‘Winnie-the-Pooh’ Horror Crossover ‘Poohniverse’ Sells Around The World Before Filming Starts

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As a seasoned cinephile with decades of movie-watching under my belt and a soft spot for the whimsical, I must say, the prospect of “Poohniverse: Monsters Assemble” has me both intrigued and slightly bewildered. The success of the Winnie-the-Pooh horror series has proven that there’s an audience hungry for unexpected twists on cherished childhood characters.

Fear not, horror enthusiasts! The long-anticipated, gory Winnie-the-Pooh crossover event is finally taking shape. Production for “Poohniverse: Monsters Unite” will commence in March 2025. This intriguing series, referred to as The Warped Childhood Universe, is the brainchild of Rhys Frake-Waterfield and promises to merge a variety of public domain characters. The franchise’s journey started with “Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey” in 2023, which defied expectations by raking in $7.7 million at the box office with a meager production budget of $100,000.

The violence persisted in this year’s “Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey 2,” which, despite earning slightly less than its predecessor with $7.6 million, has been quite profitable. Even before a single frame has been filmed, the sequel titled “Poohniverse: Monsters Assemble” has reportedly been sold worldwide. This suggests that international distributors who acquired the film rights are confident it will be successful, given its strong performance at the box office thus far.

Beyond just being made available in North America through ITN, this film is also set for a global release. This wide distribution is facilitated by several companies who have invested in what Frake-Waterfield offers. These include BF Distribution for Latin America, Plaion for Germany and Italy, Altitude for the UK, ND Pictures for Benelux, Factoris for France, Umbrella for Australia and New Zealand, BG Films for Turkey, Voxell for Russia/CIS, New Select for Japan, Movie Cloud for Taiwan, Mega Films for Malaysia, Filmbridge for Mongolia, and Cine Entertainment for Pakistan.

Peter Pan, Bambi, and Pinocchio Will Get Their Own Horror Movies Leading Into ‘Poohniverse’

The production for “Poohniverse: Monsters Assemble” is scheduled to start next year, but the movie aims for a 2026 release date to give other characters a chance to make their debut in the crossover event first. Coming before “Poohniverse: Monsters Assemble” are “Bambi: The Reckoning” and “Peter Pan’s Neverland Nightmare”, slated for release in Q1 of 2025. Martin Portlock will play the role of Peter Pan in the latter, while Roxanne McKee will portray Xana in the former, a mother who is pursued by Bambi after her car hits his mother.

As a movie critic, I’d put it this way: “In my opinion, ‘Pinocchio: Unstrung’ is a chilling reimagination of the classic tale. Horror icon Robert Englund (‘A Nightmare on Elm Street’) takes on the role of Cricket, while Richard Brake (‘Barbarian’) portrays Geppetto. The narrative unfolds as Geppetto presents Pinocchio to his grandson, who exposes the puppet to the darkest aspects of humanity. In a twisted turn of events, the innocent Pinocchio embarks on a brutal rampage in an attempt to eradicate evil from the world.

In the upcoming movie “Poohniverse: Monsters Assemble”, three additional films, along with the previously mentioned “Winnie-the-Pooh” series, will reunite all the remaining characters from those productions. New characters will also be introduced to carry on the franchise and create a thrilling crossover event that could potentially outshine anything produced by the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

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2024-11-22 22:03