Blumhouse’s Jason Blum Praises Future Business Partner James Wan

Blumhouse head Jason Blum is laying down praise for his future business partner James Wan, following the announcement that the pair of filmmakers are trying to merge their horror-focused studios Blumhouse (Blum) and Atomic Monster (Wan) under one roof. The deal would see Atomic Monster and Blumhouse continue as separate labels, while Wan takes on “a substantial ownership stake in Blumhouse,” according to the NYT. 

However, while receiving the “Power of Cinema Award” at the 2022 American Cinematheque Awards, Jason Blum sound less certain about the deal, while echoing his hopes that he and his would-be future business partner finally get to “officially” work together: 

“James – I’ve been trying to figure out a way to officially work with James ever since we first worked together and I’m very grateful to you James, and your secret weapon Ingrid,” Blum said in his award speech. “And you guys are here tonight – there you are. And thank you guys for being here and I’m very, very, excited for what might come when we all hopefully work together [laughs].” 

Atomic Monster Productions has produced hit horror franchises like Wan’s Conjuring Universe, including The Conjuring 2 and 3, the spinoff Annabelle Trilogy, and releated spinoffs like The Nun and The Curse of La Llorona. Atomic Monster also helped launch director David F. Sandberg’s career with Lights Out, a new era of Mortal Kombat movies, and Wan recently maintained his horror cred with the modest hit that was Malignant. Atomic Monster’s upcoming slate includes the already-buzzworthy film M3GAN, The Nun 2, and a piece of Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, the sequel to Wan’s billion-dollar DC film franchise-starter with Jason Momoa. They also have everything from reboots of Arachnophobia, Frankenstein, and Knight Rider in the works, to sequels like Mortal Kombat 2 and Lights Out 2. 

Blumhouse has become a name synonomous with horror movies in the 21st century – with a list of credits too long to run through. Some of the biggest highlights on the filmography include The Purge, Paranormal Activity, and Insidious franchises; Jordan Peele’s Oscar-winning Get Out and follow-up US; the recent Halloween reboot trilogy and sequels to The Craft and The Exorcist, and original franchise IPs like Unfriended, Happy Death Day, and horror remix of the “Freaky-Friday” premise, Freaky. Blumhouse’s formumla –  producing at low cost and taking in big box office margins, as well as offering PG-13 horror to teens – has made it a significant player in the Hollywood studios system.