Hollywood has found its new obsession, and this meme can’t be found anywhere on the internet underground.
Coming out on top of a five-studio war with a massive multimillion-dollar deal, Warner Bros. Pictures has acquired the underlying rights to Siren Heada viral horror film created by creature designer Trevor Henderson that centers on a tall, rotting skeletal figure with, wait for it, two sirens for its head.
This package has become even more interesting for studios due to the powerful talent attached to it. Weapon Director Zak Cregger is working on the script with Brian Duffield, whose upcoming survival film whalefall is already causing a stir. Duffield was slated to direct.
Cregger will also produce the feature alongside Roy Lee and Andrew Childs of Vertigo Entertainment, the production company that produced the film. Weapon. Scott Glassgold of 12:01 Films, which specializes in sourcing Hollywood-ready content online, will also produce. Duffield will produce the film under his Jurassic Party Productions banner.
The package of rights, producers and talent came together just last week, and on July 4th bidding went off like fireworks. The intensity of the bidding and the high price of the package show not only the strength of the players involved, but also how Internet memes have become highly valuable source material for Hollywood films.
Actually, Siren Head it seems that this will be the first deal of this kind after the success Utility roomswhich helped start the trend with its stellar $81.4 million May 29 opening. The rights deal alone is said to be worth seven figures, and all the major studios were represented at the auction, including Sony, Universal, Paramount and Disney’s 20.th Century Studios, which is behind Duffield’s project. whalefall. The theatrical release was key to the deal, which excluded major streamers.
At Warners, the package initially caught the attention of executives at WB Clockwork, the studio’s new dedicated division, but as the scale grew, they turned to the larger Warners.
Created by Canadian artist Henderson in 2018, the meme was originally a drawing of a unique-looking cryptid. Once Henderson posted it online, it went viral in unexpected ways beyond anyone’s understanding. Soon, not only animations but also fan theories, fan-made short films, fan-made video games, and a plethora of fan-made merchandise appeared on YouTube as young Gen Zers became obsessed with them, to the bewilderment of their parents.
“My six year old has been obsessed with this Sirenhead thing for the last month after watching a horror movie about it. He says he wants a movie and I have no idea what it is. Anyone else know what it is?” wrote one Reddit user. This was six years ago.
The viral phenomenon, featuring this predatory creature lurking in rural and forested areas and playing various recordings, has reportedly racked up 3 billion views on TikTok, one billion views on YouTube and millions of plays on Roblox.
However, the deal isn’t just a gamble for some hot meme. Siren Head developed into its own monster mythology, the appeal of which attracted Cregger and Duffield. The duo are said to have found their own way of looking at the world, which prompted them to collaborate and, in turn, prompted studios to bid.
Finding what will bring Gen Z to movie theaters has become Hollywood’s goal thanks to unexpected success Utility roomsdirected by Kane Parsons, and Obsessiondirected by Curry Barker. Both gained followers through their horror short films on YouTube. The Gen Z movie audience is nascent but critical as millennials and their preferences, including superhero movies and dystopian teen novels, give way to the next generation.
Glassgold and Henderson have a long-standing creative partnership, having worked together on Sony’s 2024 film. Tarot. Glassgold produced and also hired Henderson to create all nine Tarotmonsters.
Verve Talent Agency, which represents Henderson, oversaw the rights auction. This is the second giant, ugly IP war Verve has been at the center of this year. Texas Chainsaw Massacre which went to A24 in a five-way studio bidding war.
Cregger is repped by CAA and Jackoway Austin, while Duffield is repped by UTA, Circle M+P and Howard Abramson. Vertigo is repped by CAA and Aron Baumel, and 12:01 is repped by Verve and attorney Jeff Frankel. Henderson is also represented by manager Josh Dove and attorney Marios Rush.