Blumhouse Productions Hit With Layoffs, Pay Cuts for Senior Leadership (EXCLUSIVE)

By Matt Donnelly

LOS ANGELES (Variety.com) – Blumhouse Productions has enacted a small round of layoffs in numerous departments, insiders tell Variety, cuts made amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. Senior leadership at the company will also take salary reductions.

A total of eight roles across film and television were eliminated, ranging from executive assistants to mid-level employees in departments like development, insiders said.

A Blumhouse spokesperson confirmed the changes, which were attributed to the pandemic’s effect on the industry. In late March, office staff and production assistants were also terminated. 

While small in number, the cuts prove that even a shop as notoriously lean and profitable as Blumhouse — the producer of low-budget hit horror franchises including the “Insidious,” “The Purge” and “Halloween” — is not immune to the economic devastation caused by COVID-19.

Blumhouse is in the midst of a 10-year first look feature film deal with Universal Pictures, and signed a similar deal on the television side in 2018.

The company joins a number of Hollywood entities tightening belts. The Walt Disney Company has enacted furloughs that touch numerous departments, notably employees of their shut down theme parks and many across their film labels — including Marvel, Lucasfilm, Pixar and Walt Disney Animation. Film productions have been stalled and planned releases have been pushed down the calendar.

All of the major talent agencies have cut salaries from the top down, including CAA, UTA and WME. ICM has laid off of staff, as has Paradigm Agency.

Blumhouse recently released some high-profile titles, including “The Invisible Man” and “The Hunt,” which were made available for digital purchase earlier than anticipated, thanks to quarantine orders across the country.