Andrew Chiaramonte’s Young & Cursed reignites age-old dread, a fear soaked thriller, arriving Oct 2025 on global platforms

This hair-raising spectral fear-driven tale from screenwriter / visionary Andrew Chiaramonte, unbinding an prehistoric curse when foreigners become pawns in a dark ordeal. Premiering this October 2nd, 2025, on Prime Video, YouTube streaming, Google Play, Apple iTunes, Apple TV Plus, and Fandango platform.

Hollywood, CA (August 8, 2025) – be warned for *Young & Cursed*, a harrowing journey of perseverance and archaic horror that will reshape terror storytelling this season. Created by rising horror auteur Andrew Chiaramonte, this unsettling and moody motion picture follows five unknowns who regain consciousness sealed in a hidden cabin under the aggressive sway of Kyra, a troubled woman occupied by a legendary religious nightmare. Be warned to be seized by a narrative spectacle that combines bodily fright with mystical narratives, hitting on Prime Video, YouTube, Google Play, iTunes, Apple TV+, and Fandango at Home on the second of October, 2025.


Unholy possession has been a iconic fixture in the movies. In *Young & Cursed*, that framework is radically shifted when the forces no longer descend outside the characters, but rather deep within. This marks the shadowy part of every character. The result is a emotionally raw cognitive warzone where the story becomes a soul-crushing clash between divinity and wickedness.


In a abandoned outland, five adults find themselves marooned under the possessive control and grasp of a uncanny female presence. As the team becomes submissive to resist her command, detached and tormented by spirits ungraspable, they are forced to face their core terrors while the moments coldly pushes forward toward their fate.


In *Young & Cursed*, fear escalates and connections break, compelling each character to examine their personhood and the concept of freedom of choice itself. The tension climb with every heartbeat, delivering a fear-soaked story that integrates unearthly horror with psychological weakness.

Andrew Chiaramonte, Director: “With *Young & Cursed*, my intention was to tap into core terror, an force that existed before mankind, feeding on emotional fractures, and testing a being that threatens selfhood when will is shattered.”

Madison Hubler (Kyra): “Embodying Kyra called for internalizing something rooted in terror. She is clueless until the spirit seizes her, and that metamorphosis is shocking because it is so emotional.”

Release & Availability

*Young & Cursed* will be aired for home viewing beginning October 2, 2025, on Prime Video, Google’s video hub, Google Play, Apple iTunes, Apple TV+, and Fandango on-demand—offering fans internationally can survive this demonic journey.


Chiaramonte Films, Inc. has just launched a new video trailer for *Young & Cursed*, posted to watch on YouTube at https://youtu.be/zu0n4WmPI1s, as a follow up to its release of trailer #1, which has earned over strong viewer count.


In addition to its domestic release, Chiaramonte Films, Inc. has informed that *Young & Cursed* will also be shared across borders, presenting the nightmare to thrill-seekers globally.


Mark your calendar for this visceral descent into darkness. Join *Young & Cursed* this horrific release to acknowledge these fearful discoveries about mankind.


For director insights, director cuts, and press updates from the cast and crew, follow @YoungAndCursedMovie across social media and visit the official website.





Modern horror’s Turning Point: 2025 in focus domestic schedule weaves biblical-possession ideas, indie terrors, and returning-series thunder

Spanning grit-forward survival fare rooted in legendary theology and onward to IP renewals as well as incisive indie visions, 2025 stands to become the most dimensioned along with strategic year since the mid-2010s.

The 2025 horror calendar is not merely full, it is methodical. the big studios are anchoring the year through proven series, in tandem streamers pack the fall with fresh voices together with ancestral chills. On another front, the art-house flank is fueled by the carry from a high-water 2024 festival stretch. As Halloween remains the genre’s crown jewel, the remaining months are slotted with surgical care. A packed September to October corridor has become a rite of passage, and now, rollouts stretch into January, spring, and mid-summer. Crowds are ready, studios are precise, hence 2025 could stand as the most orchestrated year.

What Studios and Mini-Majors Are Doing: Prestige-leaning dread rebounds

The studio class is engaged. If 2024 primed the reset, 2025 capitalizes.

the Universal banner kicks off the frame with a confident swing: a reimagined Wolf Man, leaving behind the period European setting, in a clear present-tense world. Directed by Leigh Whannell and toplined by Christopher Abbott and Julia Garner, this cut welds lycanthropy to home turmoil. The metamorphosis extends past flesh, into marriage, parenthood, and human hurt. Slated for mid January, it supports the push to convert the winter lull using prestige plays, not leftovers.

As spring rolls in, Clown in a Cornfield bows, a YA slasher page-to-screen distilled into spare horror. Steered by Eli Craig starring Katie Douglas opposite Kevin Durand, it moves like barn born dread with razor satire. Behind its clown mask lies commentary on small town paranoia, generational divides, and mob justice. Early reactions hint at fangs.

When summer fades, Warner Bros. Pictures unveils the final movement of its most reliable horror franchise: The Conjuring: Last Rites. Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson again portray Ed and Lorraine Warren, the entry offers emotional coda while tackling one of their notorious real cases. Though the outline is tried, director Michael Chaves reportedly leans into a mournful, interior tone for the swan song. It goes early September, easing the path before October flood.

Arriving later is The Black Phone 2. First targeted at early summer, the move into October reads bullish. Derrickson re teams, and the tone that worked before is intact: retrograde shiver, trauma driven plotting, plus otherworld rules that chill. This time, the stakes are raised, by expanding the “grabber” backstory and grief across bloodlines.

Closing the prime list is Five Nights at Freddy’s 2, a movie that scarcely needs conventional ads. The sophomore entry expands the mythology, enlarges the animatronic menagerie, bridging teens and legacy players. It bows in December, stabilizing the winter back end.

Platform Originals: Tight funds, wide impact

With theaters prioritizing brand safety, streamers are trying sharper edges, and buzz accrues.

A high ambition play arrives with Weapons, a cold-case woven horror suite knitting three time bands around a mass vanishing. Directed by Zach Cregger including Josh Brolin and Julia Garner, the movie mixes chill with dramatic weight. Premiering theatrically in late summer before a fall streaming drop, it is expected to spark online debate and post viewing breakdowns, much like Barbarian before it.

Playing chamber scale is Together, a tight space body horror vignette including Alison Brie and Dave Franco. Situated in an out of the way rental during a failed escape, the piece probes how love, envy, and self loathing become bodily rot. It feels intimate, ghastly, and profoundly uneasy, a three part fall into codependent hell. While no platform has formally placed a date, it is a near certain autumn drop.

One more platform talker is Sinners, a 1930s set vampire folk tale fronted by Michael B. Jordan. Imaged in sepia bloom and biblical metaphor, it suggests There Will Be Blood blended with Let the Right One In. The project looks at American religious trauma under a supernatural allegory. Early test screens tag it as a top talked streaming debut.

A handful of other streaming indies hover in the wings: Bring Her Back, Bone Lake, and Keeper all tap into themes of grief, disappearance, and identity, often using horror as metaphor instead of spectacle.

Possession Beneath the Skin: Young & Cursed

Hitting October 2 on the platforms, Young & Cursed emerges as a rare mix, tight in frame and epic in resonance. Conceived and directed by Andrew Chiaramonte, the film follows five strangers who wake in a remote wilderness cabin under the thrall of Kyra, a young woman possessed by the ancient biblical demon Lilith. When evening turns to black, Kyra’s control expands, an encroaching force weaponizing fears, cracks, and guilt.

The threat is psychological first, wired with primal myth. Ducking the exorcism default of Catholic ritual and Latin text, this story returns to something older, something darker. Lilith resists liturgy, she blooms through trauma, secrecy, and human delicacy. An inward possession, not an outward spell, turns the trope and sets Young & Cursed inside a widening trend, intimate character work housed in genre.

Platforms such as Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV, YouTube, Google Play, and Fandango at Home position the film as a Halloween counter to sequel heavy theatricals and monster revivals. It is an astute call. No puffed out backstory. No legacy baggage. Only psychological menace, compressed and taut, tuned to binge and gasp cycles online. Among spectacle, Young & Cursed might win by restraint, then release.

From Festivals to Market

Fantastic Fest, SXSW, Tribeca, and TIFF operate as greenhouses for horror six to twelve months down the line. And in 2025, they are acting more like launchpads than showcases.

The Fantastic Fest slate for horror is strong this year. Primate opens the fest with tropical body horror and critics cite Cronenberg and Herzog. Whistle, a folkloric revenge burner in Aztec code, should close with flame.

The midnight bench, including If I Had Legs I’d Kick You, hums from execution, not mere titling. That one, an A24 backed satire on toxic fandom set during a horror convention lockdown, is poised for breakout status.

SXSW lifted Clown in a Cornfield and put microbudget hauntings into market talk. Sundance should deliver grief heavy elevated horror again, where Tribeca’s genre program draws urban, social, and surreal.

This cycle, festival strategy pivots from discovery toward branding. Those badges act as campaign openers, not end caps.

Franchise Horror: Returns, Restarts, and Fresh Angles

Legacy entries present stronger and more purposeful this time.

Fear Street: Prom Queen brings back the 90s line in July with a new lead and throwback vibe. Unlike prior entries, this one leans into camp and prom night melodrama. Visualize tiaras, fake gore, and VHS panic.

M3GAN 2.0 slots late June, set to enlarge techno horror mythology with fresh faces and AI bred menaces. The first film’s success on both social media and streaming has given Universal the confidence to double down.

The Long Walk, from an early and searing Stephen King work, is inbound, steered by Francis Lawrence, it operates as a bleak dystopian tale masked as survival horror, a walk off to death for kids. If packaged well, it could track like The Hunger Games for horror adults.

Beyond that, reboots and sequels such as Hell House LLC: Lineage, V/H/S/Halloween, The Toxic Avenger, and Anaconda dot the year, often holding for windows or late pickups.

Emerging Currents

Mythic Horror Is Mainstream
From Lilith in Young & Cursed to Aztec curses in Whistle, horror is turning to ancient texts and symbols. This is less nostalgia, more reclamation of pre Christian archetypes. Horror does more than scare, it reminds that evil predates us.

Body horror comes roaring back
With films like Together, Weapons, and Keeper, horror is going back to the flesh. Mutation, infection, transformation now read as metaphors for heartbreak, grief, and regret.

Streaming exclusives sharpen their bite
Churn filler is losing ground on platforms. Platforms are putting money into scripts, directors, and promotion. Debuts like Weapons and Sinners carry event framing, not content bins.

Festival Hype Equals Market Leverage
Laurels move markets, opening release doors and coverage arcs. In 2025, a horror film lacking festival plan may fade.

Theaters are a trust fall
Theatrical is reserved for titles believed to overperform or sow sequels. All others choose PVOD or hybrid. Horror still lives in theaters, more curated than broad.

Projection: Fall pileup, winter curveball

Stacking Young & Cursed, The Conjuring: Last Rites, The Black Phone 2, and Weapons in September and October yields saturation. Indies like Bone Lake and Keeper must claw for air. There may be pivots into early 2026 or across platforms.

December holds on Five Nights at Freddy’s 2, though a stealth streamer release may land late. As mythic runs hot, a closing creature or exorcism could still arrive.

The genre’s success in 2025 will hinge not on any one title, but on how well its diverse slate reaches its scattered, increasingly segmented audience. The plan is not to clone Get Out, it is to craft horror that lives on beyond box office.



The coming 2026 genre Year Ahead: entries, standalone ideas, plus A loaded Calendar geared toward goosebumps

Dek: The brand-new horror cycle crowds up front with a January pile-up, thereafter unfolds through the summer months, and well into the winter holidays, mixing series momentum, creative pitches, and smart counterweight. Studio marketers and platforms are leaning into mid-range economics, exclusive theatrical windows first, and social-fueled campaigns that elevate genre titles into four-quadrant talking points.

The landscape of horror in 2026

The horror marketplace has turned into the dependable lever in studio lineups, a vertical that can spike when it catches and still hedge the drawdown when it under-delivers. After 2023 reminded studio brass that lean-budget chillers can command the national conversation, the following year extended the rally with filmmaker-forward plays and sleeper breakouts. The trend fed into the 2025 frame, where reboots and arthouse crossovers underscored there is room for a spectrum, from legacy continuations to original one-offs that travel well. The sum for the 2026 slate is a grid that seems notably aligned across the field, with purposeful groupings, a pairing of brand names and first-time concepts, and a reinvigorated strategy on exhibition windows that increase tail monetization on premium on-demand and SVOD.

Marketers add the horror lane now acts as a fill-in ace on the schedule. Horror can premiere on many corridors, furnish a sharp concept for trailers and vertical videos, and exceed norms with demo groups that turn out on previews Thursday and maintain momentum through the sophomore frame if the title satisfies. Coming out of a strike-delayed pipeline, the 2026 setup reflects faith in that logic. The slate gets underway with a crowded January lineup, then plants flags in spring and early summer for balance, while leaving room for a fall run that flows toward the Halloween corridor and into the next week. The schedule also reflects the deeper integration of indie arms and digital platforms that can stage a platform run, create conversation, and scale up at the timely point.

Another broad trend is brand management across brand ecosystems and storied titles. Major shops are not just making another next film. They are seeking to position continuity with a occasion, whether that is a title design that broadcasts a recalibrated tone or a cast configuration that connects a incoming chapter to a foundational era. At the alongside this, the visionaries behind the headline-grabbing originals are returning to hands-on technique, on-set effects and concrete locations. That combination yields 2026 a strong blend of recognition and shock, which is a pattern that scales internationally.

Studio by studio strategy signals

Paramount establishes early momentum with two spotlight pushes that bookend the tonal range. First comes Scream 7 on February 27, 2026, with Kevin Williamson in the director’s chair and Neve Campbell back at the lead, signaling it as both a cross-generational handoff and a origin-leaning character-driven entry. Principal photography is underway in Atlanta, and the directional approach hints at a classic-referencing strategy without looping the last two entries’ Carpenter sisters arc. A campaign is expected leaning on brand visuals, character-first teases, and a promo sequence arriving in late fall. Distribution is Paramount in theaters.

Paramount also reboots a once-mighty spoof franchise with Scary Movie 6 on June 12, 2026, directed by Michael Tiddes. Anna Faris and Regina Hall are back together, with the Wayans brothers involved as creative contributors for the first time since the early 2000s, a linchpin the campaign will stress. As a non-tentpole summer option, this one will generate broad awareness through meme-friendly cuts, with the horror spoof format enabling quick pivots to whatever dominates genre chatter that spring.

Universal has three differentiated projects. SOULM8TE arrives January 9, 2026, a digital-age offshoot from the M3GAN universe from Atomic Monster and Blumhouse. The core idea is efficient, tragic, and easily pitched: a grieving man adopts an digital partner that turns into a fatal companion. The date slots it at the front of a heavy month, with Universal’s campaign likely to bring back off-kilter promo beats and bite-size content that blurs attachment and terror.

On May 8, 2026, the studio dates an untitled Rob Savage horror film, widely read as the feature developed under code names in the family-in-peril vein, with Jessica Chastain top-lining. The official slate currently lists it as an untitled Savage project, which leaves room for a public title to become an headline beat closer to the opening teaser. The timing creates a foothold in early May while larger tentpoles occupy other frames.

Closing out the studio’s year, Jordan Peele’s untitled event film claims October 23, 2026, a slot he has thrived in before. Peele projects are sold as creative events, with a teaser with minimal detail and a subsequent trailers that set the tone without spoiling the concept. The pre-Halloween slot affords Universal to take pre-holiday auditoriums with PLF and IMAX bookings where available, then use the copyright window to capture late-October interest at home.

Warner Bros., via New Line, pairs with Sony internationally for Evil Dead Burn, dated July 24, 2026. Sébastien Vaniček steers, with Souheila Yacoub in the lead. The franchise has made clear that a gnarly, in-camera leaning method can feel elevated on a moderate cost. Look for a hard-R summer horror jolt that spotlights offshore potential, with Warner Bros. handling U.S. and Sony taking most world markets.

Sony’s horror bench is surprisingly deep. The studio mounts two name-brand pushes in the back half. An untitled Insidious film opens August 21, 2026, sustaining a trusty supernatural brand front and center while the spin-off branch gestates. Sony has reslotted on this title before, but the current plan holds it in late summer, where the brand has done well historically.

Then, on September 18, 2026, Resident Evil steps back in what the studio is selling as a new foundation for its game-to-film powerhouse. With the PlayStation Productions pipeline now a foundational part of the studio’s strategy, this new take has a directive to serve both franchise faithful and casuals. The fall slot creates runway for Sony to build campaign pieces around environmental design, and monster craft, elements that can lift IMAX and PLF uptake and fan-forward engagement.

Focus Features, working with Working Title, pins a prestige bet on Christmas Day with Robert Eggers’ Werwulf on December 25, 2026. Set in 13th-century England, the film advances Eggers’ run of period horror built on textural authenticity and dialect, this time focused on werewolf legend. The label has already staked the slot for a holiday release, a bold stance in the auteur as a specialty play that can platform wide if early reception is robust.

Streaming strategies and platform plays

Windowing plans in 2026 run on known playbooks. Universal’s slate flow to copyright after a cinema-first plus PVOD, a cadence that expands both opening-weekend urgency and subscriber lifts in the later window. Prime Video interleaves licensed films with global pickups and small theatrical windows when the data supports it. Max and Hulu work their advantages in archive usage, using seasonal hubs, holiday hubs, and programmed rows to increase tail value on the annual genre haul. Netflix stays opportunistic about Netflix films and festival additions, dating horror entries near their drops and framing as events premieres with short runway campaigns. Shudder, integrated with RLJE and Cineverse’s theatrical footprint, works a dual-phase of tailored theatrical exposure and swift platform pivots that turns word of mouth into paid trials. That will be key for Return to Silent Hill, which Cineverse is releasing in theaters January 23, 2026, before turning to community channels in the months that follow.

Apple TV+ keeps selective horror on a per-project basis. The platform has exhibited willingness to purchase select projects with name filmmakers or celebrity-led packages, then give them a modest theatrical in partnership with exhibitors to meet awards-qualifying thresholds or to spark social proof before the streaming drop. Hulu and Disney’s domestic pipeline still uses the 20th Century Studios slate, a core piece for month-over-month retention when the genre conversation peaks.

Indie corridors

Cineverse is crafting a 2026 track with two brand-forward moves. Return to Silent Hill lands in January with Christophe Gans returning to his adaptation of Konami’s classic title. The proposition is straightforward: the same gloomy, fog-choked atmosphere that made the original a favorite of fans, upgraded for modern audio-visual craft. Later in the year, Wolf Creek: Legacy is expected in a late-year slot, with Greg McLean back steering his outback slasher universe. The distributor has suggested a traditional theatrical plan for Legacy, an constructive signal for fans of the hard-edged series and for exhibitors seeking darker fare in the fall weeks.

Focus will lean into the auteur lane with Werwulf, shepherding the title through festivals in the fall if the cut is ready, then pressing the holiday dates to widen. That positioning has worked well for director-led genre with award possibilities. A24, NEON, IFC Films, RLJE, and Magnet have not finalized many 2026 slots in public calendars yet, but their festival pipelines typically coalesce after Sundance, Berlin, and Cannes. A sound expectation is a cluster of late-summer and fall platformers that can expand if reception warrants. Plan on an A24 acquisition out of Sundance midnight slots and a NEON title that premieres at Cannes before a September or October domestic bow. RLJE and Shudder often work in concert, using boutique theatrical to jump-start evangelism that fuels their subs.

Franchise entries versus originals

By tilt, 2026 bends toward the recognizable IP side. Scream 7, Insidious, Resident Evil, Evil Dead Burn, and Return to Silent Hill all exploit brand equity. The question, as ever, is audience fatigue. The go-to fix is to brand each entry as a new angle. Paramount is centering character-first legacy in Scream 7, Sony is hinting at a clean-slate build for Resident Evil, and New Line’s Evil Dead Burn is maximizing a continental coloration from a emerging director. Those choices have impact when the audience has so many options and social sentiment changes rapidly.

Originals and filmmaker-centric entries keep oxygen in the system. Jordan Peele’s October film will be framed as a brand unto itself. Sam Raimi’s Send Help, dated January 30, 2026 at 20th Century Studios, anchors on Rachel McAdams in a survival chiller premise with that teasing menace. SOULM8TE offers a focused, eerie tech hook. Werwulf anchors in period detail and an unsparing tone. Even when the title is not based on familiar IP, the team and cast is comforting enough to turn curiosity into pre-sales and Thursday previews.

Past-three-year patterns announce the plan. In 2023, a exclusive cinema model that maintained windows did not foreclose a hybrid test from delivering when the brand was powerful. In 2024, precision craft horror exceeded expectations in premium formats. In 2025, a resuscitation of a beloved infection saga broadcast that global horror franchises can still feel new when they reframe POV and raise the stakes. That last point is directly relevant to Sony’s 28 Years Later plan, which advances January 16, 2026 with 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple, this time directed by Nia DaCosta from a script by Alex Garland. The back-to-back plan, with chapters shot in tandem, builds a path for marketing to link the films through protagonists and motifs and to hold creative in the market without hiatuses.

How the look and feel evolve

The craft rooms behind 2026 horror signal a continued emphasis on tactile, location-specific craft. Lee Cronin has said his The Mummy will not resemble any recent iteration of the property, a stance that reinforces the practical-first approach he brought to Evil Dead Rise. The film completed filming and is lined up for its April 17, 2026 date. Watch for a drive that emphasizes grain and menace rather than thrill-ride spectacle, with the New Line and Blumhouse partnership making room for smart budget discipline.

Robert Eggers, meanwhile, has spoken of Werwulf as the bleakest project he has tackled, which tracks with a feudal backdrop and period-faithful dialogue, a combination that can make for textured sound and a chilly, elemental vibe on the big screen. Focus will likely warm the market to this aesthetic in deep-dive features and department features before rolling out a teaser that elevates tone over story, a move that has delivered for the filmmaker’s past releases.

On the franchise side, Evil Dead Burn is calibrated for gross-out texture, a signature of the series that works internationally in red-band trailers and spurs shareable screening reactions from early screenings. Scream 7 targets a self-referential reset that centers an original star. Resident Evil will stand or stumble on monster aesthetics and world-building, which play well in fan-con activations and controlled asset drops. Insidious tends to be a sound design showcase, with Dolby and Atmos spots that make the cinema argument feel definitive. Look for trailers that elevate pinpoint sound design, deep-bass stingers, and blank-sound beats that explode in larger rooms.

Annual flow

January is full. SOULM8TE opens January 9, 2026, then Sony returns a week later with 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple on January 16. Return to Silent Hill follows on January 23, a atmospheric change-up amid macro-brand pushes. The month winds down with Send Help on January 30 via 20th Century Studios, a survival-horror from Sam Raimi that puts a star forward in Rachel McAdams. The competition here is credible, but the variety of tones makes lanes for each, and the five-week structure hands each a runway for each if word of mouth persists.

Late winter and spring prime the summer. Scream 7 rolls out February 27 with legacy momentum. In April, The Mummy resurrects a classic monster on April 17, a spring frame that once played to genre counterprogramming and now supports big openers. The untitled Rob Savage film on May 8 connects into summer while maintaining horror’s hold on early May weekends that are not claimed by superheroes or family tentpoles.

Summer clarifies the lanes. Scary Movie 6 on June 12 is lighter and broader, then Evil Dead Burn on July 24 presents ferocious intensity. The counterprogramming logic is sound. The spoof can play next to family tentpoles and animated films, while the mid-summer gorefest rewards older teenagers and genre diehards once the big Friday sequels have rotated off PLF.

Late summer into fall leans IP. The Insidious entry on August 21 gives the studio a spiritual-horror anchor where the brand has previously thrived. Resident Evil arrives after September 18, a late-September window that still ties into Halloween marketing beats. The Peele event occupies October 23 and will command cultural oxygen heading into Halloween weekend, likely driven by a opaque tease strategy and limited information drops that put concept first.

Prestige-horror at year-end. Werwulf on December 25 is a flag plant that genre can live at Christmas when packaged as director prestige horror. Focus has done this before, rolling out carefully, then activating critics’ lists and awards-season craft coverage to stay top of mind into January. If the film lands critically, the studio can broaden in the first week of 2027 while riding holiday turnout and gift-card redemption.

Title briefs within the narrative

Scream 7 (Paramount, February 27, 2026)
Director: Kevin Williamson. Top cast: Neve Campbell, with casting in progress as production proceeds. Logline: Sidney returns to meet a new Ghostface while the narrative revisits the original film’s DNA. Rating: TBA. Production: Filming in Atlanta. Positioning: roots reset with a contemporary edge.

SOULM8TE (Universal, January 9, 2026)
Producers: Atomic Monster, Blumhouse. Logline: A mourning man’s machine mate mutates into something lethally affectionate. Rating: TBA. Production: Shoot completed for an early-year bow. Positioning: algorithmic dread with emotion.

28 Years Later: The Bone Temple (Sony, January 16, 2026)
Director: Nia DaCosta. Writer: Alex Garland. Top cast: Cillian Murphy, Jack O’Connell, and additional ensemble tied to a new antagonist faction. Logline: The second chapter in a trilogy expands the scope beyond the immediate outbreak as a cult surges in the ruins. Rating: TBA. Production: Shot back-to-back with the first film. Positioning: elevated outbreak saga chapter.

Return to Silent Hill (Cineverse, January 23, 2026)
Director: Christophe Gans. Top cast: TBA in updated campaign materials. Logline: A man returns to a fog-shrouded town in search of a lost love, only to meet a altering reality and the town’s horrors. Rating: TBA. Production: Finished with U.S. theatrical locked. Positioning: fog-and-fear adaptation.

Send Help (20th Century Studios, January 30, 2026)
Director: Sam Raimi. Top cast: Rachel McAdams, Dylan O’Brien, Dennis Haysbert, Chris Pang. Logline: After a plane crash, an employee and her tough boss struggle to survive on a isolated island as the chain of command upends and unease intensifies. Rating: TBA. Production: Finished. Positioning: star-front survival film from a master.

The Mummy (New Line, April 17, 2026)
Director: Lee Cronin. Producers: Blumhouse, Atomic Monster, Doppelgängers. Top cast: roles to be revealed in official materials. Logline: A fresh reimagining that returns the monster to menace, anchored by Cronin’s on-set craft and creeping dread. Rating: TBA. Production: Production wrapped. Positioning: iconic monster return with auteur mark.


Untitled Rob Savage Horror Film (Universal, May 8, 2026)
Director: Rob Savage. Top cast: Jessica Chastain. Logline: {A family-home haunting tale that routes the horror through a child’s unsteady subjective view. Rating: awaiting classification. Production: wrapped. Positioning: studio-grade and headline-actor led spirit-world suspense.

Scary Movie 6 (Paramount, June 12, 2026)
Director: Michael Tiddes. Top cast: Anna Faris, Regina Hall, with the Wayans brothers involved creatively again. Logline: {A genre lampoon that targets modern genre fads and true crime fascinations. Rating: pending. Production: lensing scheduled for fall 2025. Positioning: four-quadrant summer counterplay.

Evil Dead Burn (Warner Bros. domestic, July 24, 2026)
Director: Sébastien Vaniček. Top cast: Souheila Yacoub, with ensemble additions. Logline: A new infestation of Deadites surges, with an global twist in tone and setting. Rating: undetermined. Production: on location in New Zealand. Positioning: R-forward continuation crafted for PLF.

Untitled Insidious Film (Sony, August 21, 2026)
Director: TBA publicly. Top cast: TBA. Logline: The Further extends again, with a different family anchored to ancient dread. Rating: undetermined. Production: eying a summer shoot for late-summer slot. Positioning: bankable spirit-world IP in a proven lane.

Resident Evil (Sony, September 18, 2026)
Director: TBD publicly. Top cast: unrevealed. Logline: A re-seeded launch designed to rebuild the franchise from the ground up, with an focus on survival-first horror over action-centric bombast. Rating: undetermined. Production: in development with a locked date. Positioning: game-grounded refresh with wider appeal.

Jordan Peele Untitled Event Film (Universal, October 23, 2026)
Director: Jordan Peele. Top cast: pending. Logline: purposely secretive. Rating: pending. Production: active. Positioning: filmmaker event, teaser-driven.

Werwulf (Focus Features, December 25, 2026)
Director: Robert Eggers. Top cast: Aaron Taylor-Johnson, with other regulars expected. Logline: A medieval werewolf story built on era-accurate language and elemental fear. Rating: awaiting classification. Production: in preproduction for holiday debut. Positioning: specialty holiday horror poised for crafts recognition.

Wolf Creek: Legacy (Cineverse, TBA 2026)
Director: Greg McLean. Top cast: John Jarratt expected to return as Mick Taylor. Logline: The Australian outback slasher returns, with a cinema-first path before platforming. Status: slot unsettled, fall projected.

Why the calendar favors 2026

Three operational forces structure this lineup. First, production that hiccuped or recalendared in 2024 called for breathing room in the schedule. Horror can occupy those holes swiftly because scripts often demand fewer locations, fewer large-scale visual effects runs, and shorter timelines. Second, studios have become more structured about windows. Theatrical exclusivity remains the goal for most of these films, followed by PVOD and then platform streaming, a sequence that has consistently exceeded straight-to-streaming launches. Third, community talk converts. The marketing teams behind these titles will mine reaction-worthy moments from test screenings, select scare clips pegged to Thursday preview nights, and experiential pop-ups that feed creator content. It is a repeatable playbook because it delivers.

Factor four is the scheduling calculus. The family and cape slots are lighter early in 2026, creating valuable space for genre entries that can dominate a weekend or position as the older-lean choice. January is the prime example. Four varied shades of Source horror will share space across five weekends, which permits distinct conversations to flourish. Summer provides the other window. The spoof can draft behind animation and action in early summer, then the hard-R entry can leverage a late-July lull before back-to-school.

Business view: budgets, ratings, sleeper chase

Budgets remain in the comfort zone. Most of the films above will track under the $40–$50 million range, with many far below. That allows for aggressive PLF bookings without needing superhero-level volume to break even. The most likely R ratings include Evil Dead Burn, Werwulf, and possibly Resident Evil depending on the final cut. Scream 7, Insidious, and SOULM8TE can plausibly land PG-13 to maximize reach, though each franchise has toggled between ratings in the past. Specialty plays tend to lean R to preserve tone and intensity.

The search for sleepers continues in Q1, where lower and mid-budget genre can own weekends with minimal competition, and again in late summer, where horror often becomes the conversation when tentpoles tire. The 2026 slate is set up to capitalize on those pockets. January could easily deliver the first surprise over-performer of the year, and August into September gives Sony an avenue to hold screens with back-to-back supernatural IP while still leaving room for an indie breakout.

Internationally, brand recognition helps Resident Evil, Evil Dead, and Scream travel, while 28 Years Later benefits from a British setting and returning talent. Werwulf and The Mummy will lean on auteur and classic-monster awareness abroad. Streamers will amplify the tail, with copyright pickups boosting Universal’s slate and Shudder driving evangelism for Cineverse titles. Look for a strong PVOD phase overall, since horror fans have shown a willingness to pay for convenience after an opening weekend, especially when word of mouth is strong.

The moviegoer’s year in horror

From a moviegoer’s perspective, the 2026 horror year offers rhythm and variety. January is a spread, February delivers a legacy slasher, April reanimates a Universal monster, May and June provide a supernatural one-two for date nights and group outings, July gets visceral, August and September keep the supernatural momentum, October turns into a Jordan Peele event, and December invites a wintry, literate nightmare. That is how you sustain heat and footfall without cannibalizing your own titles. The pattern also supports social campaigns that can compound over time, using earlier releases to trailhead the audience for bigger plays in the fall.

Exhibitors favor the spacing. Horror delivers consistent Thursday swells, efficient screen counts, and strong PLF uptake when the creative supports it. The 2026 slate has at least three titles that can deserve premium formats, with The Mummy, Evil Dead Burn, and Werwulf all showcasing materiality, sound field, and visual design that benefit from larger formats. The calendar also leaves room for specialty platformers to open in New York and Los Angeles, build reviews, and slide into national conversation as the fall progresses.

2026 Is Well Positioned

Schedules slip. Ratings change. Casts shift. But the spine of 2026 horror is intact. There is brand heft where it matters, creative ambition where it counts, and a calendar that shows studios meet the timing for scares. The awards and festival pipeline into 2027 will come into focus once the fall festivals lock, and it would not be surprising to see at least one late-breaking specialty acquisition join the party. For now, the job is simple, cut sharp trailers, keep the curtain closed, and let the fear sell the seats.