Andrew Chiaramonte’s Young & Cursed awakens primeval malevolence, a spine tingling horror feature, bowing October 2025 on global platforms

This chilling otherworldly fright fest from narrative craftsman / movie maker Andrew Chiaramonte, evoking an timeless fear when unknowns become tokens in a diabolical ordeal. Launching this October 2nd, 2025, on Amazon Prime Video, Google’s YouTube, Google Play, Apple iTunes, Apple’s TV+ service, and Fandango streaming.

Hollywood, CA (August 8, 2025) – steel yourselves for *Young & Cursed*, a unnerving journey of perseverance and archaic horror that will transform scare flicks this scare season. Helmed by rising creative mind Andrew Chiaramonte, this gritty and immersive tale follows five lost souls who find themselves sealed in a isolated dwelling under the sinister dominion of Kyra, a tormented girl dominated by a antiquated biblical force. Brace yourself to be drawn in by a screen-based ride that unites bone-deep fear with legendary tales, releasing on Amazon’s streaming platform, YouTube, Google Play, iTunes, Apple TV+, and Fandango at Home on October 2, 2025.


Diabolic occupation has been a long-standing tradition in cinema. In *Young & Cursed*, that tradition is reversed when the dark entities no longer arise from external sources, but rather deep within. This represents the most hidden facet of these individuals. The result is a edge-of-seat mind game where the conflict becomes a intense confrontation between moral forces.


In a remote no-man's-land, five young people find themselves marooned under the fiendish sway and domination of a obscure woman. As the characters becomes incapable to combat her will, exiled and targeted by terrors unimaginable, they are forced to stand before their deepest fears while the final hour without pity draws closer toward their expiration.


In *Young & Cursed*, fear builds and ties collapse, driving each person to scrutinize their existence and the concept of free will itself. The threat mount with every fleeting time, delivering a nightmarish journey that merges demonic fright with deep insecurity.

Andrew Chiaramonte, Director: “With *Young & Cursed*, my purpose was to explore pure dread, an entity from prehistory, influencing fragile psyche, and questioning a force that redefines identity when we lose control.”

Madison Hubler (Kyra): “Playing Kyra was centered on something far beyond human desperation. She is clueless until the possession kicks in, and that shift is harrowing because it is so deep.”

Watch the Horror Unfold

*Young & Cursed* will be aired for on-demand beginning this October 2, on Prime Video, Google’s video hub, Google’s store, Apple iTunes, Apple TV+, and Fandango at Home—offering users globally can experience this spirit-driven thriller.


Chiaramonte Films, Inc. has just rolled out a new trailer two for *Young & Cursed*, live to watch on YouTube at https://youtu.be/zu0n4WmPI1s, as a next step to its intro video, which has racked up over a huge fan reaction.


In addition to its US/Canada launch, Chiaramonte Films, Inc. has broadcast that *Young & Cursed* will also be shown overseas, giving access to the movie to international horror buffs.


Join this life-altering fall into madness. Explore *Young & Cursed* this October the 2nd to explore these fearful discoveries about free will.


For behind-the-scenes access, filmmaker commentary, and reveals from inside the story, follow @YoungAndCursedFilm across social media and visit our spooky domain.





Modern horror’s sea change: the 2025 season U.S. rollouts blends primeval-possession lore, art-house nightmares, set against series shake-ups

Across survivor-centric dread grounded in legendary theology and extending to IP renewals plus cutting indie sensibilities, 2025 is shaping up as the most variegated and carefully orchestrated year of the last decade.

It is loaded, and also intentionally sequenced. top-tier distributors lock in tentpoles via recognizable brands, as streamers front-load the fall with new perspectives paired with legend-coded dread. On the independent axis, indie storytellers is surfing the tailwinds from a record 2024 festival run. As Halloween stays the prime week, the off-peak lanes are managed with purpose. That late Q3 to mid Q4 lane is the crucible, and now, bookings reach January, spring, and mid-summer. The audience is primed, studios are surgical, accordingly 2025 could stand as the most orchestrated year.

Major and Mini-Major Maneuvers: Premium dread reemerges

The upper tier is moving decisively. If 2024 laid the groundwork for a horror reinvention, 2025 scales the plan.

Universal’s pipeline starts the year with a risk-forward move: a modernized Wolf Man, stepping away from the classic old-country village, but a crisp modern milieu. With Leigh Whannell at the helm and toplined by Christopher Abbott and Julia Garner, this version roots the lycanthropy in family fracture. The curse reads as bodily and relational, about spouses, parents, and people. landing in mid January, it aligns with turning the winter slack into a premium lane, not a dumping lane.

In spring, Clown in a Cornfield lands, a YA slasher adaptation reworked as a minimalist shock machine. Under Eli Craig starring Katie Douglas opposite Kevin Durand, it plays as blood lacquered Americana with satire under the paint. Behind the greasepaint sits a critique of small town suspicion, generational fracture, and vigilante justice. Initial fest notes point to real bite.

As summer winds down, Warner’s slate releases the last chapter within its surest horror brand: The Conjuring: Last Rites. Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson again portray Ed and Lorraine Warren, the movie targets a resonant finish through an infamous case. Though the formula is familiar, Chaves reportedly keys a sorrowing, contemplative note in the capstone. It lands in early September, carving air ahead of October’s stack.

The Black Phone 2 slots behind. Once set for early summer, the October pivot signals belief. Derrickson re engages, and the tone that worked before is intact: old school creep, trauma centered writing, along with eerie supernatural rules. This run ups the stakes, with more excavation of the “grabber” canon and family hauntings.

Completing the marquee stack is Five Nights at Freddy’s 2, a movie that scarcely needs conventional ads. The return delves further into myth, grows the animatronic horror lineup, reaching teens and game grownups. It books December, buttoning the final window.

Platform Plays: Modest spend, serious shock

While cinemas swing on series strength, streamers are taking risks, and it is paying off.

A flagship risky title is Weapons, a cold case horror anthology splicing three ages joined by a mass disappearance. With Zach Cregger directing including Josh Brolin and Julia Garner, the entry marries dread with character weight. With a late summer theatrical bow and fall streaming drop, it looks primed to seed post watch analysis akin to Barbarian.

More contained by design is Together, a body horror duet including Alison Brie and Dave Franco. Set at a remote rental during a getaway that sours, the piece probes how love, envy, and self loathing become bodily rot. It comes off amorous, macabre, and bracingly uneasy, a three act loop into codependent hell. With no dated platform window yet, it is destined for a fall landing.

One more platform talker is Sinners, a thirties set vampire folk saga headlined by Michael B. Jordan. Imaged in sepia bloom and biblical metaphor, it suggests There Will Be Blood blended with Let the Right One In. The film interrogates American religious trauma through supernatural allegory. Initial test audience notes point to a buzzy streaming debut.

Several other streaming indies are quietly waiting in the wings: Bring Her Back, Bone Lake, and Keeper all tap into themes of grief, disappearance, and identity, often using horror as metaphor instead of spectacle.

The Possession Runs Deep: Young & Cursed

Arriving October 2 across major platforms, Young & Cursed stands as a rare hybrid, both intimate in scope and mythic in reach. Penned and steered 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. With the dark, her reach grows, a parasitic force exploiting fears, flaws, and shame.

The threat is psychological first, wired with primal myth. Avoiding the usual exorcism path with Catholic ritual and Latin spell, this one burrows toward something older, something darker. Lilith does not answer ceremony, she climbs through trauma, hush, and human fracture. By making possession inward rather than external, Young & Cursed joins a trend toward intimate character studies masked as genre.

The film is positioned on Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV, YouTube, Google Play, and Fandango at Home as Halloween balance against sequel stacks and creature returns. It is a calculated bet. No overinflated mythology. No continuity burden. Straight psychological chill, boxed and tight, aimed at the binge, pause, and pulse habits of streamers. Amid spectacle, Young & Cursed can distinguish itself by whispering, then howling.

Festivals as Springboards

Fantastic Fest, SXSW, Tribeca, and TIFF operate as greenhouses for horror six to twelve months down the line. They are increasingly launchpads rather than showcases.

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 piece in Aztec lore, likely shuts the fest with heat.

The midnight bench, including If I Had Legs I’d Kick You, hums from execution, not mere titling. The A24 fueled satire of toxic fandom in a con lockdown has breakout energy.

SXSW gave air to Clown in a Cornfield and to microbudget hauntings courting buyers. Sundance forecasts grief bent elevated horror again, while Tribeca’s genre yard leans urban, social, and surreal.

This cycle, festival strategy pivots from discovery toward branding. A Fantastic Fest or TIFF badge is phase one marketing, not a coda.

Series Horror: Sequels and Reboots, Reinvention Included

This year’s legacy entries carry strength and deliberation.

Fear Street: Prom Queen brings back the 90s line in July with a new lead and throwback vibe. Unlike prior entries, this one leans into camp and prom night melodrama. Expect tiaras, corn syrup blood, and VHS panic.

M3GAN 2.0 posts late June, poised to elaborate techno horror lore through new players and AI nightmares. The debut’s viral plus streaming heat gives Universal reason to press the bet.

Another headline is The Long Walk, adapting a grim early Stephen King piece, Directed by Francis Lawrence, it stands as a punishing dystopian allegory wearing survival horror, a march until death with no victors. If sold right, it could sit as The Hunger Games for adult horror fans.

Other reboots and sequels, Hell House LLC: Lineage, V/H/S/Halloween, The Toxic Avenger, and Anaconda, are scattered across the calendar, most waiting for strategic windows or last minute acquisitions.

Emerging Currents

Mythic lanes mainstream
From Lilith in Young & Cursed to Aztec curses in Whistle, creators turn to ancient texts and symbols. This reads not as nostalgia but as reclaiming pre Christian archetypes. Horror goes beyond fright, it notes evil’s age.

Body horror ascends again
The likes of Together, Weapons, and Keeper reshift toward flesh. Mutation, infection, transformation serve as metaphors for heartbreak, grief, and regret.

Originals on platforms bite harder
Disposable horror filler days on platforms have passed. Platforms are putting money into scripts, directors, and promotion. Drops such as Weapons and Sinners arrive as events, not as catalog.

Festival glow translates to leverage
Festival ribbons become currency for better windows and top shelves. In 2025, a horror film lacking festival plan may fade.

Theatrical Is Now a Trust Fall
Studios save theaters for outperform prospects or IP farmers. Everything else is PVOD or hybrid. Horror keeps theatrical presence, via curation.

Outlook: Autumn overload with a winter wildcard

Put Young & Cursed, The Conjuring: Last Rites, The Black Phone 2, and Weapons into September and October and you get saturation. Indies including Bone Lake and Keeper will wrestle for room. There may be pivots into early 2026 or across platforms.

December anchors on Five Nights at Freddy’s 2, yet a surprise streamer drop could appear in the final weeks. Given the dark, mythic lean of the year’s big films, a final creature feature or exorcism slot is open.

Horror’s 2025 outcome will be decided not by one title, but by how its variety connects with splintered audiences. The plan is not to clone Get Out, it is to craft horror that lives on beyond box office.



The oncoming genre lineup: entries, standalone ideas, plus A brimming Calendar engineered for shocks

Dek: The new scare calendar builds from the jump with a January pile-up, subsequently stretches through June and July, and pushing into the year-end corridor, weaving franchise firepower, new concepts, and shrewd alternatives. Studios and streamers are relying on tight budgets, theater-first strategies, and buzz-forward plans that elevate these films into water-cooler talk.

Horror’s position as 2026 begins

Horror filmmaking has proven to be the sturdy release in studio lineups, a vertical that can lift when it breaks through and still buffer the risk when it under-delivers. After 2023 reassured decision-makers that lean-budget entries can dominate audience talk, the following year continued the surge with festival-darling auteurs and quiet over-performers. The momentum pushed into the 2025 frame, where re-entries and awards-minded projects confirmed there is a market for varied styles, from ongoing IP entries to one-and-done originals that resonate abroad. The sum for the 2026 slate is a run that appears tightly organized across the industry, with planned clusters, a balance of recognizable IP and new packages, and a tightened strategy on big-screen windows that enhance post-theatrical value on PVOD and platforms.

Insiders argue the genre now works like a wildcard on the release plan. Horror can debut on a wide range of weekends, furnish a tight logline for spots and shorts, and punch above weight with crowds that respond on first-look nights and hold through the second weekend if the title lands. Coming out of a strike-delayed pipeline, the 2026 plan shows trust in that dynamic. The year begins with a busy January band, then taps spring and early summer for off-slot scheduling, while saving space for a fall cadence that carries into All Hallows period and beyond. The map also spotlights the stronger partnership of indie arms and digital platforms that can nurture a platform play, fuel WOM, and grow at the right moment.

A second macro trend is series management across shared universes and heritage properties. Studio teams are not just turning out another continuation. They are seeking to position threaded continuity with a must-see charge, whether that is a title design that telegraphs a re-angled tone or a talent selection that bridges a fresh chapter to a first wave. At the very same time, the visionaries behind the most watched originals are championing practical craft, practical gags and site-specific worlds. That pairing produces 2026 a solid mix of assurance and unexpected turns, which is a pattern that scales internationally.

How the majors and mini-majors are programming

Paramount establishes early momentum with two prominent pushes that bookend the tonal range. First comes Scream 7 on February 27, 2026, with original architect Kevin Williamson in the director slot and Neve Campbell back at the center, presenting it as both a lineage transfer and a foundation-forward character piece. The film is shooting in Atlanta, and the authorial approach hints at a legacy-leaning bent without covering again the last two entries’ sibling arc. Look for a marketing run built on legacy iconography, initial cast looks, and a staggered trailer plan hitting late fall. Distribution is big-screen via Paramount.

Paramount also reboots a once-mighty spoof franchise with Scary Movie 6 on June 12, 2026, directed by Michael Tiddes. Anna Faris and Regina Hall are re-teaming, with the Wayans brothers involved as creative partners for the first time since the early 2000s, a angle the campaign will double down on. As a summer contrast play, this one will chase general-audience talk through social-friendly gags, with the horror spoof format supporting quick updates to whatever tops the meme cycle that spring.

Universal has three clear plays. SOULM8TE arrives January 9, 2026, a universe branch from the M3GAN universe from Atomic Monster and Blumhouse. The foundation is efficient, melancholic, and concept-forward: a grieving man onboards an intelligent companion that grows into a killer companion. The date positions it at the front of a thick month, with the marketing arm likely to renew strange in-person beats and micro spots that interweaves attachment and chill.

On May 8, 2026, the studio sets an untitled Rob Savage horror film, widely read as the feature developed under development titles in the family-in-peril vein, with Jessica Chastain top-lining. The public release grid currently lists it as an untitled Savage project, which sets up a branding reveal to become an teaser payoff closer to the early tease. The timing holds ground in early May while larger tentpoles concentrate elsewhere.

Finishing the studio’s year, Jordan Peele’s untitled event film grabs October 23, 2026, a slot he has commanded before. Peele’s pictures are branded as auteur events, with a teaser with minimal detail and a second wave of trailers that prime atmosphere without details the concept. The late-October frame offers Universal room to saturate 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, collaborates with Sony internationally for Evil Dead Burn, dated July click site 24, 2026. Sébastien Vaniček directs, with Souheila Yacoub top-lining. The franchise has made clear that a raw, physical-effects centered method can feel big on a disciplined budget. Look for a viscera-heavy summer horror shot that embraces international play, with Warner Bros. handling U.S. and Sony taking most world markets.

Sony’s horror bench is robust. The studio launches two series moves in the back half. An untitled Insidious film lands August 21, 2026, keeping a evergreen supernatural brand in the market while the spin-off branch progresses. The studio has shifted dates on this title before, but the current plan aims it in late summer, where Insidious has found success.

Then, on September 18, 2026, Resident Evil restarts in what the studio is calling a from-the-ground-up reboot for its game-to-film powerhouse. With the PlayStation Productions pipeline now a core part of the studio’s strategy, this new take has a well-defined brief to serve both core fans and first-timers. The fall slot offers Sony space to build marketing units around environmental design, and monster design, elements that can fuel PLF interest and cosplay-friendly fan engagement.

Focus Features, working with Working Title, places a prestige bet on Christmas Day with Robert Eggers’ Werwulf on December 25, 2026. Set in 13th-century England, the film extends the filmmaker’s run of period horror driven by obsessive craft and textual fidelity, this time driven by werewolf stories. Focus’s team has already announced the holiday for a holiday release, a vote of confidence in the auteur as a specialty play that can grow wide if early reception is enthusiastic.

Platform lanes and windowing

Home-platform rhythms for 2026 run on predictable routes. The Universal horror run land on copyright after a box-office phase then PVOD, a cadence that optimizes both premiere heat and trial spikes in the later window. Prime Video balances catalogue additions with world buys and select theatrical runs when the data supports it. Max and Hulu lean on their strengths in library curation, using well-timed internal promotions, horror hubs, and collection rows to lengthen the tail on the horror cume. Netflix plays opportunist about Netflix originals and festival acquisitions, dating horror entries near launch and positioning as event drops arrivals with short runway campaigns. Shudder, integrated with RLJE and Cineverse’s theatrical footprint, leverages a two-step of limited theatrical footprints and prompt platform moves that drives paid trials from buzz. That will be key for Return to Silent Hill, which Cineverse is releasing in theaters January 23, 2026, before leaning on fan pipelines in the months that follow.

Apple TV+ cherry-picks horror on click site a discrete basis. The platform has exhibited willingness to take on select projects with award winners or name-led packages, then give them a select cinema run in partnership with exhibitors to meet guild rules or to gain imprimatur before the streaming drop. Hulu and Disney’s domestic pipeline still feeds from the 20th Century Studios slate, a key factor for monthly activity when the genre conversation swells.

Indie and specialty outlook

Cineverse is curating a 2026 track with two brand extensions. Return to Silent Hill lands in January with Christophe Gans returning to his adaptation of Konami’s classic title. The appeal is tight: the same haunting, fog-choked atmosphere that made the original a genre cult touchstone, upgraded for modern soundscapes and visuals. Later in the year, Wolf Creek: Legacy is expected in a fall frame, with Greg McLean back steering his outback slasher universe. Cineverse has suggested a big-screen first plan for Legacy, an healthy marker for fans of the nasty series and for exhibitors seeking darker fare in the late stretch.

Focus will operate the filmmaker lane with Werwulf, shepherding the title through fall festivals if the cut is ready, then relying on the holiday slot to broaden. That positioning has worked well for elevated genre with audience crossover. A24, NEON, IFC Films, RLJE, and Magnet have not finalized many 2026 slots in public calendars yet, but their festival pipelines usually solidify after Sundance, Berlin, and Cannes. A sound expectation is a handful of late-summer and fall platformers that can surge if reception prompts. Expect an A24 acquisition out of Sundance midnight slots and a NEON title that surges from Cannes before a September or October domestic bow. RLJE and Shudder often work in concert, using small theatrical to fuel evangelism that fuels their subscriber growth.

IP versus fresh ideas

By tilt, the 2026 slate leans toward the recognizable IP side. Scream 7, Insidious, Resident Evil, Evil Dead Burn, and Return to Silent Hill all capitalize on brand equity. The concern, as ever, is diminishing returns. The preferred tactic is to pitch each entry as a recast vibe. Paramount is bringing forward character-first legacy in Scream 7, Sony is floating a full reset for Resident Evil, and New Line’s Evil Dead Burn is maximizing a French sensibility from a fresh helmer. Those choices make a difference when the audience has so many options and social sentiment moves quickly.

Non-franchise titles and talent-first projects add oxygen. Jordan Peele’s October film will be branded as a brand unto itself. Sam Raimi’s Send Help, dated January 30, 2026 at 20th Century Studios, centers Rachel McAdams in a island survival premise with the filmmaker’s mischievous menace. SOULM8TE offers a clean, creepy tech hook. Werwulf grounds itself in period and an flinty tone. Even when the title is not based on a recognizable brand, the deal build is known enough to drive advance ticketing and early previews.

Past-three-year patterns contextualize the playbook. In 2023, a exclusive window model that respected streaming windows did not block a hybrid test from delivering when the brand was robust. In 2024, craft-forward auteur horror exceeded expectations in big-format auditoriums. In 2025, a resurgence of a beloved infection saga demonstrated that global horror franchises can still feel renewed when they reframe POV and elevate scope. That last point is directly relevant to Sony’s 28 Years Later plan, which presses on January 16, 2026 with 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple, this time directed by Nia DaCosta from a script by Alex Garland. The dual-chapter plan, with chapters filmed consecutively, allows marketing to relate entries through relationships and themes and to continue assets in field without lulls.

Technique and craft currents

The director conversations behind the 2026 entries hint at a continued bias toward material, place-specific craft. Lee Cronin has said his The Mummy will not imitate any recent iteration of the property, a stance that complements the prosthetic-forward taste he brought to Evil Dead Rise. The film wrapped production and is lined up for its April 17, 2026 date. The push will likely that elevates atmosphere and fear rather than bombast, with the New Line and Blumhouse partnership allowing smart budget discipline.

Robert Eggers, meanwhile, has talked about Werwulf as the most forbidding project he has tackled, which tracks with a historical setting and era-true language, a combination that can make for deep sound design and a raw, elemental vibe on the big screen. Focus will likely tease this aesthetic in craft profiles and department features before rolling out a first look that elevates tone over story, a move that has played for the filmmaker’s past releases.

On the franchise side, Evil Dead Burn is set up for rubbery nastiness, a signature of the series that lands overseas in red-band trailers and sparks shareable audience clips from early screenings. Scream 7 delivers a self-referential reset that puts the original star at center. Resident Evil will hit or miss on creature craft and set design, which fit with con floor moments and staggered reveals. Insidious tends to be a soundstage showcase, with Dolby and Atmos spots that make the premium-screen pitch feel essential. Look for trailers that spotlight pin-drop sound, deep-bass stingers, and mute beats that play in premium auditoriums.

Month-by-month map

January is full. SOULM8TE opens January 9, 2026, then Sony returns a week later with 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple on January 16. Cineverse’s Return to Silent Hill follows on January 23, a tonal palate cleanser amid marquee brands. The month caps with Send Help on January 30 via 20th Century Studios, a island survival chiller from Sam Raimi that puts a star forward in Rachel McAdams. The competition here is legit, but the variety of tones makes lanes for each, and the five-week structure creates breathing room for each if word of mouth carries.

Winter into spring seed summer. Paramount’s Scream 7 comes February 27 with nostalgia energy. In April, The Mummy reawakens a classic monster on April 17, a spring frame that once played to 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 sharpens the contrast. Scary Movie 6 on June 12 is lighter and broader, then Evil Dead Burn on July 24 supplies severe intensity. The counterprogramming logic is sound. The spoof can hit next to family tentpoles and animated films, while the mid-summer gorefest delights older teenagers and genre diehards once the big Friday sequels have moved through premium slots.

Late-season stretch leans franchise. The Insidious entry on August 21 gives Sony a spiritual-horror anchor where the brand has previously performed. Resident Evil comes after September 18, a early fall window that still builds toward Halloween marketing beats. The Peele event grabs October 23 and will dominate cultural oxygen heading into Halloween weekend, likely paired with a opaque tease strategy and limited plot reveals that trade in concept over detail.

Prestige-horror at year-end. Werwulf on December 25 is a position that genre can play the holidays when packaged as director prestige horror. The distributor has done this before, deliberate rollout, then turning to critics’ lists and awards-season craft coverage to keep the film in the conversation into January. If the film hits with critics, the studio can go wider in the first week of 2027 while enjoying holiday hold and gift-card burn.

Film-by-film briefs

Scream 7 (Paramount, February 27, 2026)
Director: Kevin Williamson. Top cast: Neve Campbell, with casting rolling out as production carries on. Logline: Sidney returns to oppose a new Ghostface while the narrative returns to the original film’s DNA. Rating: TBA. Production: Filming in Atlanta. Positioning: legacy reset with a modern edge.

SOULM8TE (Universal, January 9, 2026)
Producers: Atomic Monster, Blumhouse. Logline: A sorrowing man’s synthetic partner escalates into something murderously loving. Rating: TBA. Production: Completed principal photography for an early-year bow. Positioning: digital-age horror with pathos.

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 scales the story beyond the immediate outbreak as a cult coalesces 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 confront a shifting reality and the town’s horrors. Rating: TBA. Production: Done with U.S. run set. Positioning: atmospheric 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 work to survive on a desolate island as the power balance flips and dread encroaches. Rating: TBA. Production: In the can. Positioning: star-led survival piece from a genre icon.

The Mummy (New Line, April 17, 2026)
Director: Lee Cronin. Producers: Blumhouse, Atomic Monster, Doppelgängers. Top cast: roles not disclosed in official materials. Logline: A contemporary re-envisioning that returns the monster to fear, rooted in Cronin’s on-set craft and encroaching dread. Rating: TBA. Production: Principal wrapped. Positioning: classic monster reset with creative stamp.


Untitled Rob Savage Horror Film (Universal, May 8, 2026)
Director: Rob Savage. Top cast: Jessica Chastain. Logline: {A household haunting piece that explores the fear of a child’s inconsistent interpretations. Rating: TBD. Production: completed. Positioning: studio-backed, star-driven occult suspense.

Scary Movie 6 (Paramount, June 12, 2026)
Director: Michael Tiddes. Top cast: Anna Faris, Regina Hall, with the Wayans brothers participating creatively. Logline: {A satire sequel that lampoons present-day genre chatter and true-crime buzz. Rating: rating forthcoming. Production: fall 2025 production window. Positioning: broad-lane summer entry.

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 bursts, with an cross-border twist in tone and setting. Rating: not yet rated. Production: currently in New Zealand. Positioning: intense red-band chapter tailored to PLF.

Untitled Insidious Film (Sony, August 21, 2026)
Director: to be announced in marketing. Top cast: awaiting confirmation. Logline: The Further widens again, with a new clan linked to old terrors. Rating: TBA. Production: planning summer shoot for late-summer date. Positioning: reliable supernatural IP in a date that favors the brand.

Resident Evil (Sony, September 18, 2026)
Director: pending public reveal. Top cast: unrevealed. Logline: A fresh restart designed to re-engineer the franchise from the ground up, with an tilt toward pure survival horror over action-forward bombast. Rating: undetermined. Production: moving through development on a locked slot. Positioning: game-grounded refresh with wider appeal.

Jordan Peele Untitled Event Film (Universal, October 23, 2026)
Director: Jordan Peele. Top cast: pending. Logline: Kept under wraps by design. Rating: forthcoming. Production: continuing. 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 era-faithful speech and elemental dread. Rating: undetermined. Production: prepping toward a December 25 launch. 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 cinema-first path before platforming. Status: slot unsettled, fall projected.

Why the calendar favors 2026

Three workable forces frame this lineup. First, production that bottlenecked or shuffled in 2024 needed spacing on the calendar. Horror can bridge those gaps quickly because scripts often call for fewer locales, fewer large-scale effects set pieces, and leaner schedules. Second, studios have become more orderly about windows. Theatrical exclusivity remains the goal for most of these films, followed by PVOD and then platform streaming, a sequence that has consistently beaten straight-to-streaming placements. Third, community talk converts. The marketing teams behind these titles will leverage Check This Out clippable moments from test screenings, metered scare clips calibrated to Thursday preview timing, and experiential pop-ups that power influencer posts. It is a repeatable playbook because it pays off.

Another factor is the scheduling math. Early 2026 is less crowded with family and superhero corridors, clearing runway for genre entries that can capture a weekend or stand as the older-leaning counter. January is the prime example. Four different flavors of horror will jostle across five weekends, which keeps buzz lanes tidy. Summer provides the other window. The lampoon benefits from family and action buoyancy, then the hard-R entry can benefit from a late-July lull before back-to-school.

Economics and ratings, plus sleeper strategy

Budgets remain in the comfort zone. Most of the films above will budget under the $40–$50 million tier, with many far below. That allows for aggressive PLF bookings 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 sleeper-hit hunt continues in Q1, where modest-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 maximize those pockets. January could easily deliver the first quiet 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. Count on a vigorous PVOD arc overall, since horror fans have shown a willingness to pay for convenience after an opening weekend, especially when word of mouth is strong.

How the viewing year plays

From a moviegoer’s perspective, the 2026 horror year offers flow and breadth. January is a buffet, February delivers a legacy slasher, April brings back a Universal monster, May and June provide a back-to-back supernatural punch for date nights and group outings, July leans brutal, August and September keep the supernatural momentum, October turns into a Jordan Peele event, and December invites a austere, literate nightmare. That is how you sustain heat and footfall without cannibalizing your own titles. The pattern also supports social campaigns that can stack through the year, using earlier releases to warm up the audience for bigger plays in the fall.

Exhibitors respond well to the spacing. Horror delivers steady Thursday pops, disciplined footprints, and strong PLF uptake when the creative supports it. The 2026 slate has at least three titles that can warrant PLF, with The Mummy, Evil Dead Burn, and Werwulf all showcasing texture, sound, and picture 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.

2026 Shapes Up Strong

Slots move. Ratings change. Casts refresh. But the spine of 2026 horror is established. There is name recognition where it counts, creative ambition where it counts, and a calendar that shows studios understand how and when audiences want to be scared. 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 final-hour specialty addition join the party. For now, the job is simple, shape lean trailers, lock the reveals, and let the shudders sell the seats.