Horror Industry News — Monday, June 29, 2026

$75M Google investment and a DeepMind R&D tie-up put A24 inside the AI workflow race; the studio says the partnership is aimed at behind-the-scenes tools, not on-screen outputs.

A24’s Backrooms has surged to $330 million worldwide on a $10 million budget; the horror-thriller’s PVOD rollout is eyed for July 7 as it becomes the label’s biggest global hit.

DGA sues MGM over an alleged below-market Epix/MGM+ licensing scheme that cut reported revenue and pension contributions; suit cites $540,426 in underreported payments and seeks unpaid contributions plus interest.

HBO Max lines up the full Evil Dead catalog for July 1 ahead of Evil Dead Burn's July 10 theatrical launch; the windowing move keeps Raimi's franchise in front of audiences during the rollout.

MGM+ locks From for a fifth and final season, with production slated to start in Halifax later this year and a 2027 premiere set to close out the mystery.

Robin Carolan boards as composer on Focus Features’ medieval wolf horror; Eggers co-writes with Sjón and reunites with Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Lily-Rose Depp and Willem Dafoe for a Dec. 25, 2026 theatrical rollout.

1908 Prague-set premise: bloodstained Franz Kafka wakes as the prime suspect in a ritual murder, melding historical fiction, existential dread and crime storytelling.

Paramount sends Scary Movie to VOD and digital July 21, 2026 after a record-breaking opening; the Wayans/Faris/Hall reunion keeps the Scream spoof on the board as a billion-dollar franchise expands its home-video run.

Netflix’s Enigma Variations adds Alicia Vikander opposite Aaron Taylor-Johnson; Oliver Hermanus directs Amanda Kate Shuman’s limited-series adaptation of André Aciman’s novel for Media Res.

Season 2 of Netflix's Avatar: The Last Airbender opens at No. 2 on the U.S. and global weekly charts four days after launch. The live-action adaptation remains renewed through season 3, keeping the franchise locked into the streamer's fantasy pipeline.

Netflix confirms a surprise return for its top limited crime thriller; format, cast, and timing details are still under wraps.

Netflix and Toho Studios team on Yeon Sang-ho's reboot of Ishiro Honda's 1960 sci-fi classic, led by Shun Oguri, Yu Aoi, Suzu Hirose and Kento Hayashi. The Tokyo-set thriller turns a shape-shifting serial killer into a violent body-horror event, marking the streamer's first collaboration with Toho.

Xavier Molyneux and George Pullar have joined Kiah Roache-Turner’s action-horror Lady Death, now filming at Kuitpo Forest outside Adelaide. Formerly Dogs of War, it stars Masha Basman as Soviet sniper Lyudmila Pavlichenko and wraps July 10.

Venice is opening with a restored 4K screening of Tinto Brass’s 1967 pop thriller Deadly Sweet as its pre-opening film on Sept. 1. CSC’s restoration used materials from rights holder Compass Film and was backed by Netflix.

Tribeca 2026’s world premieres include IX XI, Sean Wilsey’s documentary for the festival’s 25th edition, which gathers New Yorkers’ recollections of 9/11 through first-person accounts, archival footage and interviews with figures including Griffin Dunne and Colin Moynihan.

Black Box lands a July VOD window, with the supernatural sci-fi horror pic using the trailer drop to tee up digital release.

Production is underway on Monster Maker, a Stan Winston feature doc from Dogwoof, Strange Bird, Kennedy/Marshall and Whisper; the film lines up Jeff Goldblum plus new interviews from James Cameron, Frank Marshall and Kathleen Kennedy.

July 24, 2026 theatrical and digital rollout for Al Kalyak’s Australia-set survival horror; Mavournee Hazel, Josh McConville and Diesel La Torraca star in the bushfire escape thriller.

Curry Barker’s Obsession premiered at TIFF, drew a $15 million Focus Features buy, and is tracking past $100 million worldwide on a $750,000 budget; the 26-year-old YouTube-horror filmmaker has already landed a second Blumhouse/Focus film and A24’s Texas Chainsaw Massacre reboot.

Universal used CineEurope to push The Odyssey and then pivoted to genre, teasing Robert Eggers’ Werwulf and spotlighting Atomic Monster and Blumhouse’s Other Mommy with Jessica Chastain. The studio framed 2026 around theatrical fandom plays, with Focus, Illumination and DreamWorks titles all part of the same sell.

BOOM! Studios grabs Invader Zim publishing rights and plans fresh collections plus new original comics later this year; creative teams and formats roll out in coming months.