The Logic Behind a Horror Movie Megamerger

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Jason Blum’s horror production house, Blumhouse, is closing a deal to acquire filmmaker James Wan’s Atomic Monster. Photo: Rodin Eckenroth/WireImage, Lisa O’Connor/AFP
Matthew Belloni
November 21, 2022

A question floating among showbiz dealmakers this week: How much is Blumhouse Productions worth now? That’s a fascinating exercise after the Times revealed the horror production house, purveyor of everything from Get Out to The Purge to the Halloween and Exorcist reboots to this year’s The Black Phone and January’s Me3an, is closing a deal to acquire filmmaker James Wan’s Atomic Monster, producer of The Conjuring movies, as well as Insidious and many more. It will create a behemoth in a booming space with arguably the two most successful horror producers of all time, both with first-look deals at Universal Pictures. What would be the price, a billion? $2 billion? More?