Jason Blum’s Blumhouse and James Wan’s Atomic Monster are coming together to form the dominant force in horror films.
For those who don’t know, over the last fifteen years, Blumhouse Productions titles have generated about $5 billion in ticket sales; recent successes include The Black Phone, the latest Halloween trilogy, and The Invisible Man. Wan’s success comes from multiple billion-dollar films like Aquaman and Fast 7 and iconic horror films like The Conjuring, Insidious, and the Annabelle movies.
“James is probably 70-80% artist and 30-20% a business person, and I am the reverse. We really do complement each other, yin and yang, which is part of what makes this so exciting,” says Blum. Wan adds, “It really allows me a bigger canvas to paint on, if you will.”
Details on the situation aren’t 100% clear, but reports claim “Atomic Monster would become a creatively autonomous label inside of Blumhouse and have a first-look deal with Universal.” The sources add that “Wan would hold a substantial ownership stake in Blumhouse, with Blum still the majority owner and NBCUniversal a third stakeholder.”
Reports say that Blum wants Blumhouse to grow fast and plans to make at least eight horror movies for release in theaters each year, which would mean Wan’s Atomic Monster division at Blumhouse could pad out those numbers. They also have the budding streaming site Peacock, which has been home to recent horror hits like They/Them and Halloween Ends.
The deal is set to be finalized during the first quarter of next year.
The next project between Blumhouse and Atomic Monster is M3GAN. Wan initially pitched the project to Warner Bros. Discovery, but the studio declined. Blumhouse and Universal are reportedly very happy as the film is reportedly getting a sequel ahead of its release next year.
M3GAN is set for release on January 6th, 2023.
M3GAN is a marvel of artificial intelligence, a life-like doll programmed to be a child’s greatest companion and a parent’s greatest ally. Designed by brilliant toy-company roboticist Gemma (Get Out’s Allison Williams), M3GAN can listen and watch and learn as she becomes friend and teacher, playmate and protector, for the child she is bonded to.
When Gemma suddenly becomes the caretaker of her orphaned 8-year-old niece, Cady (Violet McGraw, The Haunting of Hill House), Gemma’s unsure and unprepared to be a parent. Under intense pressure at work, Gemma decides to pair her M3GAN prototype with Cady in an attempt to resolve both problems—a decision that will have unimaginable consequences.
M3GAN features a cast that includes Allison Williams, Violet McGraw, Ronny Chieng, Brian Jordan Alvarez, Jen Van Epps, Lori Dungey, and Stephane Garneau-Monten.
M3GAN arrives in cinemas on January 6th.
