ScreamWire Daily

Dreams of Violets, a fully AI-generated live-action feature, lands at Tribeca as the launch title for Fountain O, the Koosha brothers’ new AI production outfit. The company says the film cost about $2K, took roughly two months to make, and is the first of multiple projects in development.

A24’s 'Backrooms' is tracking to a $40 million to $50 million opening on a $10 million budget, which would make it the studio’s biggest debut; the wide theatrical launch in 3,400 North American venues keeps horror’s box-office leverage intact.

Artlist is financing Terrarium, a hybrid horror feature now in production from Paranormal Activity producer Steven Schneider and writer-director Jason Zada; Secret Level is producing, making the AI-native package a live test case for new genre workflows.

$17M domestic bow turned into a $24M second weekend for Obsession, a 39% surge that pushes Curry Barker's horror breakout into rare box-office territory and strengthens the case for creator-led micro-budget horror.

Anonymous Content signs Australian multi-hyphenate Nick Annas; his post-production debut feature Crashout is a Gen-Z thriller starring Catherine Laga'aia, Joe Bird and Evelyn Sims, with a found-footage conceit built around a fatal road trip accident.

11.4M views pushed Nemesis to No. 1 on Netflix's English TV chart; The Boroughs opened at No. 2 with 5.6M views, a softer debut that may hint at Duffers-paranormal fatigue after Stranger Things 5 and Something Very Bad Is Going to Happen.

The $111 billion Paramount Skydance bid for Warner Bros. Discovery is under FCC and CFIUS scrutiny over 49.5% foreign ownership, including Gulf sovereign wealth funds and revived Tencent money. Senators are demanding assurances that the backers won’t influence CNN, HBO, Warner Bros. or CBS content and editorial decisions.

Sunset Studios is carving out 8,000 square feet of repurposed standing sets at Sunset Las Palmas for vertical shoots; the no-permit buildout includes pre-lit courtroom, apartment, bar, restaurant, hospital and office environments.

Netflix is cutting film volume and shifting to fewer, higher-conviction originals as it chases prestige, retention and breakout-value titles; the reset raises the bar for greenlights and tightens the path for specs without heat.

Average scripted streaming gap has climbed to 21 months from 12 months in 2020; Ampere says long waits can lift premiere engagement for sci-fi/fantasy and crime/thriller, but they also raise churn risk as subscribers cancel between tentpoles.

Vividata’s spring cross-media update shows TV and audio still reach mass audiences in Canada, but engagement now fractures sharply by region and platform. Ontario over-indexes on Tubi, Atlantic Canada on paid streaming and social video, while Quebec remains strongest on live broadcast and audio.

A24 wins the Cannes bidding war for Jordan Firstman’s Club Kid with a deal believed north of $17m worldwide. Netflix, Mubi and Sony Pictures Classics also moved as sellers pushed inflated asks across the market and buyers eyed summer and Toronto holdbacks.

Alza Festival is launching in New York in fall 2026 as America’s first premium microdrama event, pairing vertical series premieres, creator spotlights and brand activations as the format races toward a projected $20B to $30B global market.

SXSW London adds Michelle Obama, Claire Foy, Piers Morgan and Ryan Condal to its 2026 conference; Jane Schoenbrun’s Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma will close the Screen Festival as the event leans further into creator-economy dealmaking with AGBO and Waymo partnerships.

Shudder adds Joko Anwar-penned folk-horror sMOTHERed, expanding its supernatural-psychological slate with a title centered on fatal folklore and a micro-painter’s unraveling mind. The move gives the streamer another prestige-leaning international genre pickup.

Canal+ is facing legal blowback after chairman Maxime Saada said the pay-TV giant may stop financing films from petition signatories; the Bolloré group still controls 30.4% of Canal+ and has pledged €480 million for French and European cinema through 2027.

$200M Robopocalypse died in preproduction after Spielberg refused to load DreamWorks with the risk; Drew Goddard scripted the AI-apocalypse adaptation with Chris Hemsworth and Anne Hathaway attached, while outside financiers circled.

YouTube is moving AI disclosure labels directly beneath the player on desktop and into an overlay on mobile, while automated detection will now auto-apply labels to undisclosed photorealistic AI content. The change tightens platform governance around synthetic media without affecting recommendation or monetization rules.

Mubi dates Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma for Aug. 7 theatrical after its Cannes Un Certain Regard launch and Queer Palm win. The piece also confirms Jane Schoenbrun is attached to write, direct and exec produce Netflix’s Black Hole TV adaptation with Plan B and New Regency.

Marc Zammit’s British horror-thriller Jitters lands on Blu-ray; the detective-led video game investigation stars Fabrizio Santino, Anto Sharp and Daniel Jordan.