Renowned horror filmmaker and screenwriter Gary Dauberman, a creative force behind some of the most lucrative and genre-defining horror franchises of the past decade, has officially signed a significant first-look producing deal with Blumhouse Atomic, the prominent production banner spearheaded by industry titans Jason Blum and James Wan.
The agreement, which goes into effect next week, will operate through Coin Operated, the production company that Dauberman founded in 2020. Coin Operated is currently run by its president, Mia Maniscalco, who oversees the company’s slate and day-to-day operations alongside Dauberman. This new alliance formalizes and deepens an already successful creative relationship between Dauberman and the masterminds driving Blumhouse Atomic, bridging together some of the most successful commercial voices in modern cinematic horror.
Expressing his enthusiasm for the newly minted partnership, Dauberman shared his thoughts in an official statement detailing his admiration for both banner heads and their respective contributions to the genre.
“I’m thrilled to be working with these two powerhouses,” Dauberman said. “It’s been great to watch Jason make films that connect so viscerally with not just me, but fans all over the world. On top of that, I am thrilled to be reuniting with James, who has always been such a strong supporter and huge influence on my work. Together, Blumhouse Atomic brings a unique combination of collaboration, inventiveness and engagement to the creative process. Under their partnership, I couldn’t be more excited to continue our history and make more projects together.”
The first-look agreement is a natural evolution of ongoing professional collaborations between Dauberman and the Blumhouse Atomic team. Most notably, in June, it was announced that Dauberman had been tapped to pen the official screenplay for the third installment of Five Nights at Freddy’s, the massively successful video game horror adaptation franchise produced by Blumhouse Atomic in partnership with Universal Pictures. The cinematic adaptation of the survival horror game has proven to be a monumental commercial success, and Dauberman’s involvement on the upcoming threequel cements his role in shaping its expanding universe.
Furthermore, Dauberman brings to the deal a deeply established, long-standing creative relationship with James Wan. The two filmmakers share a rich history rooted in the creation and expansion of The Conjuring Universe, a sprawling supernatural cinematic universe originated by Wan that has dominated the global box office for over a decade. Dauberman became an essential pillar of that expanding franchise, establishing himself as a trusted architect of cinematic terror.
Within The Conjuring Universe, Dauberman wrote the screenplays for the major box-office spinoffs Annabelle, Annabelle: Creation, and The Nun. He also extended his producing footprint within the cinematic universe by serving as a producer on The Curse of La Llorona, its upcoming continuation Revenge of La Llorona, and The Nun 2. Demonstrating his versatility behind the camera as well as on the page, Dauberman made his feature-length directorial debut with Annabelle Comes Home, for which he also authored the screenplay.
James Wan, reflecting on the decade-long professional bond and the decision to bring Dauberman and Coin Operated into the Blumhouse Atomic fold, praised the writer-producer’s unique instincts and alignment with the banner’s core creative mission.
“Gary has been a close creative partner for more than a decade, and has been an essential part of some of our most popular franchises of all time,” Wan said. “He has an instinct for what makes horror work, and he’s built Coin Operated into a home for exactly the kind of bold, fun, fan-driven stories we love. Jason and I couldn’t be happier to welcome Gary and Mia to Blumhouse Atomic.”
Beyond his extensive work within the Wan-verse and upcoming Blumhouse projects, Dauberman is widely recognized across the industry for his major contributions to Warner Bros. and New Line Cinema. In 2017, he achieved historic box office success by penning the screenplay for the feature film adaptation of Stephen King’s legendary horror novel It, directed by Andy Muschietti. The film shattered box office records upon its release, ultimately securing the title of the biggest horror movie opening of all time. Capitalizing on the unprecedented success of the first film, Dauberman returned as both screenwriter and executive producer for the massive box-office sequel, It: Chapter Two.
The transition to Blumhouse Atomic follows a previous first-look producing partnership that Coin Operated maintained with Sony Pictures. That prior collaboration yielded several high-profile projects in various stages of development and production. Among them is the upcoming video game adaptation Until Dawn, for which Dauberman served as both writer and producer. Additionally, the Sony partnership included early developmental work on Helldivers, with filmmaker Justin Lin attached to direct and Dauberman having contributed early drafts to the project’s development pipeline.
With the launch of this new partnership under the Blumhouse Atomic banner, Dauberman and his Coin Operated team are positioned to expand their footprint in the horror and genre filmmaking spaces, leveraging the combined marketing and production prowess of Blum, Wan, and their respective cinematic empires.
In matters of representation, Gary Dauberman and Coin Operated are managed and represented by the talent agency WME, personal manager Kathleen Remington, and legal counsel at Toczek Suddleson.