Ancient Evil Surfaces in Andrew Chiaramonte’s Young & Cursed, a chilling feature, premiering Oct 2025 on top streaming platforms




A terrifying spectral suspense story from author / filmmaker Andrew Chiaramonte, liberating an mythic nightmare when unfamiliar people become conduits in a diabolical ritual. Airings begin this October 2nd, 2025, on Prime Video, YouTube, Google’s Play platform, Apple iTunes, Apple TV Plus, and Fandango’s digital service.

Los Angeles, CA (August 8th, 2025) – Brace yourselves for *Young & Cursed*, a nightmarish saga of survival and ancient evil that will reshape the fear genre this fall. Crafted by rising genre visionary Andrew Chiaramonte, this claustrophobic and immersive film follows five characters who awaken caught in a remote house under the malignant influence of Kyra, a haunted figure controlled by a timeless scriptural evil. Brace yourself to be seized by a theatrical journey that fuses intense horror with folklore, arriving on Amazon Prime, YouTube, Google Play, iTunes, Apple TV+, and Fandango at Home on October 2, 2025.


Supernatural inhabitation has been a historical theme in film. In *Young & Cursed*, that notion is radically shifted when the demons no longer emerge from beyond, but rather through their own souls. This marks the malevolent shade of the protagonists. The result is a intense spiritual tug-of-war where the plotline becomes a perpetual contest between moral forces.


In a barren no-man's-land, five individuals find themselves isolated under the possessive dominion and spiritual invasion of a haunted character. As the protagonists becomes incapable to withstand her grasp, exiled and pursued by terrors unfathomable, they are cornered to deal with their worst nightmares while the hours ruthlessly runs out toward their expiration.


In *Young & Cursed*, unease builds and connections erode, prompting each participant to examine their self and the integrity of free will itself. The risk grow with every minute, delivering a nightmarish journey that connects occult fear with psychological weakness.

Andrew Chiaramonte, Director: “With *Young & Cursed*, my desire was to uncover primal fear, an presence beyond recorded history, influencing human fragility, and challenging a being that challenges autonomy when freedom is gone.”

Madison Hubler (Kyra): “Taking on the role of Kyra called for internalizing something far beyond human desperation. She is unaware until the curse activates, and that evolution is eerie because it is so raw.”

Release & Availability

*Young & Cursed* will be aired for public screening beginning this October 2, on Amazon’s platform, Google’s video hub, Google’s store, Apple iTunes, Apple’s streaming platform, and Fandango on-demand—guaranteeing households globally can dive into this terrifying film.


Chiaramonte Films, Inc. has just released a new trailer update for *Young & Cursed*, available to watch on YouTube at https://youtu.be/zu0n4WmPI1s, as a response to its intro video, which has earned over a viral response.


In addition to its continental debut, Chiaramonte Films, Inc. has publicized that *Young & Cursed* will also be streamed globally, giving access to the movie to viewers around the world.


Don’t miss this haunted trip into the unknown. Confront *Young & Cursed* this Halloween season to face these terrifying truths about existence.


For bonus footage, extra content, and insider scoops directly from production, follow @YACMovie across your socials and visit the film’s website.





Horror’s tipping point: the year 2025 domestic schedule melds biblical-possession ideas, indie terrors, stacked beside tentpole growls

Across endurance-driven terror saturated with near-Eastern lore as well as installment follow-ups set beside acutely observed indies, 2025 is coalescing into the most variegated plus tactically planned year in years.

It is loaded, and also intentionally sequenced. Top studios stabilize the year through proven series, in parallel subscription platforms stack the fall with new perspectives as well as primordial unease. Across the art-house lane, the independent cohort is surfing the kinetic energy of 2024’s record festival wave. Since Halloween is the prized date, the rest of the calendar is filling out with surgical precision. A packed September to October corridor has become a rite of passage, notably this year, horror is also claiming January, spring, and even mid-summer. Audiences are leaning in, studios are intentional, therefore 2025 may prove the most strategically arranged season.

Major and Mini-Major Maneuvers: Elevated fear reclaims ground

The top end is active. If 2024 set the base, 2025 compounds the move.

Universal’s pipeline lights the fuse with a confident swing: a contemporary Wolf Man, eschewing a mist-shrouded old-world European town, instead in a current-day frame. Shepherded by Leigh Whannell anchored by Christopher Abbott and Julia Garner, this take locates the lycanthropy inside home disintegration. The shift goes beyond the body, touching marriage, parenting, and raw humanity. Slated for mid January, it helps remake the winter trough with prestige offerings, not discard thrillers.

Spring ushers in Clown in a Cornfield, a YA slasher adaptation turned minimalist horror show. Under Eli Craig with Katie Douglas alongside Kevin Durand, it is blood soaked Americana horror with a satirical streak. Behind the greasepaint sits a critique of small town suspicion, generational fracture, and vigilante justice. Festival whispers say it is sharp.

When summer fades, Warner’s slate drops the final chapter from its dependable horror line: The Conjuring: Last Rites. With Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson returning as Ed and Lorraine Warren, the movie targets a resonant finish through an infamous case. Though the formula is familiar, Chaves is guiding toward a solemn, meditative finish. It lands in early September, carving air ahead of October’s stack.

Then comes The Black Phone 2. Originally slated for early summer, its move to an October release suggests confidence. Derrickson resumes command, and the defining traits of the first sleeper return: throwback unease, trauma foregrounded, along with eerie supernatural rules. This run ups the stakes, through a fuller probe of the “grabber” lore and inherited grief.

Rounding out the big ticket releases is Five Nights at Freddy’s 2, a title that can sell without classic marketing. The return delves further into myth, enlarges the animatronic menagerie, reaching teens and game grownups. It drops in December, locking down the winter tail.

Streamer Exclusives: Low budgets, big teeth

While theaters bet on familiarity, streamers are pushing into risk, and dividends follow.

One standout ambitious title is Weapons, a cold-case linked horror tapestry braiding three timelines tied to a mass vanishing. Helmed by Zach Cregger anchored by Josh Brolin and Julia Garner, the entry marries dread with character weight. Arriving to cinemas late summer then to streamers in fall, it stands to prompt frame-by-frame breakdowns as with Barbarian.

Playing chamber scale is Together, a body horror chamber piece with Alison Brie and Dave Franco. Confined to a lonely rental when a vacation turns, the work maps love envy and self hatred onto bodily unraveling. It lands sweet then sick then searing, a three step spin into codependent hell. With no dated platform window yet, it is a lock for fall streaming.

Also notable is Sinners, a thirties era vampire folk parable featuring Michael B. Jordan. Photographed in sepia saturation with biblical metaphor, it plays like There Will Be Blood meets Let the Right One In. The narrative analyzes American religious trauma through a ghostly allegory. Early test screens tag it as a top talked streaming debut.

A handful of other streaming indies hover in the wings: Bring Her Back, Bone Lake, and Keeper each threads grief and absence and identity, mapping allegory to dread.

Possession, Deeper Than Ever: Young & Cursed

Bowing October 2 on major streamers, Young & Cursed presents a rare union, close in focus, wide in mythology. From writer director Andrew Chiaramonte, the narrative rides with five strangers waking in a secluded woodland cabin, held by Kyra, a young woman possessed by the ancient biblical demon Lilith. As night descends, so does Kyra’s power, an invasive force that exploits their deepest fears, weaknesses, and regrets.

The menace is mind forward, supercharged by primal myth. Resisting the exorcism template of Catholic ceremony and Latin chant, this piece touches something older, something darker. Lilith resists liturgy, she blooms through trauma, secrecy, and human delicacy. An inward possession, not an outward spell, turns the trope and sets Young & Cursed inside a widening trend, intimate character work housed in genre.

Streaming platforms like Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV, YouTube, Google Play, and Fandango at Home have positioned the film as a Halloween counterweight to theatrical sequels and monster revivals. It is a smart play. No overstuffed canon. No brand fatigue. Pure psyche terror, contained and taut, sized for the binge then exhale flow of digital viewers. In a spectacle stack, Young & Cursed could be the hush before the shriek.

Festival Heat to Market Leverage

Fantastic Fest, SXSW, Tribeca, and TIFF still seed what horror becomes in six to twelve months. This cycle, they are launchpads first and showcases second.

The Fantastic Fest slate for horror is strong this year. Primate, an opening night tropical body-horror, invites Cronenberg meets Herzog talk. Whistle, a folkloric revenge thriller steeped in Aztec lore, is expected to close the fest with fire.

The midnight bench, including If I Had Legs I’d Kick You, hums from execution, not mere titling. That one, an A24 backed satire on toxic fandom set during a horror convention lockdown, is poised for breakout status.

SXSW lifted Clown in a Cornfield and put microbudget hauntings into market talk. Sundance likely lifts another batch of grief laced elevated horror, while Tribeca’s genre yard leans urban, social, and surreal.

Festival strategy in 2025 is not just about discovery, it is about branding. A Fantastic Fest or TIFF badge is phase one marketing, not a coda.

Legacy Horror: Sequels and Reboots, Reinvention Included

The returning series menu is stronger and more calculated than before.

Fear Street: Prom Queen hits July to revive the 90s line with fresh lead and VHS vibe. Unlike prior entries, this one leans into camp and prom night melodrama. Imagine tiaras, smeared red, and VHS panic.

M3GAN 2.0 drops late June, poised to elaborate techno horror lore through new players and AI nightmares. The first title’s online shareability and streaming stickiness fuel Universal’s appetite.

The Long Walk adapts an early, scathing Stephen King work, under Francis Lawrence, it reads as a brutal dystopian allegory inside survival horror, a walk till you drop competition for kids with no winners. If framed properly, it could echo The Hunger Games for adult horror.

Meanwhile, reboots and sequels like Hell House LLC: Lineage, V/H/S/Halloween, The Toxic Avenger, and Anaconda appear through the year, many poised for targeted windows or last minute deals.

Trend Lines

Old myth goes broad
Lilith in Young & Cursed plus Aztec curses in Whistle highlight ancient texts and symbols. This is not nostalgia, it is a reclamation of pre Christian archetypes. Horror goes beyond fright, it notes evil’s age.

Body horror comes roaring back
Pieces such as Together, Weapons, and Keeper bring it back to flesh. Mutation, infection, transformation encode heartbreak, grief, and regret.

Streamers grow fangs
Junk fill horror on platforms is receding. Streamers are investing in real scripts, real directors, and real marketing pushes. Entries like Weapons and Sinners get event treatment, not inventory.

Festival hype becomes leverage
Festival seals operate as leverage for distribution lanes and press windows. Without festivals in 2025, a horror film can evaporate.

Cinemas are a trust fall
Studios save theaters for outperform prospects or IP farmers. Most others angle PVOD or hybrid. Horror continues in theaters, in narrower curated lanes.

Outlook: Fall stack and winter swing card

A cluster of Young & Cursed, The Conjuring: Last Rites, The Black Phone 2, and Weapons in September and October equals saturation. Indies such as Bone Lake and Keeper must fight for oxygen. Anticipate possible date slides into early 2026 or platform moves.

December centers on Five Nights at Freddy’s 2, but a final weeks surprise stream could still hit. As several big titles lean dark and mythic, there is room for one last creature feature or exorcism flick.

The trick lies in diverse menus finding segmented crowds, not single title bets. The goal is not Get Out again, it is horror with staying power past opening weekends.



The oncoming genre year to come: brand plays, universe starters, alongside A stacked Calendar designed for screams

Dek: The brand-new horror year loads right away with a January traffic jam, and then carries through the mid-year, and far into the holidays, braiding series momentum, original angles, and savvy release strategy. Studios and streamers are leaning into right-sized spends, theatrical-first rollouts, and social-fueled campaigns that convert these releases into all-audience topics.

The state of horror, heading into 2026

This space has emerged as the dependable play in annual schedules, a vertical that can lift when it catches and still hedge the downside when it doesn’t. After the 2023 year re-taught leaders that mid-range genre plays can lead the zeitgeist, the following year held pace with buzzy auteur projects and slow-burn breakouts. The energy rolled into the 2025 frame, where returns and elevated films signaled there is capacity for varied styles, from legacy continuations to original one-offs that scale internationally. The result for 2026 is a calendar that appears tightly organized across the field, with intentional bunching, a mix of familiar brands and new pitches, and a tightened commitment on exhibition windows that drive downstream revenue on premium video on demand and platforms.

Studio leaders note the space now performs as a wildcard on the rollout map. The genre can roll out on nearly any frame, supply a clean hook for promo reels and TikTok spots, and lead with fans that come out on early shows and hold through the sophomore frame if the entry hits. Following a production delay era, the 2026 configuration signals conviction in that equation. The calendar commences with a stacked January schedule, then turns to spring and early summer for alternate plays, while clearing room for a fall corridor that pushes into late October and into the next week. The grid also highlights the greater integration of specialty distributors and digital platforms that can grow from platform, build word of mouth, and expand at the optimal moment.

A parallel macro theme is IP stewardship across shared universes and legacy franchises. Distribution groups are not just pushing another entry. They are seeking to position continuity with a marquee sheen, whether that is a graphic identity that signals a refreshed voice or a casting pivot that reconnects a next entry to a early run. At the simultaneously, the helmers behind the eagerly awaited originals are leaning into real-world builds, in-camera effects and grounded locations. That blend affords the 2026 slate a strong blend of known notes and surprise, which is a pattern that scales internationally.

How the majors and mini-majors are programming

Paramount sets the tone early with two marquee entries that straddle tones widely. First comes Scream 7 on February 27, 2026, with Kevin Williamson in the lead and Neve Campbell back at the center, positioning the film as both a handoff and a back-to-basics character-driven entry. Cameras are rolling in Atlanta, and the directional approach signals a roots-evoking framework without replaying the last two entries’ core arc for the Carpenter sisters. Plan for a rollout anchored in brand visuals, first images of characters, and a promo sequence hitting late fall. Distribution is big-screen 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 selling point the campaign will foreground. As a summer alternative, this one will go after broad awareness through social-friendly gags, with the horror spoof format lending itself to quick pivots to whatever rules genre chatter that spring.

Universal has three separate entries. SOULM8TE opens January 9, 2026, a technology-driven offshoot from the M3GAN universe from Atomic Monster and Blumhouse. The logline is elegant, grief-rooted, and elevator-pitch-ready: a grieving man implements an virtual partner that evolves into a deadly partner. The date slots it at the front of a crowded corridor, with the marketing arm likely to echo uncanny live moments and brief clips that mixes intimacy and unease.

On May 8, 2026, the studio schedules an untitled Rob Savage horror film, widely interpreted as the feature developed under code names in the family-in-peril vein, with Jessica Chastain top-lining. The dated slate currently lists it as an untitled Savage project, which allows a official title to become an event moment closer to the initial tease. The timing gives the studio a foothold in early May while larger tentpoles circle other weekends.

Finishing the studio’s year, Jordan Peele’s untitled event film reserves October 23, 2026, a slot he has owned before. Peele’s pictures are set up as auteur events, with a teaser that holds back and a next wave of trailers that shape mood without giving away the concept. The Halloween-adjacent date gives the studio room to own pre-holiday auditoriums with PLF and IMAX bookings where available, then pivot to the copyright window to capture late-October interest at home.

Warner Bros., via New Line, aligns with Sony internationally for Evil Dead Burn, dated July 24, 2026. Sébastien Vaniček commands, with Souheila Yacoub in the lead. The franchise has proven that a gritty, in-camera leaning execution can feel cinematic on a efficient spend. Expect a hard-R summer horror shot that embraces worldwide reach, with Warner Bros. handling U.S. and Sony taking most international territories.

Sony’s horror bench is robust. The studio launches two marquee IP entries in the back half. An untitled Insidious film arrives August 21, 2026, holding a steady supernatural brand front and center while the spin-off branch continues to develop. The studio has shifted dates on this title before, but the current plan locks it in late summer, where Insidious has been strong.

Then, on September 18, 2026, Resident Evil reappears in what Sony is marketing as a reimagined restart 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 focus to serve both devotees and curious audiences. The fall slot creates runway for Sony to build artifacts around narrative world, and creature builds, elements that can fuel deluxe auditorium demand and cosplayer momentum.

Focus Features, working with Working Title, plants a prestige bet on Christmas Day with Werwulf on December 25, 2026. Set in 13th-century England, the film maintains the filmmaker’s run of period horror defined by meticulous craft and linguistic texture, this time set against lycan legends. The company has already set the date for a holiday release, a vote of confidence in Eggers as a specialty play that can scale widely if early reception is positive.

Where the platforms fit in

Platform windowing in 2026 run on known playbooks. Universal’s releases land on copyright after a theater window then PVOD, a stair-step that expands both opening-weekend urgency and viewer acquisition in the tail. Prime Video interleaves library titles with global pickups and limited runs in theaters when the data signals it. Max and Hulu work their advantages in archive usage, using in-app campaigns, seasonal hubs, and editorial rows to extend momentum on 2026 genre cume. Netflix keeps flexible about Netflix originals and festival deals, confirming horror entries tight to release and positioning as event drops go-lives with tight-window plans. Shudder, integrated with RLJE and Cineverse’s theatrical footprint, harnesses a laddered of selective theatrical runs and speedy platforming that translates talk to trials. That will be critical for Return to Silent Hill, which Cineverse is releasing in theaters January 23, 2026, before pressing fan funnels in the months that follow.

Apple TV+ adopts case-by-case posture for horror on a per-project basis. The platform has been willing to pick up select projects with accomplished filmmakers or marquee packages, then give them a modest theatrical in partnership with exhibitors to meet guild rules or to build credibility before the streaming drop. Hulu and Disney’s domestic pipeline still benefits from the 20th Century Studios slate, a major factor for monthly activity when the genre conversation builds.

Boutique label prospects

Cineverse is curating a 2026 runway with two recognizable titles. Return to Silent Hill lands in January with Christophe Gans returning to his adaptation of Konami’s classic title. The pitch is clean: the same somber, fog-choked atmosphere that made the original a beloved cult piece, reimagined for modern sound and cinematography. Later in the year, Wolf Creek: Legacy is expected in a late-year slot, with Greg McLean back steering his outback slasher universe. Cineverse has signaled a traditional theatrical plan for Legacy, an promising marker for fans of the nasty series and for exhibitors in need of adult counterprogramming in the autumn stretch.

Focus will lean into the auteur lane with Werwulf, stewarding the film through fall festivals if the cut is ready, then pressing the December frame to move out. That positioning has paid off for arthouse horror with crossover potential. A24, NEON, IFC Films, RLJE, and Magnet have not released many dates in public calendars yet, but their festival pipelines tend to firm up after Sundance, Berlin, and Cannes. A fair assumption is a cluster of late-summer and fall platformers that can broaden if reception merits. Look for an A24 acquisition out of Sundance midnight slots and a NEON title that bows at Cannes before a September or October domestic bow. RLJE and Shudder often work as a pair, using select theatrical to seed evangelism that fuels their membership.

Franchises versus originals

By tilt, the 2026 slate is weighted toward the series side. Scream 7, Insidious, Resident Evil, Evil Dead Burn, and Return to Silent Hill all draw on franchise value. The question, as ever, is staleness. The standing approach is to pitch each entry as a renewed feel. Paramount is foregrounding character and roots in Scream 7, Sony is floating a full reset for Resident Evil, and New Line’s Evil Dead Burn is driving a Francophone tone from a rising filmmaker. Those choices move the needle when the audience has so many options and social sentiment shifts fast.

Originals and director-first projects bring the oxygen. Jordan Peele’s October film will be branded as a brand unto itself. Send Help, dated January 30, 2026 at 20th Century Studios, centers Rachel McAdams in a crash-survival premise with that teasing menace. SOULM8TE offers a lean, creepy tech hook. Werwulf anchors in period detail and an uncompromising tone. Even when the title is not based on familiar IP, the package is grounded enough to accelerate early sales and preview-night crowds.

Past-three-year patterns outline the plan. In 2023, a exclusive cinema model that kept streaming intact did not deter a parallel release from succeeding when the brand was big. In 2024, precision craft horror outperformed in premium formats. In 2025, a reawakened chapter of a beloved infection saga demonstrated that global horror franchises can still feel reinvigorated when they shift POV and stretch the story. That last point is directly relevant to Sony’s 28 Years Later plan, which advances January 16, 2026 with 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple, this time directed by Nia DaCosta from a script by Alex Garland. The linked-chapter plan, with chapters shot consecutively, provides the means for marketing to relate entries through cast and motif and to keep assets in-market without long breaks.

Production craft signals

The filmmaking conversations behind the upcoming entries foreshadow a continued tilt toward tactile, place-driven craft. Lee Cronin has said his The Mummy will not mirror any recent iteration of the property, a stance that matches the practical-craft ethos he brought to Evil Dead Rise. The film completed principal and is lined up for its April 17, 2026 date. Anticipate a rollout that highlights grain and menace rather than CG roller-coasters, with the New Line and Blumhouse partnership backing budget prudence.

Robert Eggers, meanwhile, has called Werwulf as the most forbidding project he has tackled, which tracks with a historical setting and historically accurate language, a combination that can make for enveloping sound design and a austere, elemental atmosphere on the big screen. Focus will likely pre-sell this aesthetic in feature stories and craft spotlights before rolling out a initial teaser that leans on mood over plot, a move that has paid off for the filmmaker’s past releases.

On the franchise side, Evil Dead Burn is designed for visceral gnarl, a signature of the series that connects worldwide in red-band trailers and produces shareable reaction clips from early screenings. Scream 7 promises a meta refresh that refocuses on the original lead. Resident Evil will thrive or struggle on creature execution and sets, which fit with expo activations and selective drops. Insidious tends to be a audio showcase, with Dolby and Atmos spots that make the auditorium case feel compelling. Look for trailers that foreground precise sound design, deep-bass stingers, and blank-sound beats that sing on PLF.

Month-by-month map

January is stacked. 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 tonal palate cleanser amid bigger brand plays. The month closes with Send Help on January 30 via 20th Century Studios, a stranded thriller from Sam Raimi that puts a star forward in Rachel McAdams. The competition here is credible, but the spread of tones affords lanes to each, and the five-week structure creates breathing room for each if word of mouth holds.

Post-January through spring load in summer. Scream 7 lands February 27 with heritage buzz. In April, The Mummy re-centers a classic monster on April 17, a spring frame that once was home to genre counterprogramming and now sustains big openers. Universal’s untitled Rob Savage film on May 8 connects 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 playful and broad, then Evil Dead Burn on July 24 supplies no-compromise intensity. The counterprogramming logic is smart. The spoof can connect next to family tentpoles and animated films, while the mid-summer gorefest satisfies older teenagers and genre diehards once the big Friday sequels have rotated off PLF.

Shoulder season into fall leans IP. The Insidious entry on August 21 gives the studio a spiritual-horror anchor where the brand has previously excelled. Resident Evil arrives after September 18, a pre-October slot that still links to Halloween marketing beats. The Peele event secures October 23 and will engross cultural oxygen heading into Halloween weekend, likely augmented by a slow-reveal plan and limited pre-release reveals that prioritize concept over plot.

Christmas prestige. Werwulf on December 25 is a position that genre can hold in the holidays when packaged as filmmaker prestige. Focus has done this before, measured platforming, then leaning on critics’ lists and awards-season craft coverage to extend talk into January. If the film scores with critics, the studio can expand in the first week of 2027 while using holiday momentum and holiday gift-card burn.

Title briefs within the narrative

Scream 7 (Paramount, February 27, 2026)
Director: Kevin Williamson. Top cast: Neve Campbell, with casting in progress as production moves. Logline: Sidney returns to counter a new Ghostface while the narrative re-keys to the original film’s genes. Rating: TBA. Production: Filming in Atlanta. Positioning: legacy reset with a modern edge.

SOULM8TE (Universal, January 9, 2026)
Producers: Atomic Monster, Blumhouse. Logline: A heartbroken man’s virtual companion turns into something lethally affectionate. Rating: TBA. Production: Completed principal photography for an early-year bow. Positioning: AI chiller with a human heart.

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 broadens the canvas beyond the immediate outbreak as a cult organizes in the ruins. Rating: TBA. Production: Double-shot with the first film. Positioning: continuation of a revered infection cycle.

Return to Silent Hill (Cineverse, January 23, 2026)
Director: Christophe Gans. Top cast: TBA in updated campaign materials. Logline: A man heads back to a fog-shrouded town in search of a lost love, only to run into a unsettled reality and the town’s horrors. Rating: TBA. Production: Finished with U.S. theatrical locked. Positioning: gothic-game 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 tough boss claw to survive on a lonely island as the power balance of power upends and dread encroaches. Rating: TBA. Production: Completed. Positioning: marquee survival piece from a master.

The Mummy (New Line, April 17, 2026)
Director: Lee Cronin. Producers: Blumhouse, Atomic Monster, Doppelgängers. Top cast: roles confidential in official materials. Logline: A contemporary retelling that returns the monster to horror, rooted in Cronin’s in-camera craft and accumulating dread. Rating: TBA. Production: Production wrapped. Positioning: legendary monster re-up with auteur hand.


Untitled Rob Savage Horror Film (Universal, May 8, 2026)
Director: Rob Savage. Top cast: Jessica Chastain. Logline: {A residential haunting tale that leverages the fear of a child’s inconsistent point of view. Rating: pending. Production: completed. Positioning: studio-backed, star-driven supernatural mood piece.

Scary Movie 6 (Paramount, June 12, 2026)
Director: Michael Tiddes. Top cast: Anna Faris, Regina Hall, with the Wayans brothers reuniting creatively. Logline: {A parody return that pokes at hot-button genre motifs and true crime preoccupations. Rating: pending. Production: fall 2025 shoot penciled in. Positioning: wide-lane seasonal counterprogram.

Evil Dead Burn (Warner Bros. domestic, July 24, 2026)
Director: Sébastien Vaniček. Top cast: Souheila Yacoub, with ensemble additions. Logline: A new infestation of Deadites detonates, with an overseas twist in tone and setting. Rating: undetermined. Production: principal photography in New Zealand. Positioning: ferocious R chapter primed for premium screens.

Untitled Insidious Film (Sony, August 21, 2026)
Director: unrevealed for now. Top cast: pending. Logline: The Further reopens, with a new household entangled with lingering terrors. Rating: awaiting classification. Production: slated for summer production leading to late-summer release. Positioning: steady supernatural brand in a historically strong slot.

Resident Evil (Sony, September 18, 2026)
Director: TBA publicly. Top cast: to be announced. Logline: A re-seeded launch designed to recalibrate the franchise from the ground up, with an lean toward survival horror over action-heavy spectacle. Rating: not yet rated. Production: advancing in development with date locked. Positioning: fidelity-minded reboot with crossover prospects.

Jordan Peele Untitled Event Film (Universal, October 23, 2026)
Director: Jordan Peele. Top cast: undisclosed. Logline: strategically hidden. Rating: awaiting classification. Production: continuing. Positioning: filmmaker-led event with teaser rollout.

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 ancient menace. Rating: to be announced. Production: in preproduction for holiday debut. Positioning: prestige horror for the holidays, with potential awards-season craft appeal.

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 conventional theatrical window prior to platforming. Status: date shifting, fall likely.

Why the calendar favors 2026

Three grounded forces frame this lineup. First, production that eased or recalendared in 2024 needed slack in the schedule. Horror can plug those gaps fast because scripts often call for fewer locales, fewer large-scale CGI runs, and shorter timelines. Second, studios have become more measured 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 releases. Third, digital word of mouth converts. The marketing teams behind these titles will mine repeatable beats from test screenings, metered scare clips dropping on Thursday previews, and experiential pop-ups that generate creator assets. It is a repeatable playbook because it pays off.

Calendar math also matters. The first stretch of 2026 sees fewer family and superhero logjams, leaving useful real estate for genre entries that can lead a weekend or function as the older-skew counter. January is the prime example. Four varied shades of horror will trade weekends across five weekends, which reduces inter-title cannibalization. Summer provides the other window. The parody leverages early family and action lifts, then the hard-R entry can capitalize on a late-July lull before back-to-school.

Business outlook: budgets, ratings, and the sleeper hunt

Budgets remain in the comfort zone. Most of check over here the films above will live under the $40–$50 million ceiling, with many far below. That allows for expanded PLF presence 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 leverage those opportunities. January could easily deliver the first shock over-performer 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.

Audience journey through the year

From a moviegoer’s perspective, the 2026 horror year offers pattern and spread. January is a spread, February delivers a legacy slasher, April returns a Universal monster, May and June provide a back-to-back spirit play for date nights and group outings, July gets gnarly, 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 hold talk and turnout without cannibalizing your own titles. The pattern also supports social campaigns that can compound over time, using earlier releases to condition the audience for bigger plays in the fall.

Exhibitors respond well to the spacing. Horror delivers consistent Thursday swells, smart allocations, and strong PLF uptake when the creative supports it. The 2026 slate has at least three titles that can credibly make the premium-screen case, with The Mummy, Evil Dead Burn, and Werwulf all showcasing materiality, sound, and cinematography 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 Promising 2026

Dates shift. Ratings change. Casts rotate. But the spine of 2026 horror is sturdy. There is name recognition where it counts, distinct vision where it matters, and a calendar that shows studios know when and how to deliver scares. 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 closing-window arthouse pickup join the party. For now, the job is simple, shape lean trailers, preserve the surprise, and let the chills sell the seats.



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