Blumhouse's company model is to produce films on a small budget, give directors creative freedom, and release films widely through the studio system.[11] Blumhouse was originally known as Blum Israel Productions, with Amy Israel with a first-look deal at Miramax when the company was founded.[12] In 2002, Blum and Israel parted ways, and the company became Blumhouse Productions.[13] In 2015, Crypt TV was created by Jack Davis and Eli Roth which is backed by Blum and the company.[14]
Blumhouse's low-budget model began in 2007 with Paranormal Activity, which was made for $15,000 and grossed over $193 million worldwide.[15] It produced Insidious, which grossed over $100 million worldwide on a budget of $1.5 million;[16] and Sinister, which grossed over $87 million worldwide from a budget of $3 million.[6]
In 2018, Blumhouse announced a partnership with DreamWorks Animation to co-produce Spooky Jack[17][18] but the film was removed from DreamWorks Animation's slate in 2019.[19]
On November 16, 2022, it was announced that James Wan's Atomic Monster was in talks to merge with Blumhouse, with Atomic Monster having a shared first-look deal with Universal. Both companies would continue to operate as separate labels, with each maintaining its own creative autonomy and brand identity.[20][21][22] The merger was finalized on January 2, 2024.[23]
Television, video games, books, podcasts and haunted houses
In November 2014, it launched Blumhouse Books, to publish original horror and thriller novels.[25]
In February 2023, it launched Blumhouse Games to produce and publish original horror-themed video games for console, PC and mobile devices as part longer-term effort to branch out into interactive media. The division would join up with independent developers and focus on games with budgets of under $10 million. It would offer financing and help with creative input. The company appointed Zach Wood as President and Don Sechler as CFO of the new venture. No specific projects were discussed at the time of the announcement.[26][27]
Blumhouse Tilt, LLC,[28]doing business as BH Tilt, was established on September 9, 2014, a new label dedicated to generating movies from Blumhouse and other filmmakers for multi-platform release.[29]
On September 7, 2017, Blumhouse partnered with Neon, a distribution company, to manage BH Tilt with the aim of achieving long-term sustainable success.[30]
