ScreamWire Daily

$212.6M worldwide makes Backrooms A24’s highest-grossing movie ever after just 10 days; the viral horror adaptation is already at $135M domestic and $77.6M overseas. The under-$10M Chernin co-finance is proving out as a global breakout, with the UK posting A24’s best horror opening of the year.

$750,000 microbudget horror breakout has surged past $234 million worldwide; Obsession is now Focus Features’ highest-grossing film ever, with India still adding traction via a Rs 5.75 crore Day 16. The run keeps reinforcing the theatrical upside for creator-led, word-of-mouth genre plays.

Season 3 is in production at Prime Video after the March renewal; Ben Watkins says he’s mapping a four-season arc while threading addiction through Alex Cross’ hunt. Season 1 pulled 40M global viewers in 20 days, making Cross one of Prime Video’s biggest 2025 launches.

AUD$60,000 Sydney Film Prize for Andrey Zvyagintsev’s Cannes winner Minotaur; the festival says attendance climbed to 170,000 and box office was the highest in its 73-year history. James Gray’s thriller Paper Tiger closed the event after the award ceremony.

$93M global debut for Disclosure Day puts Spielberg’s original alien sci-fi launch ahead of tracking; Universal/Amblin also get a strong fifth-week hold from Obsession, while A24’s Backrooms crosses $300M worldwide and Scary Movie 6 tumbles 70% on a $30M budget.

Juliette Lewis boards Cape Fear as Nick Antosca keeps the Apple TV+ reboot tethered to its legacy DNA. The casting nods back to Lewis’ 1991 turn and keeps Martin Scorsese and Steven Spielberg in the franchise conversation as EPs.

Neon has North American rights to Na Hong-jin's 160-minute sci-fi horror epic after its Cannes Competition premiere and seven-minute ovation; Universal Pictures International France opens the title Nov. 4, 2026. The cast spans Hwang Jung-min, Zo In-sung, Jung Ho-yeon, Taylor Russell, Cameron Britton, Alicia Vikander, and Michael Fassbender, with Michael Abels scoring.

Apple TV+ renewed Widow’s Bay for Season 2 and Katie Dippold locked an overall deal with the streamer as the horror-comedy heads deeper into franchise mode. The show began as a Parks and Recreation spec, but Dippold pivoted it toward a more immersive New England nightmare.

Bear Country shot in Australia to capitalize on lower costs and Screen Queensland incentives, with producers saying U.S. tax credits and legislation are still pushing productions offshore. The Russell Crowe thriller world premieres at Taormina before an Aug. 26 Italy release via 01 Distribution and Rai Cinema.

Kevin Cate’s viral 3-minute short is being adapted into a feature by Rick Kearney and Clinging Vine Films, extending the YouTube-horror-to-feature pipeline after Backrooms and Obsession.

The Troll sets its world premiere at Raindance on June 20; Brianna Lee writes, directs, and stars in the psychological horror-thriller, with a new trailer rolling out alongside the fest announcement.

Netflix has taken worldwide rights to Bad Bridgets after its AFM buzz, landing Rich Peppiatt’s Irish period thriller with Emilia Jones and Alison Oliver set to lead. LuckyChap produces; production is slated to begin in Northern Ireland and Ireland later in 2026.

Netflix is developing a Hit Man TV series, extending Richard Linklater’s film into episodic form and keeping Glen Powell’s breakout vehicle in play as platform IP.

Lightbulb Film Distribution sets Dead Lover for digital on June 22, with Blu-ray following Sept. 7 after Sundance, SXSW and TIFF stops. Grace Glowicki’s Stink-O-Vision horror-comedy keeps moving from the genre-fest circuit into home entertainment.

Fantasia adds a second wave led by Nick Antosca’s Cape Fear, Jane Schoenbrun’s Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma, Paween Purijitpanya’s God Skin and Craig Mitchell’s Los Vampires. Several world premieres keep the Montreal lineup loaded with horror, thriller and dark fantasy titles.

Peacock and Universal backed Ted at roughly $10 million an episode to make the CGI bear work; Seth MacFarlane says there’s no immediate season 3 plan, but he’s floated a direct-to-Peacock feature and says a Family Guy movie remains on the table. The franchise still runs through Fuzzy Door, Peacock and Fox.

A Guy Ritchie crime title is spiking on Netflix after a theatrical run that returned roughly 5x its budget, underscoring the streamer lift on mid-budget genre-adjacent fare.