What do The Conjuring and The Purge have in common? They're both horror franchises, sure -- but according to The Hollywood Reporter, they may just be under the same creative umbrella soon.
Yes, Blumhouse and Atomic Monster -- founded by Jason Blum and James Wan, respectively -- may merge into a single entity with some specific stipulations. The two will remain as separate creative entities, with Wan's Atomic Monster being given the same first-look deal as Blumhouse from Universal Pictures, in addition to a handful of other benefits. News of the merger comes shortly after positive reception for the upcoming film M3GAN, a project initially pitched by Wan to Blumhouse after a rejection by Warner Bros. Should M3GAN become a smash hit at the box office, horror fans have much to look forward to as the two production companies continue to collaborate.
What exactly can horror fans expect? Let's talk about it.
More Quality Horror Films Being Made
Per Variety, Jason Blum himself spoke about the upcoming merger with fervent positivity, discussing the potential benefits that it would bring to both companies. One of those benefits would be an increased output of quality films. When referring to his previous work with Wan, Blum had this to say:
"The destination that I’m really hoping for is that we’re making a few more theatrical movies a year. Instead of two or three, we’re making five or six. But more importantly than more, is that they’re better and great. I think he and I, in the past, have worked incredibly well together at not just making movies, but making great, scary, classic movies. So that’s my hope in the future."
Blum and Wan have collaborated in the past for the Insidious franchise, an immensely successful supernatural horror franchise that's spawned five entries over twelve years. Seeing as how Atomic Monster and Blumhouse created unique hits like the delightfully bizarre Malignant and the wildly creative The Black Phone independent of each other, it'd be a real treat to see what the two companies can offer with their combined resources.
M3GAN could be considered a test run for what their future partnership could offer. It's a film that features the creepiest animatronic doll next to Chucky, one that slowly turns its affection for its human caretakers into a violent, selfish obsession. Despite being rated PG-13, a novelty for a Blumhouse production, the film itself may just make up for the lack of overt violence with solid filmmaking.
Financial Backing From Blumhouse
Let's not mince words here. Blumhouse is a financial juggernaut. Low production budgets equal massive returns on films that perform exceptionally well, starting with Blumhouse's first major success, Paranormal Activity. Adding onto this, the company's prolific output practically guarantees a constant stream of cash, with twelve feature films being released in 2022 so far. Jason Blum clearly has some financial smarts. But this isn't to say that Atomic Monster is somehow worse than Blumhouse. Quite the opposite, actually.
Both Wan and Blum have been upfront about how their strengths complement each other, with the latter even going so far as to say that they're "yin and yang." To be blunt, in a prospective partnership, Wan would ideally handle the artistic side of projects, while Blum would handle the financial side. It's a match made in heaven for multiple reasons.
Wan is brimming with ideas. Blum has the resources to bring them to life. With both companies operating under a first-look deal with Universal, it's possible that several projects that wouldn't have otherwise existed would be given an opportunity to come alive. Maybe the recently-canceled Crooked Man film could get off the ground floor once more. Perhaps we could see a potential crossover between The Conjuring and Insidious franchises. Maybe we'd even see Wan's attempt at a Blade reboot come to life. Additional financial support opens the doors for a lot of future content, and while horror fans are used to fearing the unknown, it's thoroughly exciting to think of the possibilities.
Expanding Beyond Horror Films
Coinciding with Universal's interest in the metaverse, the partnership between Atomic Monster and Blumhouse opens the door for expansion into other forms of media. Blumhouse already has its fingers in a variety of pies: beyond horror films, the production company has contributed to the worlds of television, haunted houses, podcasts, and even books. Should Atomic Monster receive support from Blumhouse in these areas, we'd be able to witness an explosion of creative properties spread across various formats.
Going beyond the ideas of a Conjuring series or a Nun comic, we can see Atomic Monster creatively flourish. Each type of entertainment medium is significantly different, bringing its own rules, conventions, and unique ways to scare an audience. Genre fans should be delighted at the prospect of having a horror game with Wan's direct involvement or a miniseries with more time to explore terrifying concepts.
Horror fans have much to look forward to should the Atomic Monster and Blumhouse merger go through. Even without considering the potential films that could be made, the partnership between Blum and Wan has been proven to work in the past. Tying the two's resources together should, hopefully, amount to some fantastic horror titles being released in the coming years.