Vertigo Entertainment

Overview

Vertigo Entertainment is a Los Angeles-based production company founded by Roy Lee and Doug Davison in 2001. The company specializes in producing horror, thriller, and genre films for major studio distribution, with a particular focus on adapting source material from novels, short films, video games, and foreign-language films for American audiences. Vertigo has produced some of the highest-grossing horror films of the past two decades, generating billions in combined worldwide box office across franchise properties and standalone releases.

In 2025, Lee produced or executive produced 11 films released theatrically, the most prolific year of his career. The standout was A Minecraft Movie (Warner Bros.), which grossed nearly $1 billion worldwide and became the highest-grossing video game adaptation of all time. Other 2025 releases included Weapons (New Line), The Long Walk (Lionsgate), Companion (New Line), Until Dawn (Screen Gems), and How to Train Your Dragon (Universal, as executive producer). The IT prequel series IT: Welcome to Derry premiered on Max in 2025.

For horror and genre filmmakers, Vertigo represents a production partner with the connections, commercial track record, and studio relationships to bring projects to major distribution. The company actively develops material with demonstrable audience appeal, whether through existing readership for a novel, a successful short film, a viral online concept, or a proven foreign-language property.

History

Roy Lee and Doug Davison established Vertigo Entertainment in the fall of 2001. Lee built an early reputation as a producer specializing in English-language remakes of successful Asian horror films. He brought The Ring (2002) and The Grudge (2004) to American audiences, sparking a wave of J-horror adaptations. The Ring grossed $249 million worldwide on a $48 million budget. The Grudge opened to $39 million in October 2004, setting the record at the time for the biggest horror opening weekend.

The company's commercial footprint expanded dramatically through the Conjuring universe. Lee and Davison produced The Conjuring (2013), which launched one of the most successful horror franchises in cinema history. The franchise, including sequels and spinoffs such as Annabelle, The Nun, and The Curse of La Llorona, has collectively generated over $2.5 billion worldwide.

Other significant productions include It (2017) and It Chapter Two (2019, combined gross over $1.1 billion), The Departed (2006, Best Picture winner), Doctor Sleep (2019), Barbarian (2022), Late Night with the Devil (2024), Strange Darling (2024), and Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire (2024, $564 million worldwide as executive producer).

Lee also co-founded Spooky Pictures with Steven Schneider, a separate horror-focused production label. Vertigo's model of identifying source material with commercial potential, adapting it for mainstream American audiences, and producing through major studio partnerships has proven consistently effective across changing market conditions.

Notable Productions

The Conjuring universe (including Annabelle, The Nun, The Curse of La Llorona) has generated over $2.5 billion worldwide across all films.

House Style / Genre Focus

Vertigo Entertainment specializes in horror, thriller, and genre films adapted from source material with demonstrable audience appeal. The company adapts novels, short films, video games, and foreign-language films for American audiences. Vertigo produced some of the highest-grossing horror films of the past two decades. The company does not produce arthouse dramas, romantic comedies, documentary features, or festival-circuit films without commercial genre elements. Recent expansion into video game adaptations (A Minecraft Movie, Until Dawn, God of War) and IP-driven franchises broadened the scope beyond pure horror while maintaining the source-material adaptation model.

How They Typically Find Talent / Take Submissions

Vertigo does not accept unsolicited submissions directly. Access routes run through talent agencies (CAA, WME, UTA) and entertainment lawyers. The company evaluates novels with existing readership, successful short films, proven foreign-language properties, video game IP, and viral online content. Roy Lee has stated that if he were starting out in 2025, he would monitor AI-generated short films and proof-of-concept videos as the next wave of source material.

The AWA Studios partnership (announced June 2024) creates an additional pathway for comic book creators to develop horror IP with Vertigo. Writers and artists should submit through AWA's standard submission process for "The Future of Fear" collaboration.

Vertigo's major studio relationships include Warner Bros./New Line (primary distribution partner), Universal, Lionsgate, and Screen Gems.

Recent Output / Slate Year

Vertigo's 2025 output represents the company's most productive year to date:

• A Minecraft Movie (April 2025, Warner Bros.): Nearly $1 billion worldwide, highest-grossing video game adaptation ever
• Companion (January 2025, New Line): Sci-fi thriller
• Weapons (2025, New Line): Zach Cregger's follow-up to Barbarian
• The Long Walk (2025, Lionsgate): Stephen King adaptation
• Until Dawn (2025, Screen Gems): Video game adaptation
• How to Train Your Dragon (June 2025, Universal): Executive producer, $636.4 million worldwide
• IT: Welcome to Derry (2025, Max): Prequel series to the It films
• The Strangers: Chapter 2 (2025): Sequel in The Strangers trilogy

Upcoming projects include The Strangers: Chapter 3 (2026), Godzilla x Kong: Supernova (2027), How to Train Your Dragon 2 (2027, as executive producer), God of War (TBA, Amazon), and Skeletons (TBA).

In June 2024, Vertigo announced a partnership with AWA Studios (Artists Writers & Artisans) to develop original horror franchises across comics, film, and television. The collaboration, called "The Future of Fear," originates horror stories from a curated group of writers and artists, with AWA publishing the graphic works and Vertigo co-producing film and TV adaptations. The first title, Look Out, is already available, with Kill or Be Killed releasing August 2025 and further titles planned through 2025 and 2026.

What Filmmakers Should Know

Vertigo Entertainment actively develops horror and genre projects with a particular interest in source material that has demonstrable audience appeal. The company evaluates novels with existing readership, successful short films, proven foreign-language properties, video game IP, and increasingly, viral online content. Lee has stated that if he were starting out in 2025, he would monitor AI-generated short films and proof-of-concept videos as the next wave of source material.

Vertigo's major studio relationships include Warner Bros./New Line (the primary distribution partner), Universal, Lionsgate, and Screen Gems. These relationships provide distribution infrastructure for productions across budget levels, from micro-budget horror to tentpole franchise films.

For horror writers and filmmakers with original genre material, Vertigo represents one of the most commercially successful production partners in the industry. The company has a documented track record of turning modestly budgeted horror films into nine-figure box office performers. Access routes run through talent agencies and entertainment lawyers. The company does not accept unsolicited submissions directly.

The AWA partnership creates an additional pathway for comic book creators and illustrators to develop horror IP with a production company that has the studio relationships to bring it to screen. Writers and artists interested in this route should submit through AWA's standard submission process.

Watch: Trailers & Behind the Scenes

See Also

For understanding how genre production companies work with major studios, see Distribution Deals Explained. To model revenue projections for horror and genre releases, use the Revenue Forecast Calculator. For comparing distribution partners across studios, use the Distributor Comparison Tool.