Amazon MGM Studios has picked up Butcher & Blackbird, a dark romance based on Brynne Weaver’s viral novel, for a worldwide Prime Video release. Chris McKay will direct, with Emma Laird and Thomas Doherty starring.
The package
Lyrical Media and Embrace sold the feature package to Amazon MGM. The script is by Laura Kosann, with revisions from Ari Berkowitz and Ava Tramer. Alexander Black and Embrace produce; Weaver and McKay executive produce alongside Lyrical Media’s Arlen Konopaki, Jon Rosenberg, and Jonathan Faust.
McKay is known for Amazon’s The Tomorrow War, The Lego Batman Movie and the vampire comedy Renfield. Laird, a BAFTA Scotland nominee for the BBC series Mint, is coming off 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple and has Apple TV+’s Neuromancer, War Season 2 and A24’s Elden Ring ahead. Doherty currently stars in Hulu’s Paradise and counts Tell Me Lies, Gossip Girl and Girls5eva among earlier credits.
Weaver’s novel is the first in the Ruinous Love trilogy, a #1 New York Times bestseller. The story follows two competing killers who target other serial killers, then find their rivalry turning into something deeper. Published in October 2023, it became a New York Times, USA Today, and Publisher’s Weekly bestseller and went viral on BookTok. Weaver’s books have sold in more than 25 countries, with over five million copies sold to date.
Why the deal matters
For Prime Video, this is a bet on an IP with a built-in, measurable audience. BookTok is now a top-of-funnel discovery engine for studios, and five million copies is a demand signal that is hard to ignore. The dark romance label also widens the title beyond a standard thriller audience, which matters for global campaigns. Amazon MGM is also getting a director who has already delivered a Prime Video-scale film in The Tomorrow War, which reduces execution risk. For the book’s author, the film extends a franchise across formats, and for Lyrical and Embrace, it validates the package model.
The move fits a broader streaming pattern: platforms are paying up for novel adaptations that arrive with social proof. For media planners, that means a campaign can start from an existing fanbase rather than building awareness from zero. The challenge is converting book buzz into viewing hours after release, especially for a genre mashup that defies easy positioning.
- Proven audience: five million copies and a BookTok viral run reduce launch risk.
- Talent overlap: Laird brings genre and YA-adjacent fans; Doherty brings Paradise and Tell Me Lies viewers.
- Global release: a Prime Video worldwide drop means one campaign can coordinate across markets from day one.
What to watch
Entertainment marketers should treat BookTok engagement as an early indicator, not a niche metric. Track how creator content performs around the novel and how Amazon uses the author and cast’s social reach. That will show whether a dark romance can be positioned beyond its core readers.
McKay’s background in event films and genre comedy also suggests a tonal balance between horror, romance, and humour, which can broaden the campaign’s creative territory.
Source: Deadline
