Fresh off the runaway success of Obsession, Curry Barker has officially set his next horror movie at Universal Pictures.
The hottest young name in horror found his next home after a fierce studio bidding war.
Film News Blitz’s RC Stacey follows the obsession.
There’s been a bidding war brewing across Hollywood ever since Obsession exploded onto the scene, and we finally know where Barker is heading next.
After weeks of speculation that multiple studios were aggressively chasing the filmmaker, The Hollywood Reporter confirmed that Barker will write, produce and direct his untitled fourth feature for Blumhouse Atomic Monster and Universal Pictures, in what’s been described as a rich eight-figure deal.
Also producing are Roy Lee and Steven Schneider’s Spooky Pictures, alongside Adam Hendricks and Greg Gilreath’s Divide/Conquer, the banner behind horror hits such as The Black Phone and Heart Eyes.
From internet wunderkind to one of the busiest names in horror
The move isn’t entirely surprising.
Industry chatter had pegged Barker’s next directing assignment as one of the hottest packages in town, with an existing first-look arrangement between the filmmaker and the Universal/Blumhouse-Atomic Monster machine reportedly discouraging rivals from getting too aggressive.
Universal has now planted its flag.
It all comes as Obsession continues to defy expectations at the box office and is poised to return 400 times its puny $750,000 production budget.
Barker has rapidly gone from internet-horror wunderkind to one of the most sought-after young filmmakers working today.
Before this newly announced project, Barker already has plenty on his plate.
He’s in post-production on Anything But Ghosts, a supernatural horror for Focus Features reuniting him with Blumhouse, Atomic Monster, Roy Lee and Spooky Pictures, and starring Aaron Paul, Bryce Dallas Howard and Violet McGraw.
He’s also attached to A24’s reimagining of The Texas Chain Saw Massacre.
As for the Universal film? We don’t know the title. We don’t know the plot. We don’t know who’s starring.
We just know it’s happening, and given Barker’s current hot streak, that’s reason enough for us to pay attention.
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