Blumhouse Productions Enacting Layoffs, Pay Cuts

Even the lean-and-mean Blumhouse Productions, notable for their cheap production budgets and high box off returns, isn’t immune to the job loss and furloughs that are sweeping across Hollywood. Variety reports that “a small round of layoffs in numerous departments,” totaling eight positions at the company, have gone into effect and that senior leadership will take reduced salaries. This marks the second wave of cuts at the company as office staff and production assistants were “terminated” in March. All this comes as a result of the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic, which has halted feature film and television production and distribution worldwide.

Blumhouse’s production model of light budgets, high return quickly became their staple after the success of the Paranormal Activity sequels and James Wan’s Insidious in the early 2010s. Wan’s film was produced on a budget of $1.5 million and grossed $99.8 million worldwide, while Paranomal Acitivty 2 & 3 were produced for $3 million and $5 million respectively, bringing in $177.5 million worldwide and $207 million worldwide.

Jason Blum’s company quickly kicked this style of filmmaking into overdrive by starting even more horror franchises with The Purge, Sinister, and other horror offerings like Happy Death Day, Oculus, and The Gallows (produced on a budget of $100k and bringing in $44.6 million worldwide). The company also made waves with films like the 2018 reboot of Halloween which brought back Jamie Lee Curtis to the franchise, plus the Academy Award winning Get out from writer/director Jordan Peele. They’ve also had other Oscar success with non-horror movies like Whiplash and BlacKkKlansman.

This year alone Blumhouse had already released three movies with Fantasy Island (a horror-comedy remake of the classic TV series), The Invisible Man (a modern remake of the Universal monster movie), and The Hunt (the satirical thriller that drew headlines last year and was ultimately delayed indefinitely. While The Invisible Man currently stands as the fifth highest grossing movie of the year, theaters around the world are closed due to the pandemic, which resulted in the film (and The Hunt) arriving on digital platforms much earlier than they otherwise would have.

Blumhouse still has two high profile releases scheduled for a theatrical debut this year as the fifth and final movie in The Purge series, reportedly titled The Forever Purge, is scheduled to arrive on July 10; plus Halloween Kills, the sequel to 2018’s Halloween, is bookmarked for an October 16 release. It’s possible one or both of those movies could be delayed but that remains to be seen as of this writing.