Horror Industry News — Tuesday, May 5, 2026

$7.3bn Q1 revenues and $168m profit as Paramount pushes toward a planned merger with Warner Bros. Discovery and reaffirms a strategy of 30 theatrical releases annually with a 45-day exclusive window; studios segment flagged Scream 7 as a top theatrical performer with $207.6m worldwide and the company secured $59bn-plus in bridge/syndicated financing tied to the merger timeline.

Raven Banner Entertainment acquired world sales rights to Tyler Savage’s Oddities after its Brussels Fantastic Film Festival premiere and will launch sales at Cannes; the genre pic stars Lilimar, Lovie Simone, Adrienne Barbeau and Xander Berkeley and is produced by Fryman Films and Wrigley Media Group.

Barunson E&A will launch sales at Cannes for Stoneborn, an occult mystery from the creators of South Korea’s Exhuma that began shooting in March and is due to wrap in June with a 2027 local release; the film follows a sacred wish-granting stone pulling a town into darkness and stars Sul Kyung-gu and Jongseo Jeon, produced by Pinetown and Cinematic Moment.

Neon acquired U.S. rights to Jeff Nichols’ Southern gothic horror King Snake while FilmNation financed and handles worldwide sales; principal photography is underway in Arkansas with Margaret Qualley, Michael Shannon and Drew Starkey attached and Neon scheduling a nationwide theatrical release.

October 15, 2027 release date set for Radio Silence’s The Mummy reboot, swapping slots with Miami Vice ’85; Brendan Fraser and Rachel Weisz board to reprise Rick and Evelyn, John Hannah returns, and David Coggeshall is scripting with a promised practical-effects emphasis.

Protagonist Pictures boards sales on Stephen Campanelli’s The Exiled after the film wrapped in Canada and Slovakia; the isolated 1922 lighthouse psychological thriller stars Alessandro Nivola, Charlie Tahan and Alyssa Wapanatâhk with Graeme Manson (Snowpiercer, Orphan Black) writing and EPing, and Canadian distributors and national funds attached.

Paris Hilton’s 11:11 Media and Darren Lynn Bousman are re-teaming on Road To Reality, a reality-TV-set horror feature written by Katina Nikou and financed by Motion Media Group; production is slated to start July 2026 with Hilton as an EP.

FOUND TV launches its first in-house original, A Possession in Lincoln County, produced on a $10,000 budget and slated to premiere exclusively on the platform later this year; Louie La Vella directs a found-footage demonic-ritual drama, marking the streamer’s expansion from aggregator to original-content studio.

Drafthouse Films has acquired U.S. distribution rights to Gloria Mercer’s SXSW psychological thriller A Safe Distance; Vortex Media holds Canadian rights and Giant Pictures will launch international sales at Cannes next week, with Madeleine Schumacher calling the film an 'elevated, character-driven thriller.'

Radial Entertainment acquires the full 10-season library of true-crime series World's Most Evil Killers; move strengthens Radial’s factual true-crime catalogue for global licensing and FAST/AVOD packaging.

Pending $110 billion Warner Bros. Discovery merger remains on track for Q3; Paramount is consolidating Paramount+, Pluto TV and BET+ onto a unified backend this summer to enable new features and efficiency while maintaining guidance for 30 films a year post-close and $3B+ efficiencies through 2027.

Paramount Skydance beat Q1 estimates with $7.35B revenue driven by streaming growth and studio performance; streaming unit revenue rose 11% to $2.4B and film studios revenue climbed 11% to ~$1.28B, with Scream 7 cited as a box-office contributor as the company readies its Warner Bros. Discovery acquisition and cost-savings targets.

Netflix orders a fourth and final season of spy-thriller The Night Agent to conclude the run after viewership declines; Sony retained season-four production and Los Angeles tax credits ensured a proper finale despite a 40% season-to-season drop.

SODEC commits $19M toward production across 11 Canadian features; funding parcel targets slate development and production windows over the next fiscal cycle, signaling continued provincial support for local film shoots and co-productions.

MEAA demands producers demonstrate financing after multiple Melbourne crew payment disputes on feature A Day For Losers; ASIC proposed deregistration of Clarke Film Holdings and delayed payments raise enforcement and reputational risks for Australian indie producers and could tighten pre‑hire financing scrutiny.

Amanda Kozlowski is promoted to president of worldwide marketing for Lionsgate’s Motion Picture Group; she will shape franchise strategy for tentpoles including John Wick, Saw and The Hunger Games while Nasim Cambron and Jack Teed receive promotions under her leadership.

$50M Australian content pledge secured after a last‑minute deal involving the Prime Minister and Greens Senator Sarah Hanson‑Young; signals a major near‑term boost to local production financing and quota implementation that will materially affect horror and genre shoots in Australia.

Fantasia International Film Festival revealed its first-wave 2026 lineup including world premieres Jenn Wexler’s The Last Temptation of Becky and Agnieszka Smoczyńska’s Hot Spot (set for Focus Features release), with the festival running July 16–Aug 2 in Montreal and financing/support from Telefilm Canada and local cultural bodies.

Fantasia unveils a first-wave lineup for its 30th edition July 16–Aug 2, 2026 that includes Agnieszka Smoczyńska’s near-future AI thriller Hot Spot, Jenn Wexler’s World Premiere The Last Temptation of Becky (Lulu Wilson returns; Kate Siegel and Neil Patrick Harris attached), and Makoto Ueda’s debut You Are the Film.

Paramount sets the Longlegs universe spin-off for wide release January 14, 2028; Osgood “Oz” Perkins remains the creative center of the franchise after the surprise 2024 hit and the move follows Paramount securing rights to the property last month.

Warner Bros.; production tracking indicates Cruise and Doug Liman could begin Edge of Tomorrow 2 as soon as fall with Emily Blunt returning and Christopher McQuarrie credited on script; project benefits from Cruise’s new Warner deal and studio push to prioritize the IP.

Hulu picks up Kenneth Branagh’s Agatha Christie chiller A Haunting in Venice; Branagh and Michael Green lean the franchise toward supernatural horror with Tina Fey and Michelle Yeoh among the leads, positioning the film as a spooky, atmospheric whodunit for streaming audiences.

Lee Cronin’s The Mummy returns the IP to intimate, dread-driven horror with a production prioritized around practical effects and in-camera techniques rather than blockbuster CGI; the film is positioned as a horror-first reboot and is now playing in theaters.

Unchosen, a six-part psychological thriller written by Julie Gearey and starring Molly Windsor and Asa Butterfield, amassed 10.4 million UK viewers in its first week and topped Netflix UK charts across 69 countries, signaling strong international appetite for cult/psychological drama adaptations.

Penguin Random House/Transworld launches 3AM Books, the publisher’s first dedicated horror imprint; leadership includes Rachel Winterbottom, Simon Taylor and Nicole Witmer and the imprint will pursue established and emerging horror voices.

Full Moon-backed Models vs. Werewolves drops a trailer and plans summer streaming plus a vertical-series edit for microdrama platforms; Dee Wallace headlines an influencer-meets-creature-feature that leans into transmedia packaging for nontraditional windows.

Breaking Glass Pictures shares a trailer and upcoming VOD release for Nesting, a psychological thriller by Chloé Cinq-Mars that follows a new mother battling postpartum depression and trauma; the film won Best Director at Fantasia, positioning it for genre-audience attention on VOD.

Frontier horror Bloodletting drops an official trailer; directors Eric Dickinson and Ryan Shelor board a cast including Graham McTavish, Zach Roerig, and Patrick Kilpatrick, with a logline centering on a stranded wagon company facing mortal and supernatural threats at an abandoned army fort.

Paramount Pictures rolls out exclusive poster art for André Øvredal’s road-set horror Passenger, which opens May 22 and stars Jacob Scipio, Lou Llobell, and Melissa Leo; imagery leans into religious iconography that mirrors the film’s marketing and trailer tone.

Dark Sky Films sets Sick Puppy for select theaters and PVOD on May 22; trailer positions the film as a darkly comic horror-thriller about a wife who goes to terrifying lengths to protect her serial-killer husband.