Blumhouse Takes In An Atomic Monster; James Wan and Jason Blum Merge Film Production Companies

LET'S START WITH WHO IS THE ATOMIC MONSTER (OR WHAT)

Australian Horror Director, James Wan, founded Atomic Monster Productions in 2014 to home all his genre film and television work. He had just snagged a first-look agreement between New Line Cinema and Warner Bros. Pictures; a major deal brokered by Paradigm Talent Agency, Australia's Stacey Testro International, and Wan's attorney, David Fox.

Wan soon appointed Michael Clear as Head of Production, Wan saying: "Michael is a savvy decision-maker and a dynamic executive." By this point Clear had just served as VP at Bluegrass Films. (Yep, them folks behind David and Danny's YOUR HIGHNESS). And was amidst developing BIRD BOX (2018) for Universal.

2016, Wan added a development deal with Chinese company Starlight Media to his Atomic partnerships. Starlight Media is under the Starlight Culture Entertainment umbrella which started in real estate 20 years ago. They diversified into entertainment 2013 and would go on to produce CRAZY RICH ASIANS (2018).

The deal, brokered again by Paradigm, Stacey, and David, provided Wan development funds and equity financing for films with budgets up to $100M.

ATOMIC MONSTER FILMS / TELEVISION

• 2014 Annabelle

• 2016 The Conjuring 2

• 2016 Lights Out

• 2017 Annabelle: Creation

• 2018 The Nun

• 2019 The Curse of La Llorona

• 2019 Annabelle Comes Home

• 2021 Mortal Kombat

• The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It

• 2021 Malignant

• 2021 There's Someone Inside Your House

• 2021 Aquaman: King of Atlantis (Season One)

• 2022 M3gan

• 2023 The Nun II

• 2023 Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom

• 2024 Night Swim

ATOMIC MONSTER TELEVISION

• 2016 - 2021 MacGyver

• 2019 Swamp Thing (Season One)

• 2021 I know What You Did Last Summer (Season One)

• 2022 Archive 81 (Season One)

• 2022 Samurai Rabbit: The Usagi Chronicles (Season One and Two)

SO WHY IS AN ATOMIC MONSTER JOINING THE BLUMHOUSE?

"James is probably 70 to 80 percent artist and 30 to 20 percent business person, and I am the reverse" - Jason Blum, New York Times

Wan and Blum are long standing collaborative buddies, since the early days of both of their careers; starting with INSIDIOUS (2010), years before Atomic Monster was established, and continuing this month with the release of NIGHT SWIM (2024).

Word of their intention to join forces came late 2022 thanks to an article by The New York Times where they announced Jason Blum and James Wan had entered advanced talks about merging their respective production companies. December, Vulture said we should prepare for "Annabelle vs The Purge".

Many outlets including Deadline and The Hollywood Reporter picked up the story, reporting that the two companies would maintain creative autonomy and brand identity, if it went through, and would operate separately. Instead, the merger would allow both companies to benefit from established partnerships and infrastructure and amp up production. This would include Atomic Monster piggybacking Blumhouse's current deal with Universal.

At the time of these reports, the two companies had collectively grossed over $11.6B since 2004, with their horror projects responsible over half, at $8.5B. Inverse reported, that while this would be a major concentration of talent it would hopefully be a good thing for the genre.

March 2023, Jason Blum discussed further his ambition in growing his empire with  Indiewire's Screen Talk, and how he had recognised a ceiling to his current annual production rate. He hoped, with an equal partner, he could overcome it.

"I’ve thought a lot about how I can get from four to five to six to seven studio theatrical hits. The only way to do that is to take on a partner, an equal, who basically does what I do and put the companies together. There are reasons why his particular company is a great fit with ours. By joining the two companies, the goal will be to increase the number of movies we can do per year that are great." - Jason Blum, Indiewire

The merger of Blumhouse and Atomic Monster was announced January 3rd, this month.

WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE WITH OUR ATOMIC MONSTER AND BLUMHOUSE?

I expect more of the same with potentially "Mainstream" and "Pulp" Horror being directed under Blumhouse: More TOTALLY KILLER (2022) and THE EXORCIST: DECEIVER. While James Wan shifts Atomic Monster into exploring larger-scale critical arthouse horror works, while continuing to home his non-horror established IP projects such as MORTAL KOMBAT 2.

This would be a similar set up to 20th Century Studies and Searchlight and is already happening. This month, critically acclaimed A24 announced they are joining forces with Atomic Monster to create a feature on the Creepy Pasta and famed Youtube series, The Backrooms.

They are even bringing in 17-year-old creator, Kane Parsons, to direct.

Which, as someone who supports grassroot mentorship and the preserving of creative integrity, is so bloody fantastic to see. I hope it goes swell and is a sign of promising futures.

UPCOMING ATOMIC MONSTER FILM SLATE

• 2024 La Noche Del Demonio

• 2025 M3gan 2.0

• Mortal Kombat 2

• The Conjuring: Last Rites

• Salem's Lot

• The Last Train to New York (Train to Busan remake)

• Stephen King's Monkey

• The Backroom

• Dead by Daylight

• Lights Out 2

UPCOMING BLUMHOUSE FILM SLATE

• 2024 Imaginary

• 2024 Speak No Evil

• 2024 Wolf Man

• 2025 M3gan 2.0

• The Black Phone 2

• Five Nights at Freddy's 2

• Dead by Daylight

• Creep 3

*Films prior shared between Blumhouse and Atomic Monster