“Paranormal Activity” juggernaut Blumhouse is returning to the OG found footage franchise, “The Blair Witch Project.”
During CinemaCon 2024, Lionsgate announced a multi-picture pact with Blumhouse to reimagine other horror classics from the Lionsgate library, starting with the iconic 1999 indie. No other specific titles from the library were unveiled on during Wednesday’s CinemaCon presentation.
“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,” Blumhouse founder and CEO Jason Blum said. “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.”
Lionsgate Motion Picture Group chair Adam Fogelson added, “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. 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.”
Lionsgate and Blumhouse recently collaborated on original horror feature “Imaginary.” Blumhouse has a first look deal at Universal Pictures. Blumhouse founder Blum will team with producer Roy Lee on the new “Blair Witch”; Lee previously produced the 2016 follow-up “Blair Witch.”
The first “Blair Witch” film “The Blair Witch Project” was released in 1999 and grossed a whopping $248 million at the box office. The feature spawned two additional franchise films, plus the Lionsgate-operated Las Vegas escape room experience, “Escape Blair Witch.”
“The Blair Witch Project” reboot is just one of the many horror franchise reimaginings in the works. Original features “The Black Phone” and “It Follows” both landed sequels, with “The Exorcist” and “The Omen” receiving new franchise installments. “The First Omen” prequel has been teased to kick off a new timeline set decades before the original classic.
Additional reporting by Brian Welk.
