Two of the biggest names in horror may be uniting to increase the dread.
Horror mavens Jason Blum and James Wan are in advanced talks to merge their companies, Blumhouse Productions and Atomic Monster, into a mega house of chills and thrills. https://t.co/olzloAHAhL pic.twitter.com/uS4VFYiUNw
— Variety (@Variety) November 16, 2022
The studios of James Wan’s Atomic Monster and Jason Blum‘s Blumhouse, which have produced several other successful horror series like Saw, The Conjuring, Paranormal Activity, and Sinister, are in advanced talks to unite.
The two men collaborated as producers on the upcoming horror film M3GAN, which casts a dark shadow over the discussions. They initially collaborated on the 2007 horror film Insidious, which became a franchise and was one of the most successful horror films ever created.
The combination has some distinctive features because both businesses would continue to function as independent labels with distinct brand identities and creative independence.
According to insiders, Atomic Monster would have a first-look agreement with Universal Pictures after combining the two companies. Additionally, Blumhouse is now doing a first look with Universal. In addition to distributing M3GAN, the company just released the final Halloween film for Blumhouse.
Blum and Wan are both very interested in a more profound growth in video games, live experiences, and audio due to the two businesses coming together. The multiyear partnership between Meta and NBCUniversal to introduce franchises to the Metaverse includes Blumhouse. For his part, Wan has watched his films transform into VR adventures and attractions with a Halloween theme.
Horror is one of the few genres that may still successfully draw audiences to theatres. The number one original and top horror film of the year was Paramount’s Smile, demonstrating how popular scary movies have become in recent years. Blum’s The Black Phone was a critical darling and a slow-burning box office success, and Ti West’s back-to-back films for A24, X, and Pearl, similarly impressed audiences and critics.
Previously, Atomic Monster had a contract with Warners, where director James Wan is now finishing up Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom and where his Conjuring films and spinoffs have amassed more than $2 billion in box office earnings. Throughout the summer, that contract ended, and many were curious about the filmmaker’s next move. Most people did not anticipate that his shop would merge with Blumhouse, where he would have a sizable stake, assuming a deal is finalized.
If social media usage is a gauge, M3GAN is proving to be a significant appeal. The release of the movie’s trailer generated many memes, fan comments, and celebrity posts from folks like Halle Berry, Taylor Swift, and Megan Thee Stallion. According to Blumhouse, users of TikTok have viewed 521.2 million #M3GAN posts. 62.9 million posts have the hashtag #M3GANDANCE in them.