ScreamWire | Weekend Recap: Freddy Returns while The Conjuring continues to Conjure (Mon. July 20)
Plus, Kane Parsons weighs a reported $65M A24 first look deal, Sony lands Sydney Sweeney’s erotic Sleepy Hollow, and Blumhouse finally starts filming King Spawn...
Editors Note: Currently in Montreal for Fantasia and excited to see everyone there. Don’t hesitate to reach out!
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🔥 The Wire
‘The Conjuring Universe’ Will Never Die: Prequels, Spin-offs, and Release Dates Revealed
Warner Bros. and New Line keep The Conjuring franchise in play with new prequels and spin-offs, plus fresh release-date shuffling that extends the supernatural universe beyond Last Rites. — HorrorFuel
Freddy Krueger Returns: Paramount to Reboot the Cult Horror
Paramount is developing a new A Nightmare on Elm Street reboot with Wes Craven’s heirs; the project returns to the original film’s events while plot, cast, and release timing stay under wraps. — Inbox.eu · Inbox.lv
A24 Withdraws ‘Backrooms’ Copyright Claim After Kane Parsons Intervenes
A24 dropped its Redbubble copyright claim after Kane Parsons pushed back, clarifying that the studio does not own the wider Backrooms concept or community-made lore. The fight underscores how murky IP control gets when internet horror is turned into a franchise; Warner Bros. could face the same issue with Siren Head. — The Wrap
Sydney Sweeney’s ‘Hollow’, A Gothic Erotic Thriller Reimagining of ‘Sleepy Hollow’, Lands at Sony
Sony lands Hollow, a gothic erotic thriller reimagining Sleepy Hollow; Lindsey Anderson Beer writes and directs from her forthcoming novel, with Sydney Sweeney producing via Honey Trap alongside LuckyChap and Lab Brew. Casting is underway for Ichabod Crane and Brom Bones, while translation rights for the novel are already selling worldwide. — Phantasmagoria · tbreak.com
‘The Odyssey’ Box Office Journey Begins With $17.6M in Previews, Targeting $117M Opening
$17.6 million in Thursday previews puts Universal’s The Odyssey on track for a $117 million domestic opening, with the $250 million Nolan epic also eyeing a roughly $200 million global start. The film is the first feature shot entirely on IMAX cameras, making premium large formats a key driver. — THR
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💰 Deals & Development
Extremely Divisive R-Rated Fantasy Horror Novel Movie Adaptation Officially In The Works
A divisive R-rated gothic horror novel is moving into feature development; no buyer, package, or budget details are attached yet. — ScreenRant
King Spawn: The Spawn reboot at Blumhouse has finally started filming!
Principal photography is underway on Blumhouse’s King Spawn, marking the long-gestating Spawn reboot’s move into production. — Scified
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📈 Market & Business
Paramount and state AGs now going full film nerd, arguing over whether Obsession is a "blockbuster"
Paramount is leaning on Obsession's $429 million haul from a $750,000 budget to defend its $111 billion Warner Bros. takeover; the company is arguing low-budget horror can still make blockbuster money without the majors. — AV Club · Deadline · A.V. Club
Kane Parsons, Curry Barker and the Multi-Million Dollar Battle for Gen Z Eyeballs
Studios are throwing eight-figure money at Gen Z horror creators and online-native IP, with Kane Parsons and Curry Barker at the center of a bidding war that spans Warner Bros., Universal, A24 and HBO. The chase extends to Siren Head and The Mandela Catalogue, underlining how early horror talent now gets priced like franchise infrastructure. — THR
VAMPIRELLA to star in DARKSTALKERS and PATHFINDER crossovers
Vampirella crosses into Darkstalkers and Pathfinder; Tim Seeley and Drax Gal steer the Darkstalkers crossover, while Erik Burnham and Federico Dallocchio handle the Pathfinder side. — The Beat
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🎭 Festivals & Markets
2026 Toronto International Film Festival: New Films Starring Cate Blanchett, Mahershala Ali, Margaret Qualley, Naomi Watts Announced for TIFF51
TIFF’s Special Presentations slate expands with Alpha Gang, Glaxo, Love of Your Life, The Housewife and Your Mother Your Mother Your Mother. The lineup keeps the festival in early awards-positioning mode, with star-driven premieres and no market paper reported yet. — AwardsWatch · The Hollywood Reporter
‘NERVOUS’ Selected As Opening Film of Tubi FrightFest 2026
Abner Pastoll’s Nervous opens Tubi FrightFest 2026 at the Odeon Leicester Square on Aug. 27; Sarah Bolger, Ko Asung and Sungsoo Yune star in the Korean-countryside horror film about a silence-playing vinyl and a marriage under strain. — PopHorror
Hong Kong Films Showcase Creativity at 2026 Fantasia International Film Festival in Montreal
Hong Kong backers are using Fantasia in Montreal to spotlight five films and pitch the territory as a co-production and sales hub. The Toronto ETO, Film Development Fund and HKSAR cultural agency are underwriting the push to court Canadian and international buyers. — bastillepost.com
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📺 Broadcast & Streaming
Shark Horror Film Chum Gets UK Digital Release Date
UK digital window locks for shark-horror Chum; the title now has a dated home-platform rollout with no acquisition or financing terms attached. — The Movie Blog
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🤖 AI & Technology
Major Studios Courting Kane Parsons as ‘Backrooms’ Director Opposes A24’s Google AI Deal
After Backrooms’ breakout, 21-year-old Kane Parsons has met with Warner Bros., HBO, Universal and Sony, while A24 is reportedly offering its biggest deal ever: a 3-year first-look pact worth up to $65 million. Parsons says future Backrooms projects stay with A24, but he opposes its $75 million Google AI deal. — Phantasmagoria
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✂️ Noteworthy
Netflix's New 6-Part Crime Thriller Follows One of History's Largest Murder Investigations
Netflix's six-episode Bombing of Pan Am 103 lands July 30 with a stacked ensemble and a true-crime angle built around the Lockerbie bombing investigation. The streamer keeps leaning into eventized limited series based on real-world cases. — Collider
Popcorn Frights Announces Second Wave of 2026 Festival Lineup
Popcorn Frights adds 25 more premieres, anniversary screenings, guests, and an overnight marathon to its 2026 slate; The End of Oak Street, Drag, Hen, and Unholy Night anchor the new wave alongside retro plays of Train to Busan, Scanners, and From Dusk Till Dawn. — FlickDirect
Netflix’s Thrilling series ‘Below’ has a new Dark coming soon
Netflix sets October 8 for Below, a six-part Canadian creature thriller from creator Jesse McKeown; Josh Hartnett, Charlie Heaton, and Mackenzie Davis lead the cast. The Newfoundland-set limited series leans on local mythology and a sea-monster hook for a fall genre play. — Netflix
Horror Highlights: BLACK ZOMBIE, PLUCKED, ACCURSED
Kino Lorber sets a Sept. 11 theatrical rollout for Maya Annik Bedward’s zombie-doc Black Zombie after SXSW, Hot Docs, BlackStar and Fantasia plays; Katie Vincent and Usher Morgan’s Plucked opens Nov. 13 in New York, Los Angeles and Rhode Island, then hits digital Feb. 12, 2027. Buffalo 8 dates Accursed for July 24 digital release. — Daily Dead
Netflix thriller ‘The Watcher’ seemed all but canceled gets unexpected season 2 update
Production listings point to The Watcher season 2 eyeing a summer or October 2026 shoot, with wrap penciled in for early spring 2027. Netflix’s Ryan Murphy mystery-horror revival has been dormant since its surprise renewal, but the show is finally showing signs of life. — netflixlife.com
‘American Horror Story’ Returns September 24th, New On-Set Photos Reveal the ‘Coven’ Witches
Season 13 of American Horror Story lands September 24 on FX and streams internationally on Disney+; Sarah Paulson, Emma Roberts, Gabourey Sidibe, Leslie Grossman, Frances Conroy, and Jessica Lange reprise Coven-era roles. Ariana Grande, Evan Peters, John Waters, Billie Lourd, Angela Bassett, and Kathy Bates join the crossover run as filming continues in New York. — Phantasmagoria
PINOCCHIO UNSTRUNG Interviews with Rhys Frake-Waterfield & Todd Masters
Viva Pictures has taken North American theatrical rights to Pinocchio Unstrung for July 24; the Twisted Child Universe slasher premiered at Brussels and stars Robert Englund, Richard Brake, Jessica Balmer and Cameron Bell. Rhys Frake-Waterfield and Scott Chambers keep Jagged Edge’s public-domain horror pipeline moving after Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey. — Daily Dead
Is Ryan Coogler’s The X-Files Reboot To Become A Film?
Disney is weighing a feature-film pivot for Ryan Coogler’s The X-Files reboot after the two-hour pilot was shot as a series pitch. Danielle Deadwyler, Himesh Patel, Amy Madigan, Steve Buscemi and Ben Foster are in the cast, with Durald Arkapaw lensing on 65mm. — SciFiNow
Mike Flanagan’s New Thriller Rewrites the Rules of Stephen King Adaptations
Prime Video’s Carrie adaptation turns into a wider after Episode 1, with Mike Flanagan saying each chapter from Episode 2 onward follows a different woman coming into her abilities across time and place. Summer H. Howell stars as Carrie; Samantha Sloyan plays Margaret White under Flanagan’s Amazon MGM Studios deal. — MovieWeb
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🎬 Trailers & Teasers
‘Herbert West: Reanimator’: First Look At Joseph Morgan & Katie Cassidy In Fantasy Horror Adapted From H.P. Lovecraft Story
Herbert West: Reanimator is in production in Alton, Illinois; Joseph Morgan and Katie Cassidy star and executive produce, Michael Grossman directs, and Woodlake Entertainment is financing the Lovecraft reimagining. — Deadline · Dread Central · Bloody Disgusting
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📚 Publishing
Stephen King’s Unadapted Bestselling Horror Novel Is Perfect For Mike Flanagan
With Carrie set for October 2026 and The Dark Tower next, Mike Flanagan’s next Stephen King project could be Insomnia, one of King’s bestselling horror novels that has never been adapted for film or TV. — ScreenRant
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🎮 Gaming & Comics
‘Colony’ director Yeon Sang-ho talks sequel plans through novel, video game
Novel and video game spin off Yeon Sang-ho’s zombie thriller Colony; the sequel story is in final publication stages and Smilegate is lined up to spearhead the game. Yeon also has Paradise Lost in the can and two more features set to shoot this year. — IMDB
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