ScreamWire Daily

Sony Pictures’ Skeletons adds Kyle Gallner opposite Brie Larson with JT Mollner directing and J.J. Abrams producing via Bad Robot; FilmNation’s Infrared is financing, worldwide rights were picked up at the European Film Market, and the script originates from Brian Duffield adapting a Philip Fracassi story—package signals a mid/upper-tier studio-backed creature-horror production.

Mubi fully bankrolling Nicolas Winding Refn’s Maniac Cop and has taken distribution rights across North America, Latin America, UK/Ireland, major European territories, Australia/NZ; production shooting in LA this January with NWR Originals producing and Mubi committing to a wide theatrical release.

A24 acquired Olivia Wilde’s The Invite out of Sundance in a competitive deal reported at more than $10 million; A24 plans a June 26 limited rollout ahead of wider theatrical release.

Netflix is developing a remake of Steve McQueen’s The Getaway with Philip Barantini attached to direct and Peter Craig scripting; project positioned as a gritty crime thriller with casting and release strategy (theatrical vs. streaming) undecided and production delayed by Barantini’s existing commitments.

Amazon/Plan B’s animated Wytches has completed animatics for the full season and is essentially finished; Scott Snyder says the project could arrive next year, signaling Prime Video is advancing a dark-horror animated series into delivery and potential 2027 scheduling.

Toronto indie Skywild Pictures optioned Tom Ryan’s adult murder mystery The Treasure Hunters Club for TV adaptation; Skywild is building a Canada‑to‑Hollywood development slate and also optioned Our Little Secret and Robert Charles Wilson’s The Affinities as part of its scripted expansion.

Indie horror hub BloodStream locked exclusive distribution rights to the anonymous slasher franchise Game001–Game005 credited to the masked auteur 'Playgame Tipplayer'; the multi-film pick-up highlights indie platforms scooping viral/anonymous IP and the economics of content-farm horror packages.

Witchcraft 18 moves forward with casting additions Lisa Wilcox and Kato Kaelin; long-running indie horror franchise continues production trajectory with legacy casting to appeal to established fanbase and festival/VOD exploitation windows.

Lucasfilm/Disney’s The Mandalorian and Grogu is tracking to a $97M–$98M 4‑day Memorial Day opening with international around $69M, while Focus Features’ Blumhouse/Atomic Monster title Obsession is delivering a strong hold (projected ~$27M 4‑day), marking notable horror marketplace resilience and robust studio tentpole performance in the holiday frame.

Comedy-horror demand is rising globally; since mid-2024 average demand for comedy-horror series jumped ~50%, with titles like Apple TV+'s Widow’s Bay peaking at 30x average series demand, making horror-comedy a travelable, lower-risk bet for streamers seeking international reach.

Paramount's horror thriller Passenger opened to an estimated ~$8.7M weekend (projected $10.5M four-day) and added $4.8M internationally for a $13.5M global cume amid strong competition from Obsession and The Mandalorian & Grogu; the crowded release slate materially suppressed Passenger's kickoff.

Crunchyroll Awards recorded a record 73M votes, underscoring exponential global anime engagement; My Hero Academia won Anime of the Year while Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle — a $781M global box‑office juggernaut — picked up Film of the Year and multiple performance awards.

IMAX is in preliminary discussions to gauge interest in a potential sale, sparking a >10% stock jump; company positions itself as a strategic theatrical asset globally amid strong box-office contribution from blockbuster tentpoles and expansion into India.

An AI-generated feature, Hell Grind, screened at a third-party Cannes industry event but was not part of the Festival de Cannes program; producers claim it was made on Higgfield/Higgsfield AI for under $500K versus a $50M traditional cost, spotlighting AI production claims, festival misrepresentation risks, and investor/PR puffery around synthetic filmmaking.

Mubi pre-buys Lukas Dhont’s WWI romance Coward at Cannes; Netflix pre-bought The Black Ball earlier in the market, signaling continued streamer and specialty-platform buying for prestige festival titles.

American Horrors Channel greenlights Joyhorror Entertainment Tonight for a summer launch; Michael Joy hosts a weekly indie‑horror news/clip show intended to pipeline trailers, clips, interviews, and breaking indie horror news to a 24/7 linear horror streamer, strengthening specialty channel programming and grassroots marketing channels for underground titles.

Hulu has consolidated dominance over second-run and library TV licensing; rights holders should expect stronger pricing and predictable windowing dynamics for repeat runs on Hulu, affecting monetization strategies for legacy TV catalogs.

Netflix ANZ plans a new initiative to develop emerging Australian female writers as part of the My Brilliant Career adaptation campaign; program will offer a development cohort and signals Netflix investment in local literary talent and regional talent pipelines.

Colony opened to a dominant $9.4M weekend in South Korea (May 22–24) capturing 71.85% market share; Showbox-distributed survival action-horror has reached $10.9M cume since its May 21 wide launch after a Cannes Midnight Screenings world premiere; Comscore ranked it eighth globally for the frame.

I Am Frankelda is positioned as Mexico's first feature-length stop-motion fantasy on Netflix with Guillermo del Toro championing the project and shepherding production; the film exposes Mexico’s stop-motion infrastructure gaps while marking a production and distribution win for local animation talent via a major streamer.

Conecta Magaluf-Mallorca’s 10th edition brings 26 projects to international pitching sessions with cash, services and market access prizes (including €3,000 awards and industry services), spotlighting cross-border co-pro prospects like Triptych, Dark Hope and Naked and positioning the forum as a Europe–Americas financing and co-pro pipeline.

Three projects shortlisted for AACTA Pitch: Regional Landscapes — Theo Clarke’s gothic horror Good Bones, Agatha Ozdowska’s animated Happy, and Angela Collins & Adam Deusien’s The Grub; finalists enter intensive development and the winner receives a $5,000 development package plus mentorship and industry memberships.

Lightbulb Film Distribution has acquired Australian supernatural religious horror Diabolic for upcoming release; film directed by Daniel J. Phillips (Awoken) positions as faith-driven supernatural horror for international indie festival and niche theatrical/AVOD play.

Jane Schoenbrun’s horror-comedy Teenage Sex And Death At Camp Miasma won the Queer Palm at Cannes; produced by Plan B, Scythia Films and Mubi, with Mubi set to distribute in North America and the UK and The Match Factory handling sales.

Cristian Mungiu's Fjord won the Palme d’Or at Cannes; Neon continues its streak by holding U.S. rights to the Palme winner, reinforcing Neon’s premium festival-to-award-season strategy and signalling likely awards campaigning and strong North American theatrical prospects.

CAA expands its Moebius showcase with a 10-film lineup from top film schools and launches Moebius Labs to give emerging filmmakers direct access to execs and creatives; the program adds workshops and named industry speakers, increasing agency-to-talent pipeline activity.

Telluride Horror Show confirmed its 17th edition for October 16–18, 2026 in Telluride, Colorado; dates provide early programming window for fall festival premieres and genre buyers scouting late-year titles.

Independent urban horror‑thriller Psycho Night from director David Rodriguez launched free on AVOD platforms Tubi and Sling TV and is also being issued on DVD; positioning targets mass free‑stream reach and physical collectors rather than a premium SVOD launch.

Dark Star Pictures is releasing queer slasher BLOWIE on Digital and On Demand May 26; the film leans on adult-performer casting and camp-supernatural slasher elements, positioning for niche VOD platform performance and targeted genre-drive marketing.

Marginal MediaWorks has wrapped production on Southern-set indie horror Last Day, shot on location in Baton Rouge; Tanyell Quian leads with Ellis Hobbs IV, Brandon Gilpin and Royce Johnson attached and Marginal producers Sanjay M. Sharma and Milan Chakraborty onboard.

AMC Global Media greenlights The Vampire Lestat: After Dark, a new half-hour companion aftershow for Season 3 designed as a post-episode unpack; positions AMC to extend engagement and social viewing around the vampire drama.

First-look exclusive for A Man in the Woods With an Axe; 1980s slasher homage spanning four decades with timeline-jumping structure; positions as retro slasher play likely targeting genre fest circuit and genre outlets for early buzz ahead of sales or distribution talks.