Blumhouse Productions has been bolstering its horror movie offerings with films like Paranormal Activity, and now the production company has reportedly acquired the Saw franchise.
After Saw XI was pulled from the Lionsgate release schedule, fans have been concerned about the future of the franchise. The latest film in the franchise, Spiral, faced difficulties with delays until its release in 2021 and that film was ultimately a success, earning over $40 million at the global box office against a modest budget of $20 million.
Today, a report has come out from Deadline that says Blumhouse has acquired the Saw film franchise rights from Twisted Pictures, with Lionsgate still maintaining 50% ownership. Blumhouse Productions is known for producing some of the biggest horror franchises over the past decade with films like Insidious, and Paranormal Activity. the Saw franchise seems like a natural fit. If Blumhouse has acquired the film rights, it puts Saw back under the same umbrella as co-creator James Wan, who directed the original Saw film from 2004.
According to the report, the acquisition doesn’t necessarily mean Saw XI will return to production but Blumhouse Productions will likely want a film to emerge from the acquisition sooner rather than later. According to Forbes, the Saw franchise has been lucrative for Twisted Pictures (despite relatively middling critical reception from Metacritic and Rotten Tomatoes), with Saw III alone returning over $160,000,000 from the global box office. The Saw franchise has also seen many multimedia adaptations, with a Saw video game (and a sequel release), a comic book, and board games.
The acquisition has not been officially confirmed by Twisted Pictures or Blumhouse Productions, so fans should take any hope the acquisition report delivers with a grain of salt until an official announcement is made by one of the production companies involved.
