Horror King Jason Blum's Formula for Paranormal Success

With a fresh slate of scary sequels to M3GAN, The Black Phone, and Five Nights at Freddy's, the Blumhouse founder says a focus on talent and profitability has served him well.

- AS TOLD TO WILL TAVLIN

Jason Blum doesn't scare easily. When the famed film producer began making horror movies on shoestring budgets more than a decade ago, he had every reason to believe he'd fail. “Everyone used to ask me, ‘Why don’t more people do what you do?’” The answer, which would become his mantra: “I don’t make low-budget movies to try to make bigger movies. I make low-budget movies, and that’s always what I’ll do.”

Constraints, the 56-year-old entrepreneur reasons, “force you to think more creatively and more constructively.” He may well be right. Blum and his film studio, Blumhouse, have produced hit franchises like Paranormal Activity, Insidious, and The Purge, as well as critically acclaimed films including Jordan Peele’s Get Out and Damien Chazelle’s Whiplash. Altogether, his movies have grossed over $6 billion and helped horror, once a niche genre in Hollywood, go mainstream.

It helps that his company last year merged with James Wan’s production studio, Atomic Monster. Together, the still independently operated firms account for nearly $9 billion in global box office receipts. Sitting down with Inc., Blum shared more about his classic bootstrapper’s approach to business.

1 Lower your budget, boost your rewards