Universal Pictures and Blumhouse Atomic Monster will release “River” in theaters across the country on Friday, January 15, 2027. It will face off against Jason Statham’s “The Beekeeper 2” and “Children of Blood and Bone,” an adaptation of a hit YA novel.

“River,” which follows three estranged siblings who reunite in their hometown after the death of their father to scatter his ashes only to find themselves stalked by a killer, was a breakout hit at the Toronto International Film Festival. It was produced by Independent Film Company and Shudder, and was scheduled to be released on the genre label’s streaming service. It was Shudder’s first original production. Those plans changed, however, as Blumhouse and Universal swept in after its premiere and signed a deal for more than $10 million for the rights to the film.

Though the pact stunned observers, it made strategic sense. “River’s” writer and director Joshua Giuliano was already in business with the companies. Shortly before the film debuted, Blumhouse Atomic Monster and Universal’s indie label, Focus Features, announced that they were making “Occupant,” the next film from Giuliano. But to get the rights to his first feature, Universal and Blumhouse had to beat out other competitors, including Sony Pictures and Netflix.

“To see our first Shudder Original Production launch at Toronto with this kind of response — from audiences, critics, and the marketplace — is enormously gratifying,” Scott Shooman, head of IFC
Entertainment Group, said in a statement. “Across Shudder and IFC, we have always focused on identifying projects and working with established and next-generation creative visionaries and Josh is exactly the kind of filmmaker we bet on. ‘River’ is a film that showcases our unmatched credibility in the genre, the strength of our creative relationships and ability to elevate bold and distinctive films that break through.”

“River” stars Jane Levy (“Evil Dead”), Jessica Rothe (“Happy Death Day”), Max Mattern (“Devil in Disguise: John Wayne Gacy”), and Dane DiLiegro (“Prey”). Currently, the film has a 94% critics rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Blumhouse has been on a hot streak this year, releasing hits like “Backrooms” and “Obsession” from Kane Parsons and Curry Barker, two filmmakers in their 20s who represent a new generation of creative talent.

Production company Anonymous Content is entering a new era where they are looking to become a financier in the film marketplace, rather than just a “fee-for-hire production company,” which will allow them to finance their own projects.

For one of the new projects, announced during the Bloomberg Screentime conference Thursday, Anonymous has commissioned author Nicholas Boggs, to write the script for a feature film adaptation of Boggs’ Baldwin: A Love Story, along with his partner, author Marlon James, author of The Disappearers. The project will be co-produced with Higher Ground.

Additionally, the company, backed by Laurene Powell Jobs’ Emerson Collective, said it will look to move into live events including Broadway and potentially move into the content creation space. This comes after the Emerson Collective made a “material investment” in the company in January, alongside Walker’s appointment as CEO.

“So there’s no doubt that the content creators, these independent content creators, figuring out how to have a portal to that community, that community of writers, that community of creators in places that we don’t normally go, and making sure we have team members who can have tentacles in those places,” Walker said. “And then looking at things like theatrical, and looking at different ways for us to work. And when I say theatrical, I mean Broadway. I mean live events.”

As part of this new era, under Walker, who joined in January after serving as the president of the Ford Foundation, the company is also reconstituting the board, with Jobs joining as a board member, alongside former HBO CEO Richard Plepler.

“We have been a fee-for-hire production company. We have not invested for the most part. We have not been lead, in part because we haven’t invested. The board now and Emerson has made it possible for us to become a financier in the market, so we’ll be able to co-finance, finance, take the lead in financing in film,” Walker said.

“It’s necessary because fee-for-service is a bad way to build a company,” Jobs added.

They added that this will mean the balance sheet for the company will increase, but that the company will have “an envelope” with which to make the financing decisions.

“It’s is a slight, subtle change in priorities when you look for excellence, when you look for the highest quality, when you look for material that moves humans and touches us and stays inside us and reminds us of what we’re capable of, if that’s your number one, and then making money is number two, then you actually end up making films that people really want to see that,” Jobs said.

More to come.

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