FRESH OFF THE WORLDWIDE NUMBER ONE BOX OFFICE HIT ‘SMILE 2’ TEMPLE HILL ANNOUNCE THEIR NEXT HORROR FEATURE FILM, ‘MONITOR’
Protagonist Pictures Launches Sales Ahead of AFM
Temple Hill Entertainment, the producers behind the critically acclaimed box office megahits Smile and Smile 2, and leading sales, finance and production company Protagonist Pictures have announced the high concept horror feature, Monitor. Written and directed by Ryan Polly and Matt Black (I Bet You’re Wondering How I Got Here, Stalled) the film is based on their terrifying horror short of the same name.
Monitor is produced by Marty Bowen, Wyck Godfrey and John Fischer for Temple Hill (Smile, The Twilight Saga, The Maze Runner Trilogy), Nostromo Pictures (The Night Manager Season 2 ) is co-producing. Protagonist’s Dave Bishop and George Hamilton serve as executive producers.
When a group of social media moderators refuse to publish a horrifying video, a demonic creature starts following them across every screen in their lives. Feeding off fear, the creature hunts them down one by one and attacks them until it gets what it wants… to be let out beyond the screen.
Protagonist Pictures is launching worldwide sales at the upcoming American Film Market, with production scheduled to begin in Spring 2025. This is the latest collaboration between Protagonist and Temple Hill, which began with the slasher horror Clown In A Cornfield which sold out at AFM 2022.
“Our friends at Temple Hill have an incredibly successful track record for making films that connect with global audiences. They deliver once again with this audacious and bold film that is sure to scare the hell out of cinema goers worldwide,” said Protagonist Pictures’ CEO, Dave Bishop. “Monitor is a horror as terrifying as it is timely, with its contemporary take on the frightening online world we’re all forced to navigate. Ryan and Matt have the talent to deliver all the scares and more, and we can’t wait to jump into production early next year.”
Polly and Black added, “The more we use screens in our daily lives, the more we learn we can’t trust them. It’s a universal anxiety that we think is ripe for a killer new horror concept. Temple Hill have been dream collaborators for us and their record in the genre speaks for itself. We can’t wait to summon this monster to the screen.”
“We’re thrilled to introduce Matt and Ryan’s terrifying filmmaking vision to the world,” the producers shared in a joint statement. “Monitor is a chilling and timely exploration of how digital reality can begin to overtake real life. To us, it is The Ring for the social media generation and we can’t wait for audiences everywhere to experience it.”
In addition to Monitor, writer-directors Ryan Polly and Matt Black are in development on multiple feature film projects including the feature-length adaptations of their award-winning short film Pizza Time. Polly and Black co-founded the film development and production company Bonus Features, which creates award-winning genre short films that have premiered at San Diego Comic-Con, and won the grand jury prize at Slamdance. He is also co-founder of the Weekend Video ad agency, which produces commercials and branded content for major brands including Nintendo, Pizza Hut, and Budweiser, among others. They are represented by Jon Kee at Circle Management + Production, and Raymond Tambe at JSSK. Monitor is their feature directorial debut.
Founded by Godfrey and Bowen in 2006, Temple Hill Entertainment is the prolific banner behind a number of blockbuster film franchises, including the 2022 successful sleeper hit, Smile, followed by the box office chart-topper, Smile 2, both released by Paramount Pictures. Their book-to-film adaptations, The Twilight Saga and The Maze Runner trilogy, have grossed over $5.3B and $949M worldwide respectively. Additional films include John Green’s The Fault in Our Stars, starring Shailene Woodley and Ansel Elgort; Greg Berlanti’s Love, Simon, starring Jennifer Garner and Josh Duhamel; the critically acclaimed and NAACP Image Award-winner, The Hate U Give; and Fatherhood, starring Kevin Hart and Alfre Woodward.
Protagonist Pictures AFM slate includes the Scottish family drama Glenrothan, starring Alan Cumming, and Brian Cox in his feature directorial debut; Bharat Nalluri’s family adventure Flavia, starring Martin Freeman, Jonathan Pryce, and Molly Belle Wright; Philippa Lowthorpe’s H Is For Hawk, starring Claire Foy and Brendan Gleeson; the Venice, TIFF and San Sebastian selection Kill the Jockey, directed by Luis Ortega and recently selected as Argentina’s feature film contender for the 2025 Academy Awards; Samir Oliveros’ TIFF title The Luckiest Man in America, starring Emmy and Golden Globe winner Paul Walter Hauser; the genre-bending comedy Sister Midnight, which recently screened at the London Film Festival and was nominated for Cannes’ Camera D’Or; and from directors Guy Maddin, Evan Johnson, and Galen Johnson, the political horror-comedy Rumours, which debuted at Cannes before going on to screen at Toronto, San Sebastian, New York and London Film Festivals.
