ScreamWire Daily

Netflix film chief Dan Lin is doubling down on a streaming-first model, saying the company will skip filmmakers who still require theatrical; only select exceptions like Fincher’s Cliff Booth and Gerwig’s Narnia are getting big-screen treatment. The stance hardens Netflix’s exhibitor posture after years of pressure to widen its theatrical lane.

WME signs horror filmmaker Caleb Phillips after his viral short Other Side of the Box and SXSW feature debut Imposters. The move puts a breakout genre director with a 30M-view calling card into a bigger rep pipeline.

Kill TV launches a zero-fee creator storefront for uncensored underground work, opening direct sales for horror and exploitation filmmakers. The slate includes the first digital uncensored cut of A Serbian Film, plus new offerings from Samhel and Wigwolf.

Signature Entertainment is rolling out Norwegian creature feature Kraken, keeping the distributor active in the monster-horror lane. No financial terms disclosed.

Blumhouse and Atomic Monster frame Backrooms and Obsession as proof the horror boom is being driven by creator-led concepts, viral provenance, and box-office momentum. The conversation positions YouTube-to-feature as one of the genre market’s most reliable pipelines right now.

Netflix has paused pre-production on Denzel Washington and Antoine Fuqua’s Hannibal epic to reset the budget; the package stays alive while producers and the streamer renegotiate the financial framework.

Briarcliff locks Christmas at the Kringles for a wide theatrical bow on Oct. 30, 2026; the action-horror-comedy is shooting in Los Angeles and marks the next feature from the Willy’s Wonderland director.

Backrooms extends A24’s domestic record run with another $5M Thursday and a $45M+ weekend projection; Scary Movie opens with $7.7M in previews and eyes mid-$40M domestic, while Obsession closes on $200M global off a $750K budget.

Two Ikea bags doubled as the emergency kit on Obsession; the behind-the-scenes setup highlights the shoot’s safety planning and lean logistics.

Kane Parsons’ Backrooms is crossing $100 million at the domestic box office today, giving A24 its first U.S. release to hit that mark; yesterday’s cume was $97.8 million, with $136 million worldwide.

Fantasia’s second-wave drop adds the world premiere of Apple TV+’s Cape Fear finale, Jane Schoenbrun’s Cannes winner, the Adams Family’s latest nightmare, Sekiro anime, cyberpunk Muay Thai, dueling Draculas, and alien body horror. The lineup doubles down on world premieres, international discoveries, and the boundary-pushing genre cinema that has defined Fantasia for 30 years.

Gothic horror-thriller Recluse is set for a Tribeca run as Antlers and Servant scribe Henry Chaisson makes his feature directorial debut; the project adds another horror-facing writer-director package to the festival circuit.

ABLAZE is bringing Thomas Jane and Mike Carey’s The Lycan to print for the first time, with the Eisner-nominated horror comic set for a September launch and a 2027 trade release. The roundup also surfaces Fall 2: Deadpoint’s teaser rollout and Nurse the Dead’s June 12 premiere as iWant’s first flagship North American original.

The Blue Diamond feature is being pitched as a multi-million-dollar lift; Sam Fox says the short is a feature calling card and Barbara Crampton frames Backrooms and Obsession as proof horror still sells. Fox is keeping the feature in play after failing to lock first-time feature financing.

Mike Flanagan’s new Exorcist is in production in New York with Scarlett Johansson leading a cast that includes Chiwetel Ejiofor, Laurence Fishburne, and Diane Lane; the film is positioned as a standalone story in the franchise and is dated for March 12, 2027.

Key of Bones screens in Cannes’ Fantastic Pavilion Gala after shooting entirely in Key West; the ghost-pirate horror-comedy marks iHorror’s first feature and the first full-length film shot there in over 20 years.

HELLMARE surfaces in Troma’s orbit as a new horror title in play; the indie project adds fresh momentum inside the cult genre lane.

$149M worldwide on a $5M budget still anchors David F. Sandberg’s leap from viral shorts to studio horror; James Wan’s blueprint for turning YouTube-born concepts into features is now shaping the pipeline around Backrooms and Obsession.

$81M domestic and $118M global on roughly a $10M budget makes Backrooms A24’s biggest opening ever; Kane Parsons becomes the youngest filmmaker to debut a No. 1 feature, while Curry Barker’s Obsession keeps expanding and lands a Texas Chain Saw Massacre reimagining.

Nicholas Galitzine boards Gus Van Sant’s next feature, set to shoot in 2027 after Dead Man’s Wire; the film is shaping up as a true-crime take on Sam Bankman-Fried and the FTX collapse.

Markian Tarasiuk is developing a sequel to Hunting Matthew Nichols after the indie found-footage title grossed $710,532 in roughly 1,000 theaters. The sequel keeps the franchise in motion after a surprisingly strong self-release run.