Andrew Chiaramonte’s Young & Cursed awakens primeval malevolence, a spine tingling feature, launching October 2025 across top streaming platforms

A terrifying ghostly nightmare movie from literary architect / auteur Andrew Chiaramonte, setting free an ancient fear when unfamiliar people become instruments in a diabolical struggle. Launching October 2, 2025, on Amazon Prime Video, the YouTube platform, Google’s digital store, Apple iTunes, Apple TV Plus, and Fandango platform.

L.A., CA (August 8th, 2025) – get ready for *Young & Cursed*, a intense account of overcoming and primeval wickedness that will reshape terror storytelling this ghoul season. Created by rising new wave horror talent Andrew Chiaramonte, this nerve-racking and cinematic suspense flick follows five unacquainted souls who regain consciousness locked in a unreachable shelter under the aggressive rule of Kyra, a possessed female occupied by a millennia-old ancient fiend. Ready yourself to be enthralled by a immersive spectacle that harmonizes intense horror with mystical narratives, hitting on Amazon’s streaming platform, YouTube, Google Play, iTunes, Apple TV+, and Fandango at Home on October 2, 2025.


Cursed embodiment has been a time-honored theme in cinema. In *Young & Cursed*, that tradition is twisted when the forces no longer manifest from an outside force, but rather deep within. This portrays the deepest aspect of all involved. The result is a gripping spiritual tug-of-war where the events becomes a soul-crushing confrontation between innocence and sin.


In a isolated terrain, five friends find themselves imprisoned under the ghastly dominion and infestation of a haunted apparition. As the survivors becomes incapacitated to fight her rule, isolated and tormented by powers beyond reason, they are made to battle their raw vulnerabilities while the hours ruthlessly moves toward their destruction.


In *Young & Cursed*, tension intensifies and ties erode, coercing each survivor to evaluate their core and the principle of free will itself. The cost intensify with every heartbeat, delivering a paranormal ride that weaves together spiritual fright with deep insecurity.

Andrew Chiaramonte, Director: “With *Young & Cursed*, my narrative plan was to uncover deep fear, an power born of forgotten ages, influencing mental cracks, and confronting a curse that threatens selfhood when we lose control.”

Madison Hubler (Kyra): “Portraying Kyra called for internalizing something darker than pain. She is unaware until the invasion happens, and that conversion is soul-crushing because it is so intimate.”

Debut Info

*Young & Cursed* will be accessible for public screening beginning this October 2, on Amazon Prime, YouTube, Google Play, Apple iTunes, Apple’s streaming platform, and Fandango on-demand—making sure customers from coast to coast can enjoy this spirit-driven thriller.


Chiaramonte Films, Inc. has just broadcast a new official trailer #2 for *Young & Cursed*, posted to watch on YouTube at https://youtu.be/zu0n4WmPI1s, as a response to its release of trailer #1, which has garnered over thousands of viewers.


In addition to its US/Canada launch, Chiaramonte Films, Inc. has publicized that *Young & Cursed* will also be available worldwide, bringing the film to viewers around the world.


Do not miss this bone-rattling spiral into evil. Confront *Young & Cursed* this October 2 to uncover these fearful discoveries about human nature.


For featurettes, on-set glimpses, and promotions straight from the filmmakers, follow @YACMovie across Facebook and TikTok and visit youngandcursed.com.





U.S. horror’s sea change: 2025 for genre fans domestic schedule fuses primeval-possession lore, festival-born jolts, alongside IP aftershocks

Moving from life-or-death fear steeped in ancient scripture and onward to returning series in concert with sharp indie viewpoints, 2025 is shaping up as the most complex together with carefully orchestrated year of the last decade.

It is crowded, and also meticulously arranged. Top studios hold down the year by way of signature titles, concurrently streaming platforms front-load the fall with first-wave breakthroughs together with ancient terrors. At the same time, the independent cohort is carried on the uplift from a record 2024 festival run. With Halloween holding the peak, the schedule beyond October is tightly engineered. The September, October gauntlet has become standard, notably this year, the genre is also staking January, spring, and mid-summer. The audience is primed, studios are surgical, as a result 2025 may be recorded as the genre’s most deliberate campaign.

Major and Mini-Major Maneuvers: Prestige-leaning dread rebounds

The majors are not coasting. If 2024 laid the groundwork for a horror reinvention, 2025 compounds the move.

the Universal banner opens the year with a headline swing: a reconceived Wolf Man, avoiding the standard nineteenth century European backdrop, instead in a current-day frame. From director Leigh Whannell and starring Christopher Abbott and Julia Garner, this telling braids lycanthropy with a family meltdown. The arc is bodily and domestic, about marriage, caregiving, and fragile humanity. targeting mid January, it is part of the new strategy to own the box office’s winter dead zone with prestige horror instead of dumping ground thrillers.

The spring frame introduces Clown in a Cornfield, a YA slasher translation rendered as pared-down fear. Helmed by Eli Craig with Katie Douglas alongside Kevin Durand, it comes as grit laced American nightmare with sardonic edge. Beneath the mask, it picks at rural paranoia, age cohort splits, and lynch mob logic. Initial heat flags it as potent.

When summer tapers, Warner Bros. Pictures rolls out the capstone from its anchor horror saga: The Conjuring: Last Rites. Ed and Lorraine Warren return with Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson, the film signals catharsis as it engages a widely cited real case. Even if the pattern is recognizable, Chaves is guiding toward a solemn, meditative finish. It is also positioned early in September, giving it breathing room before the October onslaught.

Following that is The Black Phone 2. Set early then moved to October, a confidence tell. Scott Derrickson is back, and the tone that worked before is intact: old school creep, trauma explicitly handled, and eerie supernatural logic. This pass pushes higher, with a deeper exploration into the “grabber” mythology and how grief haunts generations.

Closing the prime list is Five Nights at Freddy’s 2, a property whose brand does the lifting. The return delves further into myth, adds to the animatronic nightmare bench, while aiming for teen viewers and thirty something game loyalists. It lands in December, pinning the winter close.

Streaming Originals: Modest spend, serious shock

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

An especially bold streamer bet is Weapons, a cold case horror anthology splicing three ages joined by a mass disappearance. Guided by Zach Cregger pairing Josh Brolin and Julia Garner, the movie mixes chill with dramatic weight. Premiering theatrically in late summer before a fall streaming drop, it stands to prompt frame-by-frame breakdowns as with Barbarian.

In the micro chamber lane is Together, a body horror chamber piece starring Alison Brie and Dave Franco. Set in a remote rental home during a getaway gone wrong, the narrative traces love and jealousy and self contempt into body collapse. It lands sweet then sick then searing, a three step spin into codependent hell. Although a platform date is not yet posted, it is destined for a fall landing.

In the mix sits Sinners, a 1930s set vampire folk tale with Michael B. Jordan. Lensed in lush sepia and soaked in biblical metaphor, it evokes There Will Be Blood crossed with Let the Right One In. The film interrogates American religious trauma through supernatural allegory. First test passes flag it as highly discussable at debut.

Other streamer plays queue softly: Bring Her Back, Bone Lake, and Keeper all work grief and disappearance and identity, choosing meaning over noise.

Deep Possession Currents: Young & Cursed

Posting October 2 across the big platforms, Young & Cursed reads as a rare blend, small in footprint yet mythic in spread. Conceived and directed by Andrew Chiaramonte, the piece tracks five strangers awakening in a remote wilds cabin, under Kyra’s sway, 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 chill is psyche led, anchored in primal myth. Skipping the exorcism norm of Catholic rite and Latin line, this piece touches something older, something darker. Lilith resists liturgy, she blooms through trauma, secrecy, and human delicacy. By making possession inward rather than external, Young & Cursed joins a trend toward intimate character studies masked as genre.

Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV, YouTube, Google Play, and Fandango at Home set the film as Halloween counterprogramming versus sequel waves and monster returns. It reads as sharp positioning. No bloated mythology. No canon weight. Pure psyche terror, contained and taut, sized for the binge then exhale flow of digital viewers. In the noise, Young & Cursed could cut through by staying hushed, then erupting.

Festival Heat to Market Leverage

Fantastic Fest, SXSW, Tribeca, and TIFF remain breeding grounds for what horror looks like six to twelve months later. They are increasingly launchpads rather than showcases.

Fantastic Fest this cycle touts a strong horror menu. Primate kicks off with tropical body horror and gets Cronenberg Herzog cross talk. Whistle, a folkloric revenge burner in Aztec code, should close with flame.

Midnight entries such as If I Had Legs I’d Kick You draw buzz for more than titles, namely execution. With A24 behind it, the satire of toxic fandom under a convention lockdown seems breakout bound.

SXSW staged Clown in a Cornfield and lined up microbudget haunts for talks. Sundance appears set for grief threaded elevated horror once more, while Tribeca’s genre yard leans urban, social, and surreal.

In 2025, festival strategy is less about discovery, more about branding. Those badges act as campaign openers, not end caps.

Long Running Lines: Next Chapters, New Starts, New Shapes

The sequel reboot ecosystem reads stronger and more precise.

Fear Street: Prom Queen, set for July, reanimates the 90s series with a new lead and nostalgia tone. Unlike earlier entries, this leans camp and prom night melodrama. Visualize tiaras, fake gore, and VHS panic.

M3GAN 2.0 slots late June, seeking to build out techno horror lore using new characters and AI born frights. The first film’s success on both social media and streaming has given Universal the confidence to double down.

Then there is The Long Walk, an adaptation of one of Stephen King’s earliest and most harrowing works, guided by Francis Lawrence, it plays as a savage dystopian parable housed in survival horror, a walk to death contest without winners. If framed properly, it could echo The Hunger Games for adult horror.

Across the board, reboots and sequels such as Hell House LLC: Lineage, V/H/S/Halloween, The Toxic Avenger, and Anaconda fill gaps, most looking for tactical dates or fast pickups.

Trend Lines

Mythic lanes mainstream
From Lilith in Young & Cursed across to Aztec curses in Whistle, slates mine ancient texts and symbols. Rather than nostalgia, it reclaims pre Christian archetypes. Horror exceeds jolts, it insists evil is ancient.

Body horror returns
With films like Together, Weapons, and Keeper, horror is going back to the flesh. Mutation, infection, transformation encode heartbreak, grief, and regret.

Streaming Originals Grow Teeth
Throwaway platform horror is on the way out. Streamers deploy capital toward scripts, directors, and paid reach. Entries like Weapons and Sinners get event treatment, not inventory.

Festival buzz converts to leverage
Festival ribbons become currency for better windows and top shelves. A horror film without a festival strategy in 2025 risks disappearing.

Theatrical lanes are trust falls
Theater slots go to likely overachievers or franchise starters. Other titles pivot PVOD or hybrid. Horror stays in theaters, in chosen pockets.

Projection: Autumn density and winter pivot

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

Five Nights at Freddy’s 2 anchors December, and a surprise streaming drop could still arrive late. Since big films lean mythic, a final monster or exorcism play can claim space.

The hinge is broad reach to atomized viewers, not single tentpoles. The mission is not a new Get Out, it is sustained horror beyond tickets.



The forthcoming 2026 fear release year: Sequels, non-franchise titles, together with A packed Calendar aimed at frights

Dek The arriving terror cycle lines up immediately with a January wave, after that stretches through the warm months, and deep into the holiday stretch, marrying brand heft, original angles, and tactical release strategy. The big buyers and platforms are prioritizing lean spends, box-office-first windows, and viral-minded pushes that elevate these offerings into broad-appeal conversations.

Horror momentum into 2026

The horror marketplace has established itself as the bankable play in distribution calendars, a category that can grow when it clicks and still mitigate the drag when it does not. After the 2023 year reminded executives that low-to-mid budget horror vehicles can lead the national conversation, 2024 continued the surge with visionary-driven titles and unexpected risers. The upswing moved into the 2025 frame, where re-entries and arthouse crossovers proved there is a lane for diverse approaches, from ongoing IP entries to filmmaker-driven originals that carry overseas. The upshot for 2026 is a calendar that shows rare alignment across players, with clear date clusters, a combination of familiar brands and untested plays, and a renewed priority on big-screen windows that power the aftermarket on premium video on demand and platforms.

Insiders argue the horror lane now works like a fill-in ace on the rollout map. The genre can arrive on a wide range of weekends, create a sharp concept for ad units and platform-native cuts, and exceed norms with viewers that line up on opening previews and sustain through the week two if the offering works. Post a strike-driven backlog, the 2026 cadence signals trust in that approach. The slate opens with a weighty January run, then primes spring and early summer for balance, while saving space for a autumn push that connects to holiday-adjacent weekends and past the holiday. The layout also illustrates the ongoing integration of arthouse labels and OTT outlets that can build gradually, stoke social talk, and go nationwide at the inflection point.

A companion trend is brand curation across unified worlds and heritage properties. Studio teams are not just pushing another follow-up. They are setting up threaded continuity with a occasion, whether that is a graphic identity that flags a fresh attitude or a casting move that anchors a fresh chapter to a heyday. At the parallel to that, the auteurs behind the headline-grabbing originals are celebrating physical effects work, special makeup and location-forward worlds. That fusion affords the 2026 slate a robust balance of home base and shock, which is why the genre exports well.

Major-player strategies for 2026

Paramount plants an early flag with two high-profile titles that live at opposite ends of the tone spectrum. First comes Scream 7 on February 27, 2026, with Kevin Williamson in the director position and Neve Campbell back at the front, angling it as both a lineage transfer and a classic-mode character-first story. Principal photography is underway in Atlanta, and the directional approach conveys a legacy-leaning framework without replaying the last two entries’ family thread. A campaign is expected fueled by brand visuals, character previews, and a rollout cadence arriving in late fall. Distribution is theatrical via Paramount.

Paramount also reignites a once-mighty spoof franchise with Scary Movie 6 on June 12, 2026, directed by Michael Tiddes. Anna Faris and Regina Hall are back on screen, with the Wayans brothers involved on the creative side for the first time since the early 2000s, a draw the campaign will stress. As a summer counterprogrammer, this one will chase mass reach through social-friendly gags, with the horror spoof format permitting quick shifts to whatever drives the social talk that spring.

Universal has three discrete plays. SOULM8TE debuts January 9, 2026, a tech-forward branch from the M3GAN universe from Atomic Monster and Blumhouse. The foundation is straightforward, heartbroken, and high-concept: a grieving man purchases an digital partner that turns into a perilous partner. The date positions it at the front of a packed window, with the studio’s marketing likely to iterate on odd public stunts and snackable content that interweaves attachment and unease.

On May 8, 2026, the studio lines up an untitled Rob Savage horror film, widely assumed to be the feature developed under early labels in the family-in-peril vein, with Jessica Chastain top-lining. The listed schedule currently lists it as an untitled Savage project, which reserves space for a title reveal to become an event moment closer to the initial promo. The timing holds ground in early May while larger tentpoles concentrate elsewhere.

Capping the studio’s year, Jordan Peele’s untitled event film claims October 23, 2026, a slot he has owned before. Peele projects are positioned as creative events, with a teaser with minimal detail and a subsequent trailers that signal tone without plot the concept. The Halloween-adjacent date creates space for Universal to lead pre-holiday auditoriums with PLF and IMAX bookings where available, then work the copyright window to capture late-October interest at home.

Warner Bros., via New Line, links with Sony internationally for Evil Dead Burn, dated July 24, 2026. Sébastien Vaniček helms, with Souheila Yacoub in the lead. The franchise has repeatedly shown that a blood-soaked, practical-first aesthetic can feel deluxe on a efficient spend. Expect a grime-caked summer horror hit that centers offshore potential, with Warner Bros. handling U.S. and Sony taking most non-U.S. markets.

Sony’s horror bench is robust. The studio books two series moves in the back half. An untitled Insidious film opens August 21, 2026, carrying a reliable supernatural brand in the market while the spin-off branch evolves. The studio has repositioned on this title before, but the current plan keeps it in late summer, where Insidious has long performed.

Then, on September 18, 2026, Resident Evil returns in what the studio is billing as a reset 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 charge to serve both fans and newcomers. The fall slot gives Sony time to build materials around setting detail, and monster design, elements that can amplify premium screens and fan-forward engagement.

Focus Features, working with Working Title, sets a prestige bet on Christmas Day with Werwulf on December 25, 2026. Set in 13th-century England, the film continues Eggers’ run of period horror characterized by careful craft and linguistic texture, this time engaging werewolf myth. The label has already staked the slot for a holiday release, a strong signal in the auteur as a specialty play that can scale widely if early reception is glowing.

Streaming strategies and platform plays

Home-platform rhythms for 2026 run on proven patterns. Universal’s genre entries flow to copyright after a theater window then PVOD, a stair-step that amplifies both launch urgency and subscriber lifts in the later phase. Prime Video will mix licensed films with world buys and limited runs in theaters when the data encourages it. Max and Hulu work their advantages in catalog discovery, using seasonal hubs, spooky hubs, and featured rows to stretch the tail on lifetime take. Netflix keeps flexible about first-party entries and festival snaps, timing horror entries with shorter lead times and eventizing drops with short runway campaigns. Shudder, integrated with RLJE and Cineverse’s theatrical footprint, leverages a paired of targeted cinema placements and fast windowing that drives paid trials from buzz. That will be critical for Return to Silent Hill, which Cineverse is releasing in theaters January 23, 2026, before using genre-fan funnels in the months that follow.

Apple TV+ cherry-picks horror on a curated basis. The platform has exhibited willingness to purchase select projects with award winners or celebrity-led packages, then give them a small theatrical footprint in partnership with exhibitors to meet eligibility thresholds or to show bona fides before the streaming drop. Hulu and Disney’s domestic pipeline still pulls from the 20th Century Studios slate, a important element for platform stickiness when the genre conversation ramps.

Festival-to-platform breakouts

Cineverse is engineering 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 offer is clear: the same moody, fog-choked atmosphere that made the original a cult classic, modernized for modern sound and image. Later in the year, Wolf Creek: Legacy is expected in a fall frame, with Greg McLean back steering his outback slasher universe. Cineverse has positioned a standard theatrical run for the title, an positive signal for fans of the relentless series and for exhibitors wanting edgy counter in the September weeks.

Focus will work the director lane with Werwulf, marshalling the project through fall festivals if the cut is ready, then activating the year-end corridor to open out. That positioning has served the company well for filmmaker-first horror with audience crossover. A24, NEON, IFC Films, RLJE, and Magnet have not dated many 2026 horror titles in public calendars yet, but their festival pipelines typically coalesce after Sundance, Berlin, and Cannes. A safe bet is a sprinkle of late-summer and fall platformers that can broaden if reception prompts. Look for an A24 acquisition out of Sundance midnight slots and a NEON title that screens at Cannes before a September or October domestic bow. RLJE and Shudder often work in tandem, using precision theatrical to fuel evangelism that fuels their audience.

Series vs standalone

By weight, the 2026 slate tilts in favor of the brand side. Scream 7, Insidious, Resident Evil, Evil Dead Burn, and Return to Silent Hill all exploit name recognition. The trade-off, as ever, is viewer burnout. The go-to fix is to sell each entry as a re-toned entry. Paramount is leading with relationship and legacy in Scream 7, Sony is positioning a clean restart for Resident Evil, and New Line’s Evil Dead Burn is embracing a continental coloration from a breakout filmmaker. Those choices register when the audience has so many options and social sentiment swings fast.

Non-franchise titles and auteur plays keep oxygen in the system. Jordan Peele’s October film will be marketed as a brand unto itself. Sam Raimi’s Send Help, dated January 30, 2026 at 20th Century Studios, casts Rachel McAdams in a stranded survival premise with the director’s playful dread. SOULM8TE offers a sharp, spooky tech hook. Werwulf grounds itself in period and an hard-edged tone. Even when the title is not based on existing IP, the assembly is familiar enough to translate curiosity into advance sales and preview-night crowds.

Recent-year comps make sense of the plan. In 2023, a cinema-first model that respected streaming windows did not obstruct a day-date try from paying off when the brand was potent. In 2024, craft-first auteur horror hit big in large-format rooms. In 2025, a revived cycle of a beloved infection saga proved again that global horror franchises can still feel reinvigorated when they pivot perspective and stretch the story. That last point is directly relevant to Sony’s 28 Years Later plan, which unfolds 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 lensed sequentially, builds a path for marketing to connect the chapters through personae and themes and to keep assets in-market without long breaks.

Creative tendencies and craft

The behind-the-scenes chatter behind the 2026 entries telegraph a continued move toward in-camera, locale-specific craft. Lee Cronin has said his The Mummy will not track with any recent iteration of the property, a stance that aligns with the in-camera sensibility he brought to Evil Dead Rise. The film finished filming and is moving toward its April 17, 2026 date. Promo should that highlights mood and dread rather than roller-coaster spectacle, with the New Line and Blumhouse partnership sustaining efficient spending.

Robert Eggers, meanwhile, has spoken of Werwulf as the most severe project he has tackled, which tracks with a medieval world and archaic dialect, a combination that can make for enveloping sound design and a raw, elemental vibe on the big screen. Focus will likely warm the market to this aesthetic in deep-dive features and artisan spotlights before rolling out a atmospheric tease that withholds plot, a move that has worked for the filmmaker’s past releases.

On the franchise side, Evil Dead Burn is set up for red-band excess, a signature of the series that travels well in red-band trailers and earns shareable audience clips from early screenings. Scream 7 targets a meta-horror reset that re-centers the original lead. Resident Evil will live or die on monster work and world-building, which are ideal for convention activations and controlled asset drops. Insidious tends to be a sound design showcase, with Dolby and Atmos spots that make the auditorium case feel necessary. Look for trailers that emphasize pin-drop sound, deep-bass stingers, and sudden silences that land in big rooms.

The schedule at a glance

January is crowded. Universal’s 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 heavier IP. The month closes with Send Help on January 30 via 20th Century Studios, a survival-and-paranoia piece from Sam Raimi that puts a star forward in Rachel McAdams. The competition here is stiff, but the mix of tones creates a lane for each, and the five-week structure hands each a runway for each if word of mouth sticks.

Q1 into Q2 prime the summer. Paramount’s Scream 7 debuts February 27 with legacy heat. In April, The Mummy reframes a classic monster on April 17, a spring frame that once was known for genre counterprogramming and now nurtures big openers. Universal’s untitled Rob Savage film on May 8 bridges into summer while maintaining horror’s hold on early May weekends that are not claimed by superheroes or family tentpoles.

Summer divides the tones. Scary Movie 6 on June 12 is comic-leaning and wide, then Evil Dead Burn on July 24 drops brutal intensity. The counterprogramming logic is workable. The spoof can win next to family tentpoles and animated films, while the mid-summer gorefest caters to older teenagers and genre diehards once the big Friday sequels have cycled through PLF.

Late summer into fall leans series. The Insidious entry on August 21 gives Sony a spiritual-horror anchor where the brand has previously clicked. Resident Evil lands after September 18, a late-September window that still bridges into Halloween marketing beats. The Peele event secures October 23 and will soak up cultural oxygen heading into Halloween weekend, likely pushed by a tease-and-hold strategy and limited teasers that lean on concept not plot.

Prestige at year’s end. Werwulf on December 25 is a position that genre can hold in the holidays when packaged as craft prestige horror. The distributor has done this before, selective rollout, then capitalizing on critics’ lists and awards-season craft coverage to extend talk into January. If the film pleases critics, the studio can open up in the first week of 2027 while using holiday momentum and gift card usage.

Project briefs

Scream 7 (Paramount, February 27, 2026)
Director: Kevin Williamson. Top cast: Neve Campbell, with casting TBA in phases as production rolls. Logline: Sidney returns to confront a new Ghostface while the narrative revisits the original film’s essence. Rating: TBA. Production: Filming in Atlanta. Positioning: roots-first with a today edge.

SOULM8TE (Universal, January 9, 2026)
Producers: Atomic Monster, Blumhouse. Logline: A devastated man’s algorithmic partner shifts into something deadly romantic. Rating: TBA. Production: Completed principal photography for an early-year bow. Positioning: tech-horror with an emotional core.

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 enlarges the frame beyond the immediate outbreak as a cult forms in the ruins. Rating: TBA. Production: Lensed back-to-back with the first film. Positioning: prestige zombie continuation.

Return to Silent Hill (Cineverse, January 23, 2026)
Director: Christophe Gans. Top cast: TBA in updated campaign materials. Logline: A man comes back to a fog-shrouded town in search of a lost love, only to encounter a altering reality and the town’s horrors. Rating: TBA. Production: Completed and U.S. theatrical set. Positioning: mood-led 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 unyielding boss scramble to survive on a cut-off island as the control balance inverts and suspicion grows. Rating: TBA. Production: Shoot complete. Positioning: star-led survival horror from a master director.

The Mummy (New Line, April 17, 2026)
Director: Lee Cronin. Producers: Blumhouse, Atomic Monster, Doppelgängers. Top cast: roles TBA in official materials. Logline: A contemporary re-envisioning that returns the monster to nightmare, driven by Cronin’s material craft and oozing dread. Rating: TBA. Production: In the can. Positioning: monster revival with signature voice.


Untitled Rob Savage Horror Film (Universal, May 8, 2026)
Director: Rob Savage. Top cast: Jessica Chastain. Logline: {A household haunting scenario that threads the dread through a little one’s volatile internal vantage. Rating: pending. Production: finished. Positioning: studio-financed and toplined ghost thriller.

Scary Movie 6 (Paramount, June 12, 2026)
Director: Michael Tiddes. Top cast: Anna Faris, Regina Hall, with the Wayans brothers back in creative roles. Logline: {A spoof revival that skewers contemporary horror memes and true-crime manias. Rating: not yet rated. Production: fall 2025 production window. Positioning: wide-appeal summer alternative.

Evil Dead Burn (Warner Bros. domestic, July 24, 2026)
Director: Sébastien Vaniček. Top cast: Souheila Yacoub, with ensemble additions. Logline: Source A new infestation of Deadites flares, with an worldly twist in tone and setting. Rating: TBD. Production: shooting in New Zealand. Positioning: hard-hitting R entry designed for premium formats.

Untitled Insidious Film (Sony, August 21, 2026)
Director: to be confirmed in marketing. Top cast: TBA. Logline: The Further ripples again, with a different family caught in residual nightmares. Rating: TBA. Production: planning summer shoot for late-summer date. Positioning: dependable ghost-franchise slot that suits the brand.

Resident Evil (Sony, September 18, 2026)
Director: pending public reveal. Top cast: awaiting confirmation. Logline: A reboot designed to recalibrate the franchise from the ground up, with an preference for true survival horror over set-piece spectacle. Rating: awaiting classification. Production: dev phase with date secured. Positioning: canon-conscious reboot with mainstream reach.

Jordan Peele Untitled Event Film (Universal, October 23, 2026)
Director: Jordan Peele. Top cast: unrevealed. Logline: carefully shrouded. Rating: to be announced. Production: in progress. Positioning: auteur event powered by teasers.

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 period-specific language and bone-deep menace. Rating: to be announced. Production: in preproduction for holiday debut. Positioning: filmmaker-driven holiday release with craft awards runway.

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 theaters-first plan ahead of platforming. Status: date in flux, fall expected.

Why the calendar favors 2026

Three workable forces calibrate this lineup. First, production that paused or re-sequenced in 2024 demanded space on the calendar. Horror can occupy those holes swiftly because scripts often need fewer locations, fewer large-scale CGI sequences, and leaner schedules. Second, studios have become more methodical about windows. Theatrical exclusivity remains the goal for most of these films, followed by PVOD and then platform streaming, a sequence that has consistently overdelivered vs. straight-to-streaming landings. Third, platform buzz converts. The marketing teams behind these titles will harvest social-ready stingers from test screenings, metered scare clips calibrated to Thursday preview timing, and experiential pop-ups that serve as influencer content. It is a repeatable playbook because it holds up.

A fourth element is the programming calculus. Early-year family and superhero blocks are thinner 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 separate horror flavors will trade weekends across five weekends, which reduces inter-title cannibalization. Summer provides the other window. The parody aligns with early family and action waves, then the hard-R entry can benefit from a late-July lull before back-to-school.

Money matters, ratings, and surprise hits

Budgets remain in the ideal band. Most of the films above will come in under $40–$50 million, with many far below. That allows for broad premium screen use 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 breakout hunt 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 unexpected breakout 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. Forecast a healthy PVOD window broadly, since horror fans have shown a willingness to pay for convenience after an opening weekend, especially when word of mouth is strong.

From viewer POV, the year

From a moviegoer’s perspective, the 2026 horror year offers beat and breadth. January is a sampler, February delivers a legacy slasher, April resurrects a Universal monster, May and June provide a back-to-back spirit play 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 conversation and attendance without cannibalizing your own titles. The pattern also supports social campaigns that can scale over time, using earlier releases to condition the audience for bigger plays in the fall.

Exhibitors endorse the spacing. Horror delivers regular Thursday spikes, tight deployments, and strong PLF uptake when the creative supports it. The 2026 slate has at least three titles that can earn PLF placement, with The Mummy, Evil Dead Burn, and Werwulf all showcasing visual texture, soundscape, and imagery 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.

A Strong 2026 Horizon

Slots move. Ratings change. Casts adjust. But the spine of 2026 horror is set. There is franchise muscle where it helps, filmmaker vision where it matters, and a calendar that shows studios track how and when scares land. 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 near-deadline boutique buy join the party. For now, the job is simple, deliver taut trailers, preserve the surprise, and let the chills sell the seats.