Netflix, A24 & Paramount

Blumhouse and Atomic Monster lock in a new combined identity, formalizing the merged horror powerhouse under the Blumhouse Atomic banner. The rebrand comes as Jason Blum and James Wan broaden the slate with The Exorcist, another Paranormal Activity, and a Blair Witch reboot in active development.

Tyrus Pictures has optioned Takeshobo’s horror manga Noah Of The Blood Sea and is targeting a 2027 production start; Michael Zelman and Hamid Mokhneche are producing as the company expands its Japanese IP slate.

Vera Farmiga boards supernatural horror Inferno as star and producer, with Manifest Pictures taking the package to AFM and CAA Media Finance plus UTA Independent Film Group handling domestic rights. The film is slated to begin production in late spring and leans into occult-procedural horror with a possession angle.

AFM is crowded with affordable horror, but A24’s ‘Elden Ring’ is the market’s monster package at $180M-$200M; Amazon is still buying aggressively as Netflix pulls back from splashy acquisitions.

Jeremy Latcham takes over DC Studios’ creative pipeline as James Gunn and Peter Safran step back; the shake-up puts the future of horror-leaning titles like Clayface, Swamp Thing and Constantine in question.

Black Mandala and Red Owl are taking eight genre titles to AFM, led by killer-rat horror Rise of the Rats and dark-web chess thriller The Rules of the Game. The slate spans horror, psychological thriller, supernatural and dark-fantasy fare as the companies shop buyers, distributors, platforms and festival play.

Kaleidoscope Film Distribution takes worldwide sales and distribution on Bad Rev Films' Site Unseen outside Australia and New Zealand; Maslow Entertainment is set for a 2027 theatrical rollout in ANZ.

Universal has set Mike Flanagan's The Exorcist: Martyrs for March 12, 2027; Scarlett Johansson leads the reboot as NYPD detective Julie Miller, with Chiwetel Ejiofor and John Leguizamo also aboard.

Carrie-Anne Moss joins Halsey in Replacer, with Avan Jogia directing the psychosexual horror pic and Karl Glusman plus Juliette Gariépy also aboard.

Amazon MGM is taking direct control of The Thomas Crown Affair in France, setting a March 3, 2027 theatrical bow and signaling a shift away from third-party overseas rollout partners. The move looks like a course correction after the studio’s Masters of the Universe France release miss.

Prime Video and Scanbox Entertainment are developing a new Hamilton slate across theatrical films and streaming series, relaunching Jan Guillou’s bestselling Swedish espionage franchise for international audiences. Dramanation and Odeon Fiction are producing as the property moves into active development, with casting and director attachments still to come.

Shudder sets Paolo Strippoli’s folk-horror feature for Nov. 27, with pre-stream screenings in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Austin and Nashville. The 125-minute Italian pickup stars Michele Riondino and Giulio Feltri.

Magnolia Pictures is sending The Host back to theaters nationwide on Nov. 20, with select Nov. 21 and 23 screenings carrying a Bong Joon Ho-Edgar Wright conversation. Bong says the 4K remaster is meant to recreate the original 35mm look while preserving the monster satire that still tracks 20 years later.

Bill Hader’s directorial debut is locked in post and testing well; the dark psychological horror-leaning feature is now deciding between a festival premiere and a distributor hunt, with A24 circling as a likely home.

AMC closed out a $120 million settlement tied to Walking Dead and Fear the Walking Dead profit claims, including an $85 million cash payment this quarter and another $35 million due by Jan. 31. The company also says the $500 million co-exclusive Netflix/AMC+ streaming-rights pact will start flowing through later this year.

Lionsgate Play adds Crawlers and The Vigil season 3 to its November slate for a November 13 bow. The film traps residents inside a spider-infested building, while the series sends its investigators to an Arctic research station for a murder mystery with military and resource stakes.

Netflix adds Aaron and Adam Nee to write and direct its live-action Catan movie after locking the board game IP in 2025; Roy Lee’s Vertigo is among the producers on the franchise play.

XYZ Films and Samuel Goldwyn Films close on U.S. rights to Kill Me, with a Spring 2027 theatrical rollout set. Peter Warren’s dark-comedy mystery stars Charlie Day and Allison Williams, with Giancarlo Esposito, Aya Cash, Jessica Harper, David Krumholtz, and Tony Cavalero rounding out the cast.

Yeon Sang-ho is back in horror with a South Korean feature built around two female influencers, extending his genre lane after Train to Busan-era global recognition.

AFM is flooded with affordable horror pitches as buyers chase the next breakout after Obsession, Backrooms and Buddy; the market’s sweet spot has shifted toward cheap, high-concept genre plays. A24’s Elden Ring is being floated at a $180 million to $200 million budget while a new buyer coalition, Lokia, forms around acquisitions and production.

AFM opens against a shifting buyer landscape: Netflix is cutting staff, Warner Bros. and Paramount are consolidating, and sellers are betting that streamer AVoD pressure will make them choosier on theatrical genre packages like ‘American Dollhouse.’

Skydance is leaning hard into AI as a cost-cutting and development accelerant across its merged Paramount/Warner Bros. empire, with David Ellison framing the tech as Hollywood’s biggest creative leap since CGI. The company says it will spend $30 billion annually on content and is targeting an HBO Max-Paramount+ merge within a year.

Netflix sets eight-episode horror series The Body for Nov. 11; Quinn Shephard created and directs the premiere as a Catholic-school initiation ritual detonates into a townwide frenzy.

A24 is pushing Alex Garland’s Elden Ring into blockbuster territory with a nearly $200 million budget, a figure that would make it the studio’s most expensive film by a wide margin. Bandai Namco Entertainment and George R. R. Martin remain aboard as the fantasy adaptation scales into prestige-franchise spend.

Warner Bros. Clockwork is taking Ken Russell’s NC-17 Director’s Cut of The Devils to 4K Ultra HD after the title has grossed $4 million in theaters so far; physical media sales open tomorrow.

Hulu has launched The Well, a six-part true-crime docuseries from Fox Entertainment Studios, Mountain Top Pictures, Haven Entertainment and Fairvale Entertainment. The series digs into the Speed Freak Killers case and keeps Hulu leaning into unscripted crime programming.

P.J. Starks and Eric Huskisson have New Fears Eve: Part Two in pre-production; Starks already finished the script and the team is packaging the slasher sequel for investors with Jeffrey Reddick back as producer.

Blumhouse Atomic locks James Tynion IV to a first-look partnership and kicks off the pact with Exquisite Corpses, a serial-killer battle royale being developed across film and animation; Something Is Killing the Children is already targeted for production next year.

Paranormal horror ‘Numinous’ has wrapped principal photography and is heading to AFM for its first look; Jay Alani writes, directs and stars, with release set for late 2027.

Game Theory Films opens Unholy Night in select Canadian theaters December 4 with a same-day Shudder drop; Michael Gabriele’s feature debut turns a family Christmas into undead holiday chaos.