Listen, it’s never too early for all you jump scare lovers to start thinking about the Halloween season. I personally have a summerween party planned, but I'm champing at the bit for this year's 35th anniversary Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Orlando (and the sister program at Universal Studios Hollywood). The houses are already starting to come together, and the Hollywood and Orlando teams were tickled pink when they realized an actual 2026 Oscar winner was coming to HHN.
Yes, I Am Talking About Sinners.
Ryan Coogler and Michael B Jordan’s incredibly soulful (and vampiric) collaboration will be heading to Universal Studios in Orlando on August 28th. It’ll hit Universal Studios Hollywood just a few short days later on September 3rd.
Laura Sols, Assistant Director of Entertainment Creative Development, was on hand at Universal Orlando this week to talk about the exciting development that has been bringing Sinners to life in haunted house format. She told CinemaBlend and other outlets that Awards night is not usually a big deal for the HHN team, but this year it was "super" cool.
We are super super excited to bring one of the very first Academy Award-winning horror movies to Halloween Horror Nights. Sinners is coming to Halloween Horror Nights. When that film came out, we all were fans of that film and then when it took the ride it took to those Oscars, we couldn’t believe it. You should have seen our whole team sitting around our TVs. We were texting each other, like, ‘What are they gonna win?’ It’s insane because Halloween Horror Nights, I don’t think in our history has ever had an Academy Award horror movie.
I think Jordan Peele’s critically-acclaimed Us but not Get Out previously had a haunted house, but it is still really delightful to think about Sinners getting its own experience at HHN after winning so many awards and nods. Not only do I dig the vampire theme, Sinners just has a lot going on from a theming standpoint, as well.
In particular, much of the movie is set in a juke joint (Club Juke) with guests inside and vampires outside. That dichotomy, I would think, will lend itself extremely well to a haunted house. In fact, weirdly enough, CinemaBlend's own Sarah El-Mahmoud has been advocating for a Sinners house for months, and has recalled a house from 2023 that made her feel like it could work. So, I know there have to be plenty of other people out there that have had this thought, and I'm happy it's worked out so swimmingly.
Coogler also gave the enterprise his stamp of approval, noting it’s yet another sign that Sinners has done something “incredible,” aka bring horror to the mainstream, and doing it in a memorable and tasteful way.
It’s been incredible to see audiences connect with Sinners in such a powerful way. Now, partnering with Halloween Horror Nights gives fans the chance to step even deeper into the world of the film — to feel the music, the atmosphere and the tension all around them. Watching it come to life on this scale has been really special for all of us.
I’m interested to know how much input the Sinners team really had on the final product, but we do know a few things already. Club Juke will be the location of the house, and characters from the movie like Sammie, Mary, Annie, Pearline and Cornbread will all be on hand.
It’s the 35th year of Halloween Horror Nights, and it’s already a circus. Yes, I am alluding to that Jack the Clown and Doctor Oddfellow news. Stay tuned, because it'll only get spookier from here on out, both on the HHN and upcoming horror movies front.
