Entertainment One acquires Blumhouse’s Viral for Canadian market

Last Updated on August 2, 2021

We recently learned that CATFISH and PARANORMAL ACTIVITY 3 & 4 directors Henry Joost and Ariel Schulman were set to direct the Blumhouse thriller VIRAL (formerly known as PESTE), which will be getting a U.S. release through The Weinstein Company/Dimension. Now we've learned that Canadian distributor Entertainment One has scooped up the film for the Canadian market, according to THR.

VIRAL recently cast WARM BODIES star Analeigh Tipton (seen above) and found its lead in Sofia Black-D'Elia (below), with Jason Blum serving as producer under his Blumhouse banner.

Here’s a synopsis:

VIRAL follows teenager Emma Drakeford, struggling after a recent family tragedy, who begins a video documentary about her life for a school project. Everything goes crazy when a terrifying virus sweeps through her small town, turning her friends and neighbors into vicious monsters. Quarantined with her family, Emma believes they are out of harm’s way but when the contagion finally infiltrates their home Emma and her family are faced with an impossible decision – if someone you love becomes a threat, do you kill them in cold blood or save them at the risk of your own life?

Sofia Black-D'Elia will play teenager Emma, who is put to the test along with her family to survive a city-wide quarantine after a deadly outbreak. Tipton will play Stacey, whose suburban life with her parents and sister Emma is upturned when the virus spreads to their neighborhood and they’re trapped within their quarantined city along with the increasingly violent infected.