On the heels of their collaboration on the horror film “Imaginary,” Lionsgate and Blumhouse will partner on the development and production of a new “Blair Witch Project,” Adam Fogelson, chair, Lionsgate Motion Picture Group and Jason Blum, founder and CEO of Blumhouse, announced at CinemaCon on Wednesday.
“The Blair Witch Project” is the first film in a multi-picture pact with Blumhouse reimagining horror classics from the Lionsgate library. Blum will team with producer Roy Lee on the new film. Lee previously produced the 2016 film “Blair Witch.”
“I have been incredibly fortunate to work with Jason many times over the years. We forged a strong relationship on ‘The Purge’ when I was at Universal, and we launched STX with his film ‘The Gift.’ There is no one better at this genre than the team at Blumhouse,” Fogelson said in a statement to TheWrap. “We are thrilled to kick this partnership off with a new vision for ‘Blair Witch’ that will reintroduce this horror classic for a new generation. We couldn’t be more pleased to be working with them on this and other projects we look forward to revealing soon.”
“I’m very grateful to Adam and the team at Lionsgate for letting us play in their sandbox. I’m a huge admirer of ‘The Blair Witch Project,’ which brought the idea of found footage horror to mainstream audiences and became a true cultural phenomenon,” Blum added. “I don’t think there would have been a ‘Paranormal Activity’ had there not first been a ‘Blair Witch,’ so this feels like a truly special opportunity and I’m excited to see where it leads.”
The first “Blair Witch” film was released in 1999. It became a worldwide blockbuster, taking in $248 million and spawning two additional franchise films. Lionsgate currently operates “Escape Blair Witch,” one of Las Vegas’s most popular escape room experiences.
Based at Universal Pictures, where it has a first look deal, Blumhouse is the gold standard in the horror space, generating blockbuster results from a string of modestly-budgeted films including the “Paranormal Activity” franchise, “Insidious,” “The Purge,” “Sinister,” “Halloween,” “Five Nights at Freddy’s” and “M3GAN” along with award winners “Get Out” and “BlacKkKlansman.” Blumhouse films have grossed nearly $6 billion at the worldwide box office.
