A24, Chiwetel Ejiofor & James Wan

Ari Aster’s Scapegoat; Scarlett Johansson attached as lead with A24 returning as distributor; production window being coordinated around Johansson’s other commitments and Aster producing via Square Peg with Lars Knudsen.

Melissa Barrera is attached to lead Inhabit, a psychological supernatural horror from writer-director Adam Alleca; Logical Pictures is financing and launching international sales at Cannes while Cinemachine and Range Select are producing/rep'ing U.S. rights, positioning the contained, trauma-driven horror for festival-market sales.

Harley Wallen’s horror film Fathers opens theatrically at Laemmle Encino May 28 with a digital release following June 2 via One Tree Entertainment, marking a traditional indie theatrical-to-VOD rollout.

Upgrade is taking Iain Softley’s Ireland-set dark comedy-thriller Killing Kelly to Cannes to commence rights discussions; production boards this autumn in Dublin with Jason Isaacs and Thomasin McKenzie attached and Upgrade holding worldwide rights.

Warner Bros.’ new repertory label Clockwork launches with Ken Russell’s banned 1971 cult horror The Devils restored and set to debut at Cannes; label signals studio investment in archival genre catalog and event theatrical play for prestige titles.

A24’s Backrooms boards 20-year-old Kane Parsons as youngest director in A24 history; Atomic Monster, 21 Laps and Chernin co-producing with Chiwetel Ejiofor and Renate Reinsve attached; signals studios are mining YouTube/Gen Z creators as low-cost franchise pipelines.

Disney’s new CEO Josh D’Amaro outlined long-term focus on creativity investment, Disney+ as a super-app, and tech/AI cost savings on an investor call; operational moves (pre-submitted analyst Q&A, potential half-year reporting) signal platform cost discipline that will affect greenlight appetite for higher-risk genre projects.

Warner Bros. Discovery Q1 showed large TV losses offset by streaming gains; Mortal Kombat II is tracking low-to-mid $40M domestic opening which could reshape WBD’s summer slate expectations and theatrical forecasting for genre tentpoles.

Paramount has settled a lawsuit over rights to the Scream mask, resolving a studio-level IP dispute that clears a potential legal cloud over future franchise merchandising and licensing activity.

Walt Disney Company booked stronger Q2 revenue with DTC performance remaining robust and publicly stated it has no plans to divest TV assets; signals continued commitment to streaming-first distribution and portfolio control.

Blood Window will present eight Ibero‑American genre WIP titles at Cannes’ Marché du Film to international buyers and festival programmers, including projects from Andrés Beltrán, Jorge Olguín and Armando Fonseca; the showcase strengthens export pathways for Latin American horror/fantastic filmmakers and signals buyer interest in regional genre IP this market season.

BFI’s Great 8 for Cannes 2026 spotlights eight debut features across genres including psychological thriller Daughter of Eden (co-produced with Shudder Films) and metaphysical noir Ancestors, positioning emerging UK talent for international buyers ahead of the Marché du Film.

Balticon’s Sunday Short Science Fiction Film Festival (May 24) will screen 18 international genre shorts from multiple countries, including a George R.R. Martin‑produced Howard Waldrop adaptation, signaling continued demand for festival platforms for short genre work.

Apple TV+ greenlights Disavowed as a multi-episode spy thriller starring James Marsden; Art Marcum and Matt Holloway (Iron Man, Uncharted) created and EP alongside Apple Studios and Blue Marble Pictures, with Marcum/Holloway, Tom Spezialy and Marsden exec-producing.

Brendan Fraser has signed on to star in Starman, a cosmic sci-fi thriller from Josh Wakely set for HBO Max release, adding marquee talent to the project’s profile as it moves forward in development.

Rooney Mara boards Antonia Campbell-Hughes’ Paris-set Quest for Love as lead and executive producer; HanWay Films will launch international sales at Cannes and WME Independent handles North American sales, with the project described as a dark, violent character study.

Apple TV+ positions Katie Dippold’s darkly comic horror series Widow’s Bay as an Emmy contender with comedy submissions, reflecting a awards strategy to foreground the show’s tonal blend and broaden its voting appeal.

Star One is being packaged for buyers with Miles Teller and Eddie Redmayne in talks and Doug Liman directing; David Coggeshall’s script frames the film as a true-ish untold CIA operation and will be marketed at Cannes.

Karyn Kusama reflects on the cancellation of her Blumhouse-backed contemporary Dracula adaptation centered on Mina Harker after talks with Miramax collapsed; project had cast Jasmine Cephas Jones and was days from a planned May 2022 start before being shelved due to creative differences.

Digital/VOD release May 12; indie slasher We Can’t Leave from Dark Star Pictures traps actors in a maze-like audition scenario; Mike Lordi writes/directs, practical-effects-driven, high body count.

Netflix budgeting its Narnia reboot, The Magician’s Nephew, as the streamer’s most expensive film to date; budget expected to eclipse 2025’s The Electric State ($320M), will play theatrically with a 51-day exclusive window before streaming.

A24’s Backrooms; director Kane Parsons (20) shares lessons after scaling from YouTube shorts to an A24 feature starring Chiwetel Ejiofor and Renate Reinsve with James Wan producing and a 30,000 sq ft hand-built set; Parsons emphasises previs, audience literacy in analog-horror communities, and tight pre‑prod control for his May 29 theatrical launch.

Jonny Campbell discusses adapting David Koepp’s Cold Storage for StudioCanal; film balances sci‑fi creature horror and comedy, stars Joe Keery, Georgina Campbell and Liam Neeson, used practical on-set elements augmented by VFX and notable needle-drop choices to shape tone.

Marvel Comics; launching a new horror-focused 'Midnight' universe with promotional assets and a press campaign that signals a broader publisher push into genre titles timed for Halloween-season merchandising and potential multimedia adaptation pipelines.

Steam Early Access launch set for May 21; two-person developer/publisher Raspberry Studio releases bodycam-style psychological horror A.A.U. Black Site with trailer out now.

Apple TV+ sets June 5 premiere for Nick Antosca’s 10-episode Cape Fear limited series starring Amy Adams and Javier Bardem; UCP/Amblin produce with executive producers Steven Spielberg and Martin Scorsese attached and Morten Tyldum directing the pilot.

Vertical schedules psychological thriller This Tempting Madness for select theaters and VOD on June 12; Simone Ashley leads as a coma survivor with fractured memory, positioning the title for adult-leaning hybrid theatrical/VOD release and streamer/VOD discovery.

Penny Lane is Dead, a 1986-set Australian teen horror thriller directed by Mia’Kate Russell and produced by Sanctuary Pictures (new production arm of Umbrella Entertainment) with Buffalo Media and Cyan Films, will open in Australian cinemas July 23 via Umbrella; ensemble cast includes Bailey-Spalding, Tahlee Fereday and Ben O’Toole and the film signals Sanctuary Pictures’ market entry into theatrical horror.