ScreamWire Daily

Focus Features paid north of $14M to acquire Curry Barker’s micro-budget supernatural horror Obsession out of TIFF; Blumhouse joined as EP/producer on the $1M production, the film opened to a reported $16M weekend and is generating fierce audience debate over its bleak ending with no post‑credits tease.

Backrooms is now tracking to a $35M–$50M opening weekend—on a reported ~$8M budget—set to become A24’s biggest opening if projections hold; Kane Parsons directs, Roberto Patino wrote, and producers include Shawn Levy and James Wan, with a May 29 theatrical release.

Settlement reached between Paramount, Spyglass, Fun World and Alterian Ghost Factory over Ghostface mask; Alterian confirmed as originator of the design and both sides dropped suits, Fun World retains copyright per settlement terms and Alterian likely received compensation; legal clarity secures future Scream franchise use while Fun World remains copyright holder.

Zachary Wigon boards Victorian Psycho, a 19th‑century gothic horror adaptation of Virginia Feito’s novel starring Maika Monroe and Thomasin McKenzie; film positions itself as a female-led folk/gothic entry targeting genre fans with a sharp tonal mix of satire, gore, and period atmosphere.

Production wrapped on the Spierig brothers’ action-horror Headless on the Gold Coast; Ryan Corr and Mel Jarnson star, VFX by Formation Effects and The Post Lounge, Screen Queensland support expected to inject ~A$8.3M into the local economy and employ 125 cast and crew.

Courteney Cox’s feature adaptation of the True Crime docuseries Evil Genius has wrapped principal photography and is now in post; Danielle Macdonald praises Cox’s direction and signals the film blends true-crime drama with unexpected comedic beats and features Patricia Arquette, David Harbour and others.

Paramount acquires film rights to Adriana Trigiani’s authorized Godfather novel Connie; Coppola’s camp says the 87-year-old filmmaker is unlikely to direct a new Corleone film while he remains in pre-production on Glimpses of the Moon.

Vought Rising; 1950s prequel boards Jensen Ackles as Soldier Boy with Aya Cash, Ethan Slater, Mason Dye, Elizabeth Posey and Will Hochman attached; Prime Video schedules Vought Rising for 2027; The Boys: Mexico in development with writer Gareth Dunnet‑Alcocer and Diego Luna/Gael García Bernal EPing; Eric Kripke teases additional spinoff concepts from senior writers.

Bleecker Street rolled out the first brutal teaser for Victorian Psycho, the Gothic follow-up starring Maika Monroe and adapted from a bestselling novel; teaser establishes tone and Bleecker Street's theatrical campaign, with casting and novel source signaling a prestige horror positioning.

Production begins in 2027 on King Conan with Arnold Schwarzenegger returning as an older Conan and Christopher McQuarrie set to write-direct for 20th Century Studios; Schwarzenegger compares the tone to Unforgiven and has pushed for the project for a decade.

Netflix’s new theatrical and live-daily TV moves signal a strategic push into hybrid theatrical + live programming and expanded release windows; implications include renewed competition for theatrical exhibitors and a recalibration of streamer window economics that will affect genre release strategies.

£11.9M National Lottery allocation confirmed to the BFI Skills Clusters Fund for 2026–29; £9M keeps seven existing regional clusters funded and £2.9M earmarked to create new clusters to build below-the-line crew bases across the UK; applications open July 2026 and the programme has already trained 26,000 people between April 2023–Sept 2025.

Disney will maintain Hulu as a standalone app while it phases Hulu features into Disney+; profile-linking between Hulu and Disney+ rolls out to bundle subscribers as Disney consolidates streaming tech to improve recommendations, ad targeting and cost efficiency.

A Netflix true-crime series climbed past 12 million global views within its first seven days, signaling strong genre demand for serialized true-crime content and potential streamer promotional momentum for comparable titles.

$6.2B merger; Nexstar asked the Ninth Circuit for an expedited appeal after a judge paused its acquisition of Tegna; company warns the injunction inflicts "unrecoverable harm" to stations and operations while defending regulatory waivers granted by FCC leadership.

YouTube is pitching itself as the new TV marketplace for advertisers and creators; Brandcast rolled out 20+ creator-driven series that YouTube will matchmake with brand funding rather than fully finance, signaling a continued shift of audience and ad dollars away from legacy networks.

A24’s Jenna Ortega thriller is heading to Max next month after underperforming theatrically; the move shifts the title into streaming discovery and could broaden audience reach despite weak box office.

Saskatchewan promotes a production incentive that funds bringing mentor crew when local talent is unavailable; program designed to train and build the province’s next-generation film workforce.

ABC-commissioned productions generated A$772M in economic value from July 2022–June 2025 and supported over 7,700 FTE jobs; external co-commissions leveraged A$1.31 per ABC dollar and the broadcaster spent ~A$275M on external co-commissions during the period.

Kill TV launches an uncensored creator storefront June 1 to let horror and underground filmmakers sell films and exclusive content directly to fans; platform positions itself as an alternative distribution channel by hosting uncensored director’s cuts (notably A Serbian Film) and promising no advertiser‑driven suppression.

Boat Rocker Studios is shifting strategy to prioritize owning IP across its slate; the refocus signals a move toward rights-heavy development and potential increased emphasis on franchise-building and international licensing.

Crave is adding video podcasts to its streaming lineup to broaden daily engagement and advertising opportunities, curating English and French titles including true-crime and entertainment podcasts; move mirrors Netflix’s recent video-podcast expansion and signals platform diversification beyond pure scripted content.

RIVR Media launches RIVR Films to develop vertical dramas and short-form factual content, expanding the company’s footprint into digital-first and short-form storytelling.

Screen Australia and Ausfilm put together a UK delegation for Partner with Australia 2026 (June 16–18); the roster mixes writers and producers to boost Australia/UK co-productions, location shoots, and post-production partnerships under the co-production treaty.

Reelworld appointed a managing director to lead its Institute and Foundation operations; the hire aims to expand funding and support for underrepresented creators across development and festival programs.

Adobe expands its 'Creativity Connector' to Google Gemini, enabling Gemini users to orchestrate Photoshop, Premiere and other Creative Cloud workflows directly via AI prompts; move accelerates AI-driven content pipelines and could reshape VFX/editing labor and indie post workflows.

Kane Parsons’ Backrooms YouTube shorts proved creator-driven worldbuilding can become a viral IP—first video hit ~20M views after launch in Jan 2022 and Parsons, now 20, leveraged Blender animation to build a franchise-ready aesthetic discussed at Cannes Lions as a marketing case study.

Cannes culture analysis; festival dynamics now mix legacy curation, market courting and fandom-driven press behavior, raising tensions between honoring filmcraft and servicing commercial/PR value—implications for how international IP and auteurs are packaged and claimed at markets.

Taccone’s Over Your Dead Body, a darkly comic cabin-set thriller starring Samara Weaving and Jason Segel, lands on Prime Video UK June 10 after a SXSW premiere; IFC Films handles the title and reviews praise its blend of inventive gore and black comedy.

Brian Herbert praises Denis Villeneuve's Dune duology as the best film interpretation of Frank Herbert's novel and confirmed he advised producers and consulted with Eric Roth during development.

Monsters Unborn, a new Harker Press book, catalogs 15 unmade Universal Monster remakes and archives studio development history; useful reference for producers mining legacy IP for future revivals.

Evil Twin schedules MORSELS by Abe Moss for traditional publication October 6, 2026; novel delivers supernatural dread and body horror with an exclusive bonus chapter included in the release.

Psychological thriller Strung, produced by Jason Blum and Tyler Perry and directed by Malcolm D. Lee, sets a June 26 Peacock premiere and reunites genre writer Alan B. McElroy with high-profile producers to target streaming thriller audiences.

Clive Barker’s Hellraiser: Revival; Saber Interactive and Boss Team Games released a gameplay trailer showcasing the Genesis Configuration puzzle box as both puzzle mechanic and combat tool; launches on PS5, Xbox Series X|S and PC with no firm release date announced.

Imagica Group awards up to $440,000 (¥70M) to Yutaro Seki’s My Son via its Imagica Group Film Project to support development/production; the prize prioritises original IP and aims to boost Japanese filmmakers working outside established adaptations.

Neon's Her Private Hell is playing Cannes' Fantastic Pavilion with Nicolas Winding Refn's first feature in a decade; Sophie Thatcher leads an ensemble including Charles Melton, Havana Rose Liu, Kristine Frøseth, Dougray Scott, and Diego Calva, with the film centering a fog-borne deadly presence in a futuristic city.

André Øvredal directs Passenger, a supernatural stalker-horror about a van-living couple pursued by a demonic hitchhiker starring Jacob Scipio and Lou Llobell; the film leans on classic hitchhiker folklore updated with strong practical scares and an emphasis on atmosphere, positioning it as a mid-tier theatrical/genrefest play for horror audiences.

The Boroughs debuts May 21 on Netflix as an eight-episode sci-fi mystery with an acclaimed ensemble led by Alfred Molina and produced by the Duffer Brothers; the series’ mix of supernatural mystery and senior protagonists creates a distinct genre play likely to attract horror audiences and streamer buzz.

Øvredal's Passenger is a jump‑scare heavy vanlife horror; clunky Zachary Donohue / T.W. Burgess script and flat leads Lou Llobell and Jacob Scipio leave the 94‑minute pic dull despite solid marketing; Melissa Leo pops up for rushed exposition and the monster (Joseph Lopez) is tonally muddled.

Super Happy Fun Clown (2025), directed by Patrick Rea and streaming via Tubi, is a gleefully gory killer‑clown slasher that has found a cult audience on free AVOD; the film leans into revenge-by-clown camp and highlights Tubi’s role as a home for B‑movie horror discoverability.

André Øvredal links a real-life roadside fright to the tone of Passenger; the director frames the film as classic, setup-driven supernatural horror as it hits theaters May 22.

André Øvredal’s Passenger; road-trip ghost premise centers on a hitchhiking specter that attaches to cars at night; film features Jacob Scipio, Lou Llobell and Melissa Leo but struggles to expand its gimmick beyond a few inspired set pieces.

Author Mary Berman’s Until Death blends pitch-black horror, dark humor and wedding-day terror centered on dementia and family dynamics; Chuck Wendig highlights research, tone and setting that mark the book as a marketable dark-comedy/horror novel.

Netflix set The Adventures of Cliff Booth for an IMAX-exclusive two-week run starting November 25 ahead of a December 23 streaming bow, positioning the Tarantino-script/Fincher-directed Cliff Booth spinoff as a Thanksgiving awards-season play.

Marc Zammit’s 2026 horror Jitters gets a Blu-ray release with a new physical cut and a performance-heavy cast led by Fabrizio Santino; detective-led, mystery-horror premise with home-video extras boosting catalog value for genre collectors.

Netflix schedules David Fincher’s Cliff Booth film for global IMAX on Nov 25 with streamer launch Dec 23, shifting into a late-November theatrical slot recently vacated by Narnia and raising festival timing questions for Venice consideration.

Mike Mignola, Chris Roberson and Michael Avon Oeming launch Ghost of a Ghost, a four-issue 1960s spy-fi action miniseries at Dark Horse Comics blending psychedelic spy thrills with supernatural elements.