wanted to be a medical examiner), positioning herself for darker or genre-adjacent roles while managing internet exposure.

CtrlMovie’s interactive slasher Slay Day will open wide on ~1,000 interactive screens across North America Feb. 12, 2027, using smartphone voting across 50+ decision points and 8,000+ possible outcomes; BasePoint Capital financed the picture under a partnership with Kino Industries’ CtrlMovie and Paramount is developing additional interactive titles.

Mike Flanagan’s new The Exorcist–adjacent feature officially confirms Carla Gugino will reunite with him alongside ten returning actors from his past films/series — a major franchise attachment for Boulderlight Pictures with Flanagan writing/directing and leveraging his repertory cast.

Warner Bros. dated The Revenge of La Llorona for April 9, 2027; Santiago Menghini directs a sequel produced by Emile Gladstone, Gary Dauberman and James Wan, with returning cast including Raymond Cruz and new leads Jay Hernandez and Monica Raymund — the franchise previously grossed $123.1M worldwide on a $9M budget.

Netflix is reported to be developing a remake of Stephen King’s Cujo as a new adaptation—signalling continued streamer investment in prestige King material to fill horror output after Mike Flanagan's move to Amazon.

Warner Bros. listed the Game of Thrones feature under the working title Aegon’s Conquest for its '2027 and beyond' slate; Beau Willimon is the credited writer and the film will adapt Aegon I Targaryen’s conquest from George R.R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire.

Brooke H. Cellars’ debut horror-comedy The Cramps: A Period Piece is playing top-tier genre festivals (Fantastic Fest world premiere, Overlook screening) and picked up a sales agent while winning audience Best Debut Feature at Boston Underground; festival run continues as the film seeks distribution.

Allison Williams — star and producer of the M3GAN franchise — said she'd 'love' to return for M3GAN 3.0, though the piece notes studio appetite is uncertain after M3GAN 2.0's disappointing response.

Warner Bros. debuted the first teaser for Clayface at CinemaCon — a body‑horror take on the Matt Hagen Clayface starring Tom Rhys Harries, directed by James Watkins and written by Mike Flanagan and Hossein Amini; the film is positioned as the DCU's first horror‑leaning entry and opens in theaters Oct. 23.

New trailer for Zach Cregger’s Resident Evil debuted at CinemaCon, promising a claustrophobic, single‑night survival horror; Sony has scheduled the U.S. theatrical release for September 18, 2026 and the footage signals a tonal reset toward the games' oppressive dread rather than action‑set spectacle.

Warner Bros./New Line rolled exclusive early footage of Evil Dead Burn at CinemaCon — directed by Sébastien Vaniček (Infested) and starring Souheila Yacoub, Hunter Doohan and Luciane Buchanan — with WB handling North American distribution and international partners (StudioCanal, Metropolitan, Sony) named.

Sony Pictures released the first trailer for Insidious: Out of the Further — directed and written by Jacob Chase and starring Amelia Eve, Lin Shaye, Brandon Perea and Maisie Richardson-Sellers — which teases the franchise's first entry where demons are brought from The Further into the real world; the film opens August 21 and follows the franchise high-water mark of $189M worldwide for the 2023 entry.

Toho’s teaser for Godzilla Minus Zero hints at a partial New York set-piece and continues the Japanese franchise’s approach to terror-driven kaiju storytelling while retaining Japanese characters and 1949 period setting; film opens Nov 3 in Japan and Nov 6 in the U.S.

Paramount released the full trailer and poster for André Øvredal’s supernatural road-horror Passenger (starring Lou Llobell, Jacob Scipio, Melissa Leo), setting a theatrical release for May 22 and positioning the film as a high-concept demonic pursuit.

Warner Bros. debuted J.J. Abrams’ trailer for The Great Beyond — an apparently original, big‑screen sci‑fi/thriller starring Glen Powell and Jenna Ortega — set for theatrical release Nov. 13; Abrams also framed the film as Bad Robot’s next era amid a company downsizing and move to New York.

Ridley Scott’s three-part horror series is set for May release and Collider debuted a new, intense trailer positioning the project as a prestige horror miniseries from Scott; the article focuses on the trailer’s tone, release timing, and build toward launch.

Paramount will release four physical editions of Scream 7 on June 16 — including a SteelBook and an Amazon-exclusive package — following the film's strong box-office run as the franchise's highest-grossing installment.

Trailer for Australian Salt Along the Tongue teases a surreal, stylized mix of witchcraft, folk and body horror centered on Italian heritage and the malocchio superstition from writer‑director Parish Malfitano.

Samuel Goldwyn Films will release the folk-vampire picture The Wolf and the Lamb on select theaters and digital April 24, starring Cassandra Scerbo as a devoted 1870s schoolteacher whose life unravels when vampiric events disrupt her community.

Fangoria has an exclusive trailer for indie slasher VIDEO VIXEN, featuring horror veteran Erin Brown (Misty Mundae) returning to genre lead work.

iHorror premiered the trailer for Live! with the Other Side, signaling an upcoming release and marketing push for the supernatural horror title as it moves toward distribution.

Horror‑comedy heist game Burgle Supply Company exits Early Access and launches full 1.0 on May 12 with six new levels, cosmetics, upgrades and other content additions.