Viral Horror Adaptation
Warner Bros Acquires Internet Sensation Siren Head for Major Theatrical Horror Adaptation
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Key Points
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Siren Head’s online footprint is immense, with Trevor Henderson’s creation racking up about 3 billion TikTok views, 1 billion YouTube views, and millions of Roblox plays, underscoring why studios see it as a high-potential IP.
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The production team extends beyond Duffield and Cregger: Brian Duffield will direct from their script, with Jurassic Party Productions handling Duffield’s producing duties; Zach Cregger will co-write and also produce alongside Roy Lee and Andrew Childs; Scott Glassgold of 12:01 Films will produce, and Trevor Henderson will exec produce.
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The deal flowed from a five-studio bidding war and is described in the industry press as a multi-million package, with reports noting the rights deal itself skirting into the low seven figures as Warner Bros. won the rights.
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Warner Bros. is pursuing a theatrical-first, meme-driven IP strategy for Siren Head, with the studio’s Clockwork division involved and streaming platforms not included in the initial deal, signaling a continued trend of turning internet memes into big-screen franchises.
Warner Bros. has won the rights to a film based on Siren Head, the skeletal internet horror creature, after a five-studio bidding war that pushed the deal into the multi-million dollar range, The Wrap reported. The studio's Clockwork genre division will oversee the project, with Brian Duffield set to direct and Zach Cregger co-writing the script.
The announcement signals a clear Hollywood bet on Gen Z internet folklore as the next big source of theatrical franchises. Siren Head — a 40-foot skeletal figure with two sirens where a head should be — has racked up roughly 3 billion TikTok views and 1 billion YouTube views since creator Trevor Henderson first posted the artwork in 2018, according to Bloody Disgusting.
A Five-Studio Bidding War Ends in WB's Favor
Five major studios — including Sony, Universal, Paramount, and 20th Century Studios — competed for the Siren Head rights, per Variety. Warner Bros. ultimately won, paying low seven figures for the underlying rights alone. The full package, which includes talent attachments and production support, climbed into the broader multi-million dollar range.
The rights deal alone reaching the low seven figures is notable for a property with no prior film or TV history. It shows how much studios now value pre-built internet audiences. Warner Bros. is treating this as a theatrical event, not a streaming fill-in — streaming platforms were not part of the initial deal, World of Reel noted.
Duffield and Cregger Bring Horror Heavyweight Pedigree
Brian Duffield, known for *No One Will Save You*, will direct and co-write. He will also produce through his Jurassic Party Productions banner. Zach Cregger — director of *Barbarian* — will co-write and produce alongside Roy Lee and Andrew Childs of Vertigo Entertainment, the team behind the *IT* franchise, according to The Wrap.
Scott Glassgold of 12:01 Films, a company that specializes in adapting internet-native material for Hollywood, will also produce. Trevor Henderson himself will serve as executive producer. His involvement has helped quiet fan concern about studios "mining" indie internet culture, Dread Central reported.
Siren Head's Billion-View Footprint Drove the Bidding Frenzy
Henderson first posted the Siren Head artwork on Tumblr and Twitter on August 19, 2018. The creature — inspired by his obsession with "numbers stations" and distorted audio — spread fast. By 2019, it had spawned indie video games, fan films, and a massive Roblox subculture with millions of plays, per IGN.
The sheer size of the online footprint is why studios paid up. About 3 billion TikTok tags and 1 billion YouTube views translate directly into built-in awareness. That kind of reach means studios spend less on marketing to explain what the property is — audiences already know it, ComicBook.com noted.
Backrooms' $300M Box Office Made Meme Horror Viable
The deal did not happen in a vacuum. A24's *The Backrooms* — based on another viral internet horror meme — opened on May 29, 2026, and grossed $300 million in its first four weeks, per Mashable. That result shifted studio thinking fast. It proved Gen Z internet folklore could sell out theaters, not just rack up streaming clicks.
The contrast with earlier meme adaptations is stark. Sony's *Slender Man* in 2018 — the last major attempt to turn an internet horror creature into a film — was considered a critical and commercial failure. *The Backrooms* changed that calculus entirely, and Siren Head is now positioned as the next big bet, according to Fangoria.
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