The two leading horror movie producers in Hollywood right now are Jason Blum and James Wan. They are the creators of Blumhouse Pictures and Atomic Monster, respectively. Now, Blum and Wan are in talks to merge their companies, which would bolster studio partner Universal Pictures—bringing in Creative Artists Agency and the Universal executives Donna Langley and Jimmy Horowitz as part of their plans.
Blumhouse had generated about $5 billion in ticket sales with films such as The Black Phone and Halloween Ends. Atomic Monster has taken in at least $3.5 billion at the box office over the years with such films as Lights Out and The Conjuring. Together, the two companies have already teamed up to make Insidious, the latest sequel, due for a theatrical release by Sony Pictures Entertainment on July 7.
“James is probably 70 to 80 percent artist and 30 to 20 percent business person, and I am the reverse,” said Blum.
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By Blum’s own admission, he doesn’t have one idea to turn into a horror movie. His business has always been recognizing great ideas from other people. That’s one of the ways that the two producers complement each other. Wan has more ideas than he can handle, telling The New York Times that he would like to expand into video games, podcasts, live events, and maybe even merchandise.
“We really do complement each other, yin and yang, which is part of what makes this so exciting,” said Wan.
It was Wan who brought M3GAN to Blumhouse’s attention. At first, Atomic Monster pitched the idea for the killer, dancing doll movie to Warner Bros. executives, who passed on it, partly because they already have an evil doll franchise with Annabelle. After that, Wan brought the project to Blum. Now, Universal is so pleased with how M3GAN turned out that there are already talks of a possible sequel.
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What The Merger Will Look Like
Universal Pictures
Blum and Wan hope to close this deal during the first quarter of next year. Regarding what the exact details of this merge would mean, the two of them declined to comment, except to say that Atomic Monster would become a creatively autonomous label inside of Blumhouse while also having a first-look deal with Universal.
“It really allows me a bigger canvas to paint on, if you will. Universal is very supportive of filmmakers and brilliant at marketing. To have partners that trust you, that believe in you, that goes a long way.”
Beyond that, Blum is also looking for Blumhouse to grow, pushing the company to make at least eight horror movies for release in theaters each year. Previously, the company has only delivered three or four. Blum also wishes to make another slate of horror films for Peacock, NBCUniversal’s streaming service.
“James Wan and Jason Blum know how to create franchises and attract talent. There is a great deal they could do across the NBCUniversal portfolio, including Peacock and theme parks,” said Langley.
