The Merger of Jason Blum’s Blumhouse and James Wan’s Atomic Monster Is Complete

Brian Welk
·2 min read
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The merger between Jason Blum’s company Blumhouse and James Wan’s Atomic Monster is complete, Blum announced on January 2.

“Our deal is …. Done,” the producer wrote on X. “@blumhouse and #AtomicMonster have officially joined forces. The preeminent homes for horror are now under one roof.” Blum shared the news along with a sizzle reel mashing up both companies’ biggest brands, from “Get Out” to “The Purge” to “Paranormal Activity” on the Blumhouse end and “The Conjuring,” “Aquaman,” and more on the Atomic Monster end.

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Boasting that they’re the “preeminent homes for horror” is right. Wan and Blumhouse’s horror movies have brought in more than $8.5 billion in box office since between 2004 and November 2022 when the advanced merger talks were first announced. Their combined companies also include the “Halloween,” “Happy Death Day,” “Insidious, “Annabelle,” “Five Nights at Freddy’s,” and “The Exorcist” franchises.

The merger deal was expected to close as early as summer 2023, but better late than never. The two companies still collaborated on the horror movie “Night Swim,” which opens in theaters on Friday, and they worked together on last year’s newest hit horror franchise, “M3GAN,” which has a sequel in the works.

Now that the deal is closed, expect the output of each company to significantly increase. The deal allows each company to retain their brand identity, but gives Blumhouse a big new stakeholder and added credibility — and Atomic Monster access to Blumhouse’s infrastructure, including Blumhouse’s first look deal with Universal that continues into this summer. Blumhouse is now owned three ways by Blum (who remains the majority stakeholder), Wan, and Universal parent company Comcast.

It should also allow Wan and Atomic Monster to continue to branch out into other territories, including podcasts, unscripted content, gaming, and live experiences. Blumhouse announced in February 2023 that it was entering into the video game space.

Blumhouse and Atomic Monster had an up and down 2023. “M3GAN,” about a killer robot companion, made $180 million worldwide; “The Nun II” made $268 million; and “Five Nights at Freddy’s,” based on the video game franchise, was an even bigger surprise hit and brought in $290 million, the biggest hit for Blumhouse yet.

But “The Exorcist: Believer,” which the companies rebooted with a planned trilogy after acquiring it for a reported $400 million, flopped with just $136 million at the box office. Wan’s “Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom,” the final film of the DC Extended Universe, is in theaters now but at just $255 million worldwide will be far off from the $1.15 billion grossed by the original “Aquaman.”

Upcoming, Wan is a producer on the next “Mortal Kombat” film, and Blumhouse is in the works on a sequel to “The Black Phone” starring Ethan Hawke.

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