’99 Nights in the Forest’ Movie in the Works at 20th Century Studios - Variety

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’99 Nights in the Forest’ Movie in the Works at 20th Century Studios

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The mega-popular Roblox game “ 99 Nights in the Forest ” is being developed into a feature film at 20th Century Studios.

In a highly competitive bid, the studio secured the theatrical film rights to the title, developed by Grandma's Favourite Games and hosted on Roblox. There is no writer or director attached at this time, but the game's developers — Alec Kieft, Matthew Hufton and Cameron Angland — will serve as executive producers on the movie. J.R. Young will oversee the project on behalf of the studio.

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Released last May, “99 Nights in the Forest” is an action-survival game where players must brave 99 nights in, you guessed it, a haunted forest. The mission: rescue four lost children while fending off vicious deer and other beasts. In less than a year, the game has become the seventh-most-played of all time on Roblox, with nearly 26 billion lifetime visits and a player rating of 90.6%. The game has an all-time peak player count of 14.2 million (ranking No. 3 on the platform) and frequently hosts hundreds of thousands of concurrent players. As of this post, the game is listed among the top 10 most popular games (No. 6) and the top-earning games.

The deal is the latest effort by the studio, led by David Greenbaum, president of Disney live action and 20th Century Studios, and Steve Asbell, president of 20th Century Studios, to build a genre-diverse slate.

"The team at Grandma's Favourite Games are exactly the kind of bold, imaginative creators we love working with at 20th Century Studios, with world building ideas that feel innately cinematic,” said Greenbaum in a statement announcing the project. “’99 Nights in the Forest’ has already connected with millions of players worldwide, and we're excited to build on that foundation for audiences everywhere."

Grandma’s Favourite Games is a partnership comprised of three New Zealand-based creators — Kieft (game designer "Cracky4″), Hufton (programmer "ForyxeV”) and Angland (environment and asset creation "Viridial”) — who have worked together to create some of the most popular games on Roblox. Founded in 2020, the game development community now boasts more than 10 million members.

“Growing up, Disney and 20th films were a huge part of our childhood, so collaborating with such legendary and enduring studios feels surreal,” the trio stated. “We're excited to explore the world of ’99 Nights in the Forest’ on a broader stage and to create some scares in an entirely new medium.”

Grandma’s Favourite Games is represented by Pryor Cashman. 20th Century Studios’ Michelle Kamme is credited with closing the deal on behalf of the studio.

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