Jason Blum Has Grim Update on Happy Death Day/Freaky Crossover

Two of the most refreshing movies to come out of the horror landscape in recent years were the works of Christopher Landon with Blumhouse’s Happy Death Day and Freaky. Both horror-riffs on classic movie tropes, the former a slasher version of Groundhog Day and the later a slasher version of Freaky Friday, fans have been eager for more of both. One thing that has been talked about however has been the hope that the two franchises could crossover. Since Landon infused both with similar tongue-in-cheek tones it seemed like a great idea, with the cast even talking up the idea, but now it seems like it could be dead in the water.

Speaking in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Jason Blum was asked directly if the potential for “Freaky Death Day” was looking likely after he was photographed with Happy Death Day star Jessica Rothe and Freaky star Kathryn Newton at the Halloween Ends premiere, unfortunately his answer isn’t what you want. “Freaky Death Day. I hate to say it, but your dreams of Freaky Death Day are a little further removed than they were even a few months ago,” Blum said. “So I wouldn’t have very high hopes, but I would also say that anything is possible.” Back in June Blumhouse said he had “discussed” a Happy Death Day 3 with Landon.

Despite the fan chatter, and even Blum’s apparent interest, the changing box office landscape for movies could be a big reason this idea may have stalled out. Though the original Happy Death Day was a hit, bringing in over $125 million globally and over $55 million in the US, the sequel dropped some 50% in both categories. Though it’s smaller scale budget meant it was still a hit, and talk of a third one has continued, there’s been no updates on that front in some time. Freaky on the other hand got trapped in the 2020 release schedule and was pushed both in theaters and on streaming in November of 2020, dooming it to become a bomb at the box office.

A key reason that Freaky and Happy Death Day seemed poised for a crossover is that writer/director Christopher Landon has already said he thinks of them as existing in the same universe, spritiraully at least. “I think that they exist in the same spiritual universe, so to speak,” Landon told Collider back in 2020. “I think I could easily see Tree and Millie getting together and being like, ‘Well, you won’t believe what happened to me!’ Because I think that tonally they’re connected, I think thematically they’re connected in a weird way. And yeah, I think it’s an easy, easy buy for sure.”  

Where do you land on the idea of Happy Death Day and Freaky crossing over? Was it an idea that was too good to be true or is it the zany movie event that the world needs right now?