Blumhouse may be best known for their low-risk/high-reward model of filmmaking that’s seen them release a steady stream of hugely-profitable horror movies over the last decade, but in recent years the production company have slowly but surely been moving towards rebooting established properties as well as developing original projects.
The subtle change in their business model has already reaped huge rewards, with M. Night Shyamalan’s Split making nearly $280 million at the box office on a budget of just $9 million, and while the sequel was twice as expensive and half as good, Glass still managed to rake in almost $250 million globally.
Following the self-inflicted implosion of the Dark Universe, Blumhouse have also moved into the Universal Monsters business, and their approach is already paying huge dividends, as The Invisible Man scored widespread critical acclaim and recouped the $7 million production costs eighteen times over in theaters.
They aren’t above slapping a fresh coat of paint on a franchise that had long since run out of fumes, either, thanks to David Gordon Green’s Halloween reboot bringing the tired series roaring back to life, with the movie quickly gaining a reputation as the best installment since the classic original 40 years previously.
Halloween Kills and Halloween Ends might bring David Gordon Green’s trilogy to a close, but Jason Blum revealed that he’s got his sights set on reviving another iconic horror franchise if the opportunity ever arose. Unfortunately, though, the legal issues surrounding the rights to Friday the 13th make it a complicated proposition.
“Like I’ve said before, I would love to do it and it’s very complicated, but I hope someday. How about that? It’s not the answer I want to hear because I wish it was right away, but it isn’t.”
Jason Voorhees hasn’t been seen on the big screen for over a decade since his last reboot, with the franchise remaining in stasis as the battle rages on over who actually controls the rights to the iconic serial killer. Given how well they rejuvenated Michael Myers, Blumhouse would certainly seem like the ideal destination for a new Friday the 13th movie, but unfortunately, it doesn’t appear to be quite as simple as that.
