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Get in touch to send in cinephile news and discoveries. To keep up with our latest features, sign up for the Weekly Edit newsletter and follow us @mubinotebook on Twitter and Instagram.Introducing...Action shot from the Locarno Critics Academy. Photography: Carlo Pisani.The cohort for this year’s Locarno Critics Academy, co-organized by Notebook, has been announced. Stay tuned for more by these ten young critics in these pages.Newsa Better Tomorrow.The China Film Foundation (Cff) plans to partner with businesses to license over 100 Hong Kong films to AI companies, hoping to “breathe new life into the classics” and attract younger audiences. Announced projects include an animated version of John Woo’s A Better Tomorrow (1986), of which neither Woo nor Bruce Lee’s family were previously aware.YouTube has modified guidelines for its Partner Program, which lets high-profile creators monetize their videos, to “better identify mass-produced and repetitious...

AMC Entertainment’s flagship AMC Lincoln Square theater on the Upper West Side is open and running most auditoriums after severe rain in New York caused a pipe to break and water to spew, canceling late showtimes on Monday.

The storm impacted the theater’s lower levels, not the Imax auditorium, which is on the top floor of the vertical construction.

“The heavy downpour caused damage to a roof pipe, which led to a significant amount of water coming into a portion of the lower levels of the building,” the world’s largest circuit said. Lincoln Square is one of the highest grossing locations in the nation.

“The theater is open today. Impacted auditoriums and other affected areas of the theatre will remain closed as remediation work is underway. Refunds will be issued automatically for tickets purchased to affected showtimes,” the company said.

No other AMC theaters in the city were impacted.

Stars: Olivia Holt, Mason Gooding, Gigi Zumbado, Michaela Watkins, Jordana Brewster, Devon Sawa | Written by Phillip Murphy, Christopher Landon, Michael Kennedy | Directed by Josh Ruben

Directed by Josh Ruben, Heart Eyes is a darkly comic Valentines-themed slasher with considerable franchise potential. To that end, it’s co-scripted by some of the writers behind the likes of Freaky and Happy Death Day 2U, so the filmmakers have a degree of cachet, slasher-wise.

Rising star Olivia Holt (Cloak & Dagger) plays Seattle ad campaign designer Ally McCabe, who’s forced to work alongside high-flying rival Jay Simmonds (Mason Gooding) after a Valentine’s-themed work disaster. Unfortunately, their work-related proximity puts them squarely in the sights of the Heart Eyes Killer, a murderer with a heart eyes mask who targets couples every Valentine’s Day.

Despite screaming “We’Re Not Together!” at the killer on several occasions (a great running joke), Ally and Jay...

New Jersey is on the rise.

For years, the state had let opportunity slip through its fingers when it came to film and TV production after Gov. Chris Christie suspended the state’s Film and Digital Media Tax Credit Program in 2010. But in 2018, his successor, Phil Murphy, reinstated the credit, offering up to 30% of eligible expenses and up to 35% in certain more remote areas; over time he expanded the money available, offered incentives for productions meeting diversity criteria and locked in the program through 2039 to provide stability for content producers.

Last year, the revitalization continued when the New Jersey Motion Picture and Television Commission named Jon Crowley executive director. Crowley spent decades in the television industry and has been an elected official in his New Jersey hometown.

“People are taking notice of us,” Crowley says, adding that the state has been ranked around seventh or eighth in terms of domestic...

Let’s get this out of the way first: I love really like New Jersey. I was born there and raised there, and lived a year or so in Los Angeles before deciding to return there. I got married there (but engaged in L.A.) and am raising my kids there. It’s a great place to be, even if currently a horror to get to (or get out of).

Newark Liberty International Airport (Ewr) is a major travel hub and the east coast’s primary home to United Airlines. Its proximity to New York City and relatively cheap flights makes it an attractive alternative to JFK (John F. Kennedy International Airport;); Ewr has something like 11 to 16 nonstop flights daily to Lax and two flights per day directly to Nice, France (and more to Paris). This week, many of the area’s air travel will service TV and film industry...

The canon Rick and Mortycomics from Oni Press are about to blow the franchise’s entire madcap Multiverse to smithereens in the upcoming Rick and Morty vs. the Universe, which will be a four-part miniseries, interspersed with a trio of one-shot comics that will add to the hilarious chaos of the event.

Screen Rant is pleased to offer up the exclusive reveal of the covers for Rick and Morty vs. the Universe: Summer of Love #1, written by Daniel Kibblesmith and Jody Houser, with art by Phil Murphy, the first special coming in the wake of the initial issue of Rick and Morty vs. the Universe.

Described by Oni Press as “the first ever Rick and Morty comic event,” the hype surrounding the series so far has centered on whether the already-ambitious franchise can kick it up another notch, or twelve, apropos of a major comic book event storyline.

Oni Press...

Look what’s growing in the Garden State.

The Hollywood Reporter was on-site Tuesday morning when Netflix broke ground on its new East Coast home, Netflix Studios Fort Monmouth in central New Jersey. (Yes, there is a central New Jersey.) The gigantic renovation project — in which Netflix will turn a long-abandoned U.S. Army base into a dozen soundstages, a backlot, state-of-the-art postproduction facilities, general office space and basically 500,000 square feet of all things Netflix — was brought to you by one thing: tax credits.

You might want to take some notes here, California.

Before a wrecking ball even thrice ceremoniously slammed into some random, already-crumbling decommissioned military building (we were provided with hard hats, thank you for your concern), and before the pork roll, egg and cheese sandwiches were handed out to guests in attendance, including The Sopranos creator David Chase, Netflix had seven productions currently filming in New Jersey. In the coming years,...

Three months after the film’s theatrical release, the Valentine’s Day-themed original slasher movie Heart Eyes made its streaming debut on Netflix beginning today, May 8.

Josh Ruben (Werewolves Within, Scare Me) directed Heart Eyes, with Mason Gooding (Scream) and Olivia Holt (“Cruel Summer”) starring in the romantic slasher.

You can stream Heart Eyes on Netflix now. It’ll help to whet your appetite for Netflix’s brand new slasher Fear Street: Prom Queen, which will be arriving on May 23.

Slasher comedy Heart Eyes is currently available for rental or purchase on all major VOD/Digital outlets, and the DVD and Blu-ray were also just released last month.

Exclusively watch the 10-minute opening for Heart Eyes below, which features three gory kills and introduces the legend and mythology of your new favorite holiday slasher villain!

“For the past several years, the Heart Eyes Killer has wreaked havoc on Valentine’s...

When you purchase through our links, we may earn an affiliate commission.

This May, we are getting a ton of content from the much-anticipated return of Love, Death and Robots and Nine Perfect Strangers on streaming, to the release of some of the most anticipated movies of this year, such as Thunderbolts* and Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning. This upcoming month will see the release of many great movies, so we thought of compiling a list of all the best movies that are coming straight to streaming.

Another Simple Favor (Prime Video) – May 1, 2025 Credit – Amazon MGM Studios

Another Simple Favor is a dark comedy mystery film directed by Paul Feig from a screenplay by Jessica Sharzer and Laeta Kalogridis. The 2025 sequel film is set five years after the events of the first film, and it follows Stephanie as she is invited by Emily to her wedding in Italy. Stephanie fears...

Over the last few years, we’ve seen an uptick in holiday-centered horror fare. With movies like Eli Roth’s Thanksgiving and Damien Leone’s Terrifier 3 putting the fear back in festive, the subgenre is staged for a major comeback. Earlier this year, filmmaker Josh Ruben (Werewolves Within) blended slasher with rom-com when he unveiled his Valentine’s Day-themed feature, Heart Eyes. Now, three months since the film terrorized audiences in cinemas, it’s set to slice and dice its way onto streaming. Those looking to snuggle into a scarefest with their sweetie can switch on Netflix beginning May 8 when the Olivia Holt (Totally Killer) and Mason Gooding (Scream)-led film hits the platform.

The idea behind Ruben’s latest project is an intriguing one. From a screenplay co-penned by Phillip Murphy, Christopher Landon, and Michael Kennedy comes a story about a crazed serial killer who stalks couples on Valentine’s Day.

When you purchase through our links, we may earn an affiliate commission.

Netflix is ready with an entertainment-packed May this year. The upcoming month will see the premiere of many of Netflix’s original and licensed films, including the highly anticipated next Fear Street film and the arrival of The Wild Robot on Netflix. Just like every month, Netflix is ready to overload you with great content. So, we’re here to tell you about the 5 best new movies coming to Netflix in May 2025.

Heart Eyes (May 8) Credit – Sony Pictures

Heart Eyes is a romantic comedy slasher film directed by Josh Ruben from a screenplay co-written by Phillip Murphy, Christopher Landon, and Michael Kennedy. The 2025 film is set during Valentine’s Week, and it revolves around two coworkers who are mistaken as a couple and soon become the next target of a masked maniac killing couples all over the United States.

Three months after the film released in theaters, where it scared up $32.9 million in its worldwide run, we’ve learned that the slasher Heart Eyes is now headed to Netflix.

Josh Ruben (Werewolves Within, Scare Me) directed Heart Eyes, with Mason Gooding (Scream) and Olivia Holt (“Cruel Summer”) starring in the romantic slasher.

Heart Eyes will begin streaming on Netflix on May 8, 2025! It’ll help to whet your appetite for Netflix’s brand new slasher Fear Street: Prom Queen, arriving on May 23.

Slasher comedy Heart Eyes is currently available for rental or purchase on all major VOD/Digital outlets, and the DVD and Blu-ray were just released earlier this month.

Exclusively watch the 10-minute opening for Heart Eyes below, which features three gory kills and introduces the legend and mythology of your new favorite holiday slasher villain!

“For the past several years, the Heart Eyes Killer has wreaked havoc on...

We’ve got some seriously exciting news for horror fans! A terrifying new slasher that hit theaters just a couple of months ago is already gearing up for its streaming debut. And this isn’t just any horror release. This blood-soaked thrill ride had audiences buzzing when it premiered back in February. It's Sony's Heart Eyes! Can you believe it? Fans will get to relive all the brutal kills and nerve-wracking suspense of this thrilling slasher very soon. It feels like Christmas came early!

This is easily one of my favorite horror films of the year, so I’m beyond thrilled it’s finally heading to streaming. I expected it to land on a platform eventually, but I definitely didn’t think it would be this soon. With it being the talk of the town during its theatrical release, I'm almost positive this streaming debut is going to bring...

Gov. Phil Murphy of New Jersey is cruising into the last nine months of his second term as the big boss of the Garden State. By any measure, he’s had a successful tenure to date. And from Day 1, Murphy has put huge emphasis on making New Jersey a much bigger player in TV and film location shooting. In recent years, Murphy and his team have focused on bringing brick-and-mortar studios and infrastructure to the state. On the latest episode of Variety podcast “Strictly Business,” Murphy details the arc of this campaign and why he knew that it was crucial for New Jersey to step up its game.

“None of this is by accident,” Murphy says. “This is an absolute cold-blooded focus strategy from moment one to become a major player. In sports and entertainment, the evidence is all over the place.”

Murphy’s predecessor in Trenton, Republican Chris Christie,...

New York Yankees and Yes Network chief Randy Levine is thanking President Donald Trump, FCC Chairman Brendan Carr and other politicians for helping to resolve a carriage fight with Comcast.

Late Monday night, the two sides agreed to terms and averted a blackout of Yes on Comcast’s Xfinity systems. The agreement came after Carr threw his support behind a complaint filed by Yes with the commission. The Yes complaint charged Comcast with trying to shift Yes “to the Siberia of a tier and overcharge fans for it,” alluding to a proposed move of Yes to a Comcast package priced about $20 more per month than the current one.

“I want to express our deep appreciation to everyone who supported our efforts to keep the Yes Network from going dark,” Levine said in the statement (read it in full below), which was provided to Deadline by Yes. “All of you worked...

Movies are a love language. When you stop to think about it, it’s a grand gesture for hundreds of people to put years of effort, time, and sacrifice into making something for you. On a tangential level, to crib from Roger Ebert’s wise words, movies are an “empathy machine.” We’re allowed to feel some sense of, if not love, then at least compassionate understanding. I’d argue this ability to feel empathy is not limited by genre or subgenre. This is not to say that every movie invites empathy, but rather that it can be found regardless of the aspects that make up the genre.

And yes, that even includes what Ebert called “Dead Teenager Movies,” more commonly known as the slasher film. As recent entries in the subgenre have proven, there’s plenty of compassion to be squeezed from the slasher genre as well. You may...

One of Stephen King’s favorite movies in recent years has been released into theaters this week, while one of the most popular theatrical releases of 2025 so far has made its way home. And that’s just the beginning of a week packed with Eleven new horror releases.

Here’s all the new horror that released March 3 – March 7, 2025!

For daily reminders about new horror releases, be sure to follow @HorrorCalendar.

After scaring up $30 million at the box office worldwide, the Valentine’s Day-themed slasher movie Heart Eyes is now available on Digital at home courtesy of Sony.

Josh Ruben (Werewolves Within, Scare Me) directed Heart Eyes, with Mason Gooding (Scream) and Olivia Holt (“Cruel Summer”) starring in the romantic slasher.

You can rent the film on Digital outlets now for $19.99 or purchase it for $24.99. We’ve also learned that Heart Eyes will be slashing into DVD & Blu-ray on April 15.

Exclusively...

Josh Ruben’s Heart Eyes melds the slasher and romance in ways that are designed to be disruptive and overtly eye-catching. It wants to give the viewer a giddy, breathless time at the movies without fussing too much about stray tangents of the serial killer’s other victims. Only one murder gets dispensed in the prologue right away, so that the film can then swerve into its central, hastily developed love story between two heartbroken people, one turned cynical and distant and the other still desperately idealistic and hopeful in love returning.

The V-Day slasher is the driving engine of the film. Can the lovers be safe while a maniacal killer is on the loose, targeting them as the sorry victims? The motivations take forever to skid in but serial killer dramas don’t really demand it as a constant prerequisite. Yet the writing doesn’t favour the film to...

On February 7th, Sony Pictures gave a theatrical release to the Valentine’s Day-set horror romantic comedy Heart Eyes (you can read our review Here), the latest film from Werewolves Within and Scare Me director Josh Ruben. Now, just over three weeks later, the film has received a Digital release and is available to watch on Amazon, among other platforms.

Heart Eyes has the following synopsis: When the Heart Eyes Killer strikes Seattle, a pair of co-workers pulling overtime on Valentine’s Day are mistaken for a couple by the elusive couple-hunting killer. Now they must spend the most romantic night of the year running for their lives. Ruben previously provided the following statement: “My love of horror is rivaled only by my love of romantic comedies. I’m excited as hell to mount my most challenging genre bender to date: a brutal slasher in a nostalgic rom-com universe.“ Christopher Landon and Michael Kennedy,...

After scaring up $30 million at the box office worldwide, the Valentine’s Day-themed slasher movie Heart Eyes is now available on Digital at home courtesy of Sony.

Josh Ruben (Werewolves Within, Scare Me) directed Heart Eyes, with Mason Gooding (Scream) and Olivia Holt (“Cruel Summer”) starring in the romantic slasher.

You can rent the film on Digital outlets now for $19.99 or purchase it for $24.99. We’ve also learned that Heart Eyes will be slashing into DVD & Blu-ray on April 15.

Blu-ray & Digital Extras include:

Murders & Meet Cutes: The Making of Heart Eyes Gag Reel Deleted & Extended Scenes Filmmaker Commentary

DVD Extras include:

Murders & Meet Cutes: The Making of Heart Eyes Filmmaker Commentary

Exclusively watch the 10-minute opening for Heart Eyes below, which features three gory kills and introduces the legend and mythology of your new favorite holiday slasher villain!

“For the past several years, the Heart Eyes Killer has wreaked havoc...

Horror movies can be hit or miss at the box office — some films like Terrifier 3 come in and defy expectations, grossing exponentially more than its budget, while others like Wolf Man fail to break even. One film that finds itself somewhere in between the two is Heart Eyes, the slasher horror film starring Jordana Brewster and Mason Gooding. Heart Eyes earned $2.8 million this weekend at the box office, which was enough to help the film pass the $25 million mark domestically. Heart Eyes has also earned a little over $2 billion at the international box office, which, when paired with its $26.7 million domestic total, gives the film a $28.9 million global gross. Heart Eyes was written by Phillip Murphy, Christopher Landon, and Michael Kennedy, and Josh Ruben directed the film.

It’s incredibly rare for any movie to make more money in its second weekend of release than its first, but Spyglass and Sony’s slasher Heart Eyes managed to do just that over the weekend.

Topping its opening weekend domestic haul of $8.3 million, director Josh Ruben’s Heart Eyes just scared up an additional $10 million in its second weekend at the U.S. box office!

Positive word of mouth and strong reviews helped out here, but Heart Eyes‘ week two success can no doubt be largely attributed to this past Friday being Valentine’s Day. The movie made $4.9 million on V-Day alone, up from the debut Friday total of $3.7 million. Even this week’s Sunday and Monday totals were higher than the previous week’s Sunday and Monday hauls. Another holiday, President’s Day, surely helped to boost this past Monday’s performance.

Here’s the full Weekend #1 vs.

When you just need more after the credits roll, always look to the writers. For a genre mash-up like Heart Eyes, there was a lot to explore as far as a Valentine's Day horror with heavy rom-com vibes goes. To unpack the original ideas we don't see on-screen and all those gory kills, Collider's Perri Nemiroff spoke with the writing trio behind Josh Ruben's holiday horror, Phillip Murphy, Christopher Landon, and Michael Kennedy.

If nothing else, Heart Eyes proves that the slasher genre is nothing if not adaptable. Director Josh Ruben and writers Christopher Landon, Michael Kennedy, and Phillip Murphy have taken the traditional rom-com formula and laced it with blood, guts, and knowing winks to both genres, delivering a film that is as charming as it is chaotic. While the horror elements feel more functional than inventive, the film shines as a witty, self-aware send-up of rom-com conventions—right down to its contrived meet-cutes and sweeping, albeit blood-soaked, declarations of love.

At the centre of the carnage are Ally (Olivia Holt) and Jay (Mason Gooding), two advertising professionals pitted against each other in a Valentine’s Day marketing campaign. Holt plays Ally as a cynical career woman recovering from a breakup, while Gooding’s Jay is the affable romantic who challenges her jaded outlook. Their first encounter—sharing an oddly specific coffee...

Every horror film needs a good boogeyman, and the monstrous maniac at the centre of Heart Eyes is a great one. Striking every Valentine’s Day, the Heart Eyes Killer (the police and media dub him Hek) kills only couples, his huge, heart-shaped peepers doubling as night vision goggles (cue Silence Of The Lambs-y pov shots but bathed in red) and his weapon of choice a crossbow that fires deadly cupid’s arrows. He provides a fantastic nemesis in Josh Ruben’s (Werewolves Within) tremendously knowing, fun romp that mashes up romcoms and horror slasher movies and playfully decides the two genres have more in common than you think.

The set-up is pure romcom fluff, featuring every trope in the book (with a pink cover); good looking people in high-end jobs, meet-cutes over mixed up coffee orders, knocking their heads together bending down, speaking over each other (“no you go...

Stars: Olivia Holt, Mason Gooding, Gigi Zumbado, Michaela Watkins, Jordana Brewster, Devon Sawa | Written by Phillip Murphy, Christopher Landon, Michael Kennedy | Directed by Josh Ruben

Directed by Josh Ruben, Heart Eyes is a darkly comic Valentines-themed slasher with considerable franchise potential. To that end, it’s co-scripted by some of the writers behind the likes of Freaky and Happy Death Day 2U, so the filmmakers have a degree of cachet, slasher-wise.

Rising star Olivia Holt (Cloak & Dagger) plays Seattle ad campaign designer Ally McCabe, who’s forced to work alongside high-flying rival Jay Simmonds (Mason Gooding) after a Valentine’s-themed work disaster. Unfortunately, their work-related proximity puts them squarely in the sights of the Heart Eyes Killer, a murderer with a heart eyes mask who targets couples every Valentine’s Day.

Despite screaming “We’Re Not Together!” at the killer on several occasions (a great running joke), Ally and Jay...

Providing the perfect date night option for those who love romantic comedies and festive slashers, Josh Ruben's Heart Eyes is now slicing into theaters, and Lakeshore Records will release Jay Wadley's score for the festively frightful film digitally beginning February 14th, giving horror-loving couples the chance to add the movie's music to their Valentine's Day playlists. As an early treat for Daily Dead readers to enjoy ahead of the soundtrack's holiday digital release, we have the chilling Heart Eyes track "Forgive Me" that you can listen to right now!

You can listen to Jay Wadley's "Forgive Me" below, and we also have the full track listing with additional details! To learn more about the digital release of Heart Eyes—Original Motion Picture Soundtrack, visit:

https://lnk.to/heart-eyes

From the Press Release: Lakeshore Records is set to release Heart Eyes--Original Motion Picture Soundtrack digitally [on] February 14, featuring music...

Santa Monica, California – February 04: Josh Ruben and Jay Wadley attend a special Beyond Fest screening of Screen Gems and Spyglass Media Group’s Heart Eyes at Aero Theatre on February 04, 2025 in Santa Monica, California. (Photo by Eric Charbonneau/Sony Pictures via Getty Images)

For the past several years, the “Heart Eyes Killer” has wreaked havoc on Valentine’s Day by stalking and murdering romantic couples. This Valentine’s Day, no couple is safe…

Hitting theaters this February is the Valentine’s Day horror-comedy Heart Eyes from director Josh Ruben.

Screen Gems and Spyglass Media Group present a Divide/Conquer production, Heart Eyes. Starring Olivia Holt, Mason Gooding, Gigi Zumbado, Michaela Watkins, with Devon Sawa and Jordana Brewster. Produced by Christopher Landon, Greg Gilreath, and Adam Hendricks. Written by Phillip Murphy and Christopher Landon & Michael Kennedy.

The director of photography is Stephen Murphy, Bsc, Isc. The production designer is Rob Bavin.

Director Josh Ruben’s new horror film strikes a very particular, even peculiar tone, but it’s tons of fun. Here’s our Heart Eyes review.

Ah, Valentine’s Day. The one day a year you’re under immense pressure to be in a relationship and to show your love in very public and excessive ways.

Ally (Olivia Holt) really feels that pressure. Her ex-boyfriend has already moved on with another woman, and she’s about to be fired from her job for designing an ad campaign focusing on doomed couples – all while there’s a serial killer killing couples on Valentine’s Day. She’s paired with Jay (Mason Gooding) to work on a new campaign, but things get a little complicated when the killer goes after them.

Josh Ruben’s Heart Eyes, then, is a strange film. It’s both a romantic comedy and a gruesome slasher. The combo shouldn’t work,...

Josh Ruben’s Heart Eyes is a Valentine’s Day romantic comedy turned slasher that aims for both lovey-dovey sweetness and blood-soaked holiday thrills. Starring Olivia Holt and Mason Gooding, it flutters between cutesy rom-com banter and heart-pounding chases with a doe-eyed killer—though the bumpy pacing and shallow character work keep it from becoming a new holiday staple. Unfortunately, the sharpest thing about this slasher is its one-liners.

“Unfortunately, the sharpest thing about this slasher is its one-liners.”

In Seattle, a serial murderer dubbed Heart Eyes targets couples each February 14th, with detectives Jeanette Shaw (Jordana Brewster) and Hobbs (Devon Sawa) on the hunt. After a gruesome incident at a winery proposal (and news of a never-shown spa massacre), the killer zeroes in on Ally (Holt), a pitch designer fresh off a breakup, and Jay (Gooding), a successful freelancer brought in to rescue her failing campaign. Their spark meets...

This Valentine's Day comes with a treat for brave moviegoers. While there are plenty of romantic options, both on streaming and in cinema — there's a new Bridget Jones movie coming out soon, Heart Eyes is coming to change that.

Already out in theaters, the slasher rom-com movie has received positive reviews. Instead of a regular slasher, Heart Eyes takes a romantic spin for two people working late, only to become the target of the infamous Heart Eyes Killer, who believes they're a couple. Although the slasher hasn't officially received a sequel yet, director Josh Ruben shared with Variety his idea for Heart Eyes 2 inspired by Bridget Jones's Diary and Love Actually.

RelatedSkeet Ulrich Welcomes Matthew Lillard Back Into Scream Franchise 29 Years Later

Original Scream star Skeet Ulrich offers co-star and fellow genre icon Matthew Lillard a heartfelt welcome back to the franchise.

Heart Eyes premiered on Feb. 7, and had encouraging numbers.

Josh Ruben’s Heart Eyes brought a brand new original slasher to the box office over the weekend, with the holiday-themed horror movie nearly matching the opening weekend of fellow Spyglass slasher Thanksgiving back in 2023. While that movie opened to $10.3 million, Heart Eyes came up a tad bit short with a domestic opening weekend haul of $8.5 million.

Sony released Heart Eyes into 3,102 theaters across the United States over the weekend, with the slasher/romantic comedy hybrid competing with the Super Bowl on Sunday. But the real test for Heart Eyes will be this coming weekend, with Valentine’s Day Weekend giving the Valentine’s Day-themed horror movie a perfect opportunity to win over more hearts.

Heart Eyes, which comes with a reported $18 million production price tag, is currently in the #2 spot on the domestic box office charts behind the animated family movie Dogman.

The slasher is currently Certified Fresh on...

When you purchase through our links, we may earn an affiliate commission.

Heart Eyes is a romantic comedy and slasher film directed by Josh Ruben from a screenplay co-written by Phillip Murphy, Christopher Landon, and Michael Kennedy. The 2025 film is set in a world where a serial killer named Heart Eyes returns every Valentine’s Day to kill couples, and it follows a young couple in Seattle who Heart Eyes chase on the night of Valentine’s Day. Heart Eyes stars Olivia Holt, Mason Gooding, Gigi Zumbado, Michaela Watkins, Devon Sawa, and Jordana Brewster. So, if you loved the brutal kills, thrilling story, and loads of gore in Heart Eyes, here are some similar movies you should check out next.

Happy Death Day (Rent on Prime Video) Credit – Universal Pictures

Happy Death Day is a dark comedy slasher film directed by Christopher Landon from a screenplay by Scott Lobdell. The 2017 film follows Tree Glebman,...

Warning: Spoilers for Heart Eyes.

Quick LinksAlly and Jay Catch the 'Heart Eyes' Killer QuickOr At Least They Think They DidThe 'Heart Eyes' Killer Was Actually Three Different PeopleAnd One of Them Was a Cop

Heart Eyes recently hit theaters, and the romantic slasher horror film offers viewers plenty of romance alongside its cheeky blood and gore. Very tongue-in-cheek in nature, the film follows the “Heart Eyes Killer,” also known as Hek, who wreaks havoc every Valentine’s Day with his stint of murders specifically targeting romantic couples. Having already terrorized other cities in previous years, it now appears that Hek has made his way to Seattle.

True to the slasher genre, the film opens with a brutal murder in order to set the stage, and in this case, its humor as well. Hek murders a self-absorbed couple during their marriage proposal and proceeds to kill everyone else who gets...

Heart Eyes director Josh Ruben may be a horror filmmaker, but nothing could’ve prepared him for the waking nightmare he experienced last month.

On Jan. 7, just weeks before Ruben and his wife Lauren Sick were slated to move into their dream home in Altadena, they watched along in horror as the Eaton Fire headed straight for their new neighborhood in Los Angeles County. While they assumed the worst when their security camera cut to black, Ruben and Sick received confirmation on Jan. 9 that their vacant home was gone. Immediately, friends and collaborators like Mark Duplass, Jordana Brewster and Christopher Landon came to their aid and rallied wider support from the general public, raising nearly $75,000 to get the beloved filmmaking couple back on their feet.

In the process, Ruben also overcame two of the most common fears a person can have: asking for help and accepting it.

“It’s virtually...

Singles rejoice, for one director is giving you a concrete reason to be thankful you're not smitten this Valentine's Day. Werewolves Within director Josh Ruben has crafted a love-themed scare for couples and singles alike this February, and it's finally in audiences' hands. Heart Eyes, a new Valentine's Day slasher from Sony, might just scare you single. The latest addition to the masked killer film family is sitting at a comfortable 82% on Rotten Tomatoes, which is quite impressive for a holiday-themed horror film.

Heart Eyes, starring heartthrobs Mason Gooding and Olivia Holt as a brave couple daring to fight back against a killer with glowing hearts for eyes,was released to the public today, February 7. From the comedic mind of the director of Werewolves Within (one of cinema's funniest horror films), the new slasher movie is now playing nationwide and reviews are piling in.

A former member of digital sketch group CollegeHumor,...

The first week of February kicks off with the at-home premiere of this year’s biggest theatrical release so far, while the big screen is taken over by a brand new original slasher movie.

Here’s all the new horror that released February 3 – February 7, 2025!

For daily reminders about new horror releases, be sure to follow @HorrorCalendar.

First up, Leigh Whannell’s Wolf Man already made its way out of theaters this week and howled its way home, the Universal Monsters reboot now available on Digital outlets.

You can rent Wolf Man for $19.99 or purchase it for $24.99.

In Wolf Man, “Seeking a fresh start, Blake (Christopher Abbott) moves his wife Charlotte (Julia Garner) and daughter Ginger (Matilda Firth) to his childhood home in rural Oregon. Upon arrival, they encounter a brutal animal attack, forcing the family to barricade themselves inside the house as an unseen creature prowls the perimeter. As the night wears on,...

The Valentine’s Day-set horror romantic comedy Heart Eyes, the latest film from Werewolves Within and Scare Me director Josh Ruben is now in theatres (you can read our 7/10 review Here and watch our interviews with cast members at This Link), and during an interview with our friends at Bloody Disgusting, Ruben revealed that he used writer/director Tom McLoughlin’s 1986 classic Jason Lives: Friday the 13th Part VI as his guide when figuring out how to balance horror and comedy in his own slasher movie.

Heart Eyes has the following synopsis: When the Heart Eyes Killer strikes Seattle, a pair of co-workers pulling overtime on Valentine’s Day are mistaken for a couple by the elusive couple-hunting killer. Now they must spend the most romantic night of the year running for their lives. Ruben previously provided the following statement: “My love of horror is rivaled only by my love of romantic comedies.

What do you get when you mix Nora Ephron with Freddy Krueger, Jason Voorhees, and Michael Myers? The combination might seem antithetical, but it works scarily well in director Josh Ruben‘s sweet, funny, terrifying rom-com/slasher movie mash-up, “Heart Eyes.”

Working from an inventive script by Phillip Murphy, Christopher Landon, and Michael Kennedy, Ruben somehow deftly satisfies fans of both “Sleepless in Seattle” and “A Nightmare on Elm Street.” An iconic new horror villain is born in the form of the movie’s Heart Eyes Killer, a slasher who stalks young lovers each Valentine’s Day.

Ruben, as he explained to IndieWire, wanted the movie’s two sides to be equally strong so that the horror would deepen the romance made all the more terrifying because of our investment in the two young lovers (Olivia Holt and Mason Gooding) fleeing from the Heart Eyes Killer. In studying films of both genres,...

The time honored tradition of holiday-themed slashers is alive and well in 2025, with Heart Eyes carving up a new Valentine’s Day favorite for horror fans and romance lovers alike. Director Josh Ruben gives romance and horror equal weight in this seamless fusion of slasher and romcom, ensuring that the gore hits just as hard as the sizzling hot chemistry between leads Olivia Holt and Mason Gooding. It’s the rare crowd-pleasing slasher movie with broad appeal without sacrificing the gore.

Ruben, working from a script by Phillip Murphy (The Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard) and Christopher Landon & Michael Kennedy (Freaky), sets the charming, funny, and suspenseful tone straightaway with a cold open that introduces the Heart Eyes Killer and his rather gnarly modus operandi of savagely slaughtering lovers in punny, elaborately gory form. This killer, sporting a memorable mask destined for merchandising, targets couples every Valentine’s Day from across the country.

The Heart Eyes killer from Screen Gems and Spyglass Media Group’s Heart Eyes. Photo by: Christopher Moss. © 2024 Spyglass Media Group, LLC. Courtesy of Sony

For many people, the perfect Valentine’s Day date movie is a horror one. For others, it is a rom-com. So naturally someone decided to make a movie that combined them, Heart Eyes.

Directed by Josh Ruben from a script written by Phillip Murphy, Christopher Landon and Michael Kennedy, Heart Eyes focuses on the “Heart Eyes Killer,” a serial killer who murders couples on Valentine’s Day, who pops up suddenly in various cities. The silent killer wears a mask with glowing red, heart-shaped eyes as he stalks and kills couples in love, in a variety of gory and creative ways. How the police, or the media that reports breathlessly on every attack, know he wears this heart-eyed mask isn’t clear, since everyone who sees him,...

Well, shut my mouth.

Just a few hours — I repeat, hours — after writing that Hollywood never releases a classic romantic movie on Valentine’s Day, I see a film that proves me wrong. It just happens to also be an ultraviolent slasher. Touché, Hollywood. You win this round.

Then again with a film as good as Josh Ruben’s “Heart Eyes,” everyone’s a winner. Ruben is the director of the brilliant 2021 horror comedy Werewolves Within, hands down the best movie ever adapted from a video game. It comes as no surprise that his follow-up would do the same thing for another underwhelming subgenre. “Heart Eyes” raises the bar for emoji movies, which sounds like faint praise since “The Emoji Movie” forgot to install a bar, but it’s still true.

For the last two years a serial killer in a mask that looks like the “heart eyes” emoji has...

This post contains major spoilers for "Heart Eyes."

One part rom-com, one part slasher movie, all bloody good fun, "Heart Eyes" is in many ways the perfect Valentine's Day entertainment. It's got a masked killer themed around the holiday, a genuinely fun "will they, won't they" romance at the center of it between Olivia Holt's Ally and Mason Gooding's Jay, and it plays expertly with two well-trodden genres. Credit to director Josh Ruben, who previously helmed the acclaimed video game movie "Werewolves Within," and screenwriters Phillip Murphy, Christopher Landon ("Happy Death Day"), and Michael Kennedy ("Freaky"). 

/Film's Chris Evangelista called "Heart Eyes" a "stylish and sweet" ride in his review, and the fun doesn't stop when the credits roll either, as the flick included a pretty fun post-credits scene that plays with a very common slasher movie trope. The film centers on a serial killer who has been...

Throughout Josh Ruben’s brilliant new Valentine’s Day slasher “Heart Eyes,” potential suspects and would-be victims reference real romantic comedies. “My Best Friend’s Wedding.” “Crazy Stupid Love.” “Pretty Woman.” Whatever your preferred chick flick — combined with the predator-prey mania of “My Bloody Valentine” (and just a touch of the goofiness in “Scream 6”) — that should be enough to compel you toward this giddy and graphic whodunit. It’s a freaky celebration that confirms holiday horror, if it ever left, is so back, and a standout achievement in the deceptively dense category of recent romances across genre comedy.

Silly, slick, and self-aware, the latest farce from the “Werewolves Within” director is laugh-out-loud funny and boasts pops of gore that earn the comparison to Eli Roth’s “Thanksgiving.” Although the killer pilgrim movie from 2023 is more stomach-churning than Ruben’s film, this nutty blend of hyper-violence and one-liners is a dark comedic delicacy.

When it was announced that Jon M. Chu would be developing a Britney Spears biopic at Universal after the studio acquried rights to her memoir, fans immediately flooded social media with their top picks to play the pop princess.

Among the hopefuls is Olivia Holt. Like Britney, Holt, 27, is a former Disney star. She’s also a singer, releasing her debut EP, “Olvia,” in 2016.

I caught up with Holt on Tuesday night at a special screening of her new horror comedy, “Heart Eyes,” to find what she thinks about possibly portraying Spears. The film, from “Wicked” producer Marc Platt, will is adapted from Spears’ 2023 memoir “The Woman in Me.”

“I would be so honored to play Britney,” says Holt, who says she has yet to be contacted by Chu.

She adds, “I’m just so grateful to be in the running and around so many names and talent who are in the running for it.

The filmmakers behind Freaky, Happy Death Day and Werewolves Within have ensured that no couple is safe this Valentine’s Day with new bloody slasher Heart Eyes.

Screenwriters Phillip Murphy (The Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard) and Christopher Landon & Michael Kennedy (Freaky) seamlessly marry the slasher and rom-com genres together for one entertaining, gory romp centered around an emoji mask-inspired killer who stalks and hunts couples on the most romantic holiday of the year.

It may come as no surprise that Heart Eyes originated from a date gone wrong. Great chemistry in a Zoom chat didn’t translate in person, but it did leave Phillip Murphy with killer inspiration. “I was on my moped, driving home from that date just livid, furious,“ Murphy tells Bloody Disgusting. “I was like, ‘I know there’s something there.‘ I was thinking of a killer coming after us. That was pretty seamless. Then, the...

Valentine's Day isn't the type of holiday that warrants a horror film, but several have attempted the change. 2009's My Bloody Valentine grossed $102.8 million, and 2016's Deadpool weighed in on the Valentine's Day holiday to promote the film, although the superhero film was more bloody than romantic.

Now Sony Pictures has found the best idea for the holiday: a romantic comedy slasher. Heart Eyes has all the elements to become a classic date night movie for slasher lovers. Ahead of its Feb. 7 premiere date, Heart Eyes debuted with an exciting Rotten Tomatoes score of 92%.

RelatedStephen King's New Adaptation Debuts With Exciting Rotten Tomatoes Score

The early reactions were exciting and they translated into a great Rotten Tomatoes debut score.

The upcoming horror film will follow a serial killer unlike any other: a person wearing a mask with illuminated heart-shaped eyes. The upcoming rom-com slasher follows two co-workers who work late...

There’s nothing more appealing in a potential romantic partner than confidence, empathy, and honesty, and much of the success of Heart Eyes is tied to it being abundant in all three. Even while bathing in some of the most tired tropes of both slashers and rom-coms, there’s such a warmth and charm to the whole thing that it can’t help but come off as endearing.

It helps that there’s a walking embodiment of that principle in the form of Jay (Mason Gooding), a consultant brought onboard at an ad company when their creative director, Ally (Olivia Holt), blows an absurd amount of company money on a campaign that recreates famous death sequences from the movies. The campaign might’ve actually been a success if not for the fact that a serial killer—wielding a machete, and wearing a mask that looks like someone put little cartoon...

Horror remains one of the most popular genres in modern cinema, and new franchises in the genre, like Terrifier, continue to find success. Naturally, movie enthusiasts expect at least a few intriguing titles each month, and this February does not appear to disappoint them in the least, as not only are highly anticipated horror films set to be released in theaters, but streaming services such as Shudder have prepared a solid slate for the second month of the year.

Aside from the upcoming horror films by prominent filmmakers such as Osgood Perkins, there is a slew of slasher horrors that will provide a distinctive experience for cinephiles, as well as a reimagining of Disney's famed cartoon character. So, hold your breath as we look at every horror film that will be released in February 2025.

'Heart Eyes' Watch It in Theaters on February 7

Heart EyesComedyHorrorRomanceRelease DateFebruary 7, 2025DirectorJosh RubenWritersMichael Kennedy, Phillip Murphy,...

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This February, we are getting a ton of entertainment on various platforms, including streaming services, television networks, and, last but not least, theaters. This upcoming month, we will finally see the release of the much-anticipated Marvel Studios film Captain America: Brave New World and Osgood Perkins‘ buzzy new horror dark comedy film The Monkey. So, we are here to sort out all of the brilliant upcoming movies that you might not want to miss seeing in theaters.

Love Hurts (February 7) Credit – Universal Pictures

Love Hurts is an upcoming action comedy film directed by Jonathan Eusebio from a screenplay co-written by Matthew Murray, Josh Stoddard, and Luke Passmore. The upcoming film follows Marvin Gable, a hitman who left his life violence behind to become a successful realtor, but when his past comes knocking back, he must fight to protect his new life.