A new Blair Witch movie is scheduled for release in 2027, and it's continuing a recent successful horror trend. 1999's The Blair Witch Project was a critical and commercial success. It earned an 86% critic score on Rotten Tomatoes, and grossed over $248.6 million worldwide on a reported $60,000 budget. The film was directed by Daniel Myrick and Eduardo Sánchez, and presents the found footage of three students who vanish in a Maryland forest while filming a documentary about the Blair Witch story.
Since the film's release in 1999, two sequels have been made. The first was 2000's Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2, and the second was 2016's Blair Witch. Book of Shadows grossed over $47.7 million worldwide on a reported $15 million budget, and Blair Witch earned around $45.2 million worldwide on a $5 million budget. Both films were profitable, but didn't have the same box office success as the original film.
A fourth film in the Blair Witch franchise is now set to arrive in 2027. According to Deadline, the film is scheduled to release "on September 24, 2027." The film is coming "from Lionsgate," and "Blumhouse and Atomic Monster are involved." Story details are still unknown, but it will be "directed by [Dylan] Clark, written by Chris Thomas Devlin, and produced by Jason Blum, James Wan, Roy Lee, Adam Hendricks, and Greg Gilreath."
Clark is making his feature-lengh film directorial debut with the upcoming Blair Witch film. He's another horror director who has a background with YouTube. Horror movies directed by filmmakers who made videos or movies for YouTube is a recent trend in the genre, and it has produced a few successful films.
Before being attached to the upcoming Blair Witch film, Clark made a few short films for his YouTube channel, which is named after himself. A few of his short films include Catcher, Hatched, Rest, and Remains. According to Deadline, Clark "recently signed on with Universal to adapt his horror short Portrait of God, with Sam Raimi and Jordan Peele producing," and is "writing to direct an adaptation of his short film Story Time, with Zak Olkewicz and LD Entertainment producing."
Clark is another horror director who comes from YouTube. Some examples of this include David F. Sandberg, who directed 2016's Lights Out and 2017's Annabelle: Creation, Danny and Michael Phillippou, who helmed 2022's Talk To Me and 2025's Bring Her Back, Michael Shanks, who directed 2025's Together, Chris Stuckmann, who directed 2025's Shelby Oaks, Markiplier, who helmed 2026's Iron Lung, Curry Barker who directed 2026's Obsession, and Kane Parsons, who helmed 2026's Backrooms. Several of these films performed well at the box office, showing this is a successful trend for horror.
The trend of horror movies directed by filmmakers who come from YouTube has produced a few box office hits, including three 2026 films. One is Obsession, which has been incredibly successful, grossing over $339.2 million worldwide on a reported $750,000 budget. It currently holds the record for the highest-grossing horror movie of 2026, and is also the current eighth highest-grossing film of the year, ahead of The Mandalorian and Grogu, and behind Toy Story 5.
Another hit in this trend that released in 2026 is Backrooms. The A24 film has grossed over $301.8 million worldwide on a reported $10 million budget. It is currently the tenth highest-grossing film of 2026, below The Mandalorian and Grogu and ahead of Dear You. Additionally, Iron Lung was also a commercial success, grossing over $50 million on a reported $3 million budget. Other hits in this trend include Talk to Me, Lights Out, and Annabelle: Creation.
Clark's upcoming Blair Witch movie could be another successful film from a horror director who has a background with YouTube. While the last two films in this franchise weren't huge box office hits, it is still a recognizable title that could generate interest from audiences, especially if Clark develops a great horror outing. It has the potential to be another hit in this successful trend when it releases in 2027.
