Mandela Catalogue movie sets 9 June 2028 release, Spielberg producing
The Mandela Catalogue, the analog-horror series creator Alex Kister built on YouTube, is heading to theatres on 9 June 2028, with producer Steven Spielberg backing the film alongside United Artists and Amazon MGM Studios.
TL;DR
- The Mandela Catalogue opens in theatres on 9 June 2028.
- Amblin Entertainment, United Artists and Amazon MGM Studios are producing.
- Kister is directing from a screenplay he wrote with Tyler Clifton.
- No UK release date, age rating or cast has been confirmed yet.
How the deal came together
Kister launched The Mandela Catalogue on YouTube in 2021. The series is set in Mandela County, Wisconsin, a town invaded by shape-shifting creatures called Alternates.
Amblin, United Artists and Amazon MGM won the film rights after an eleven-studio bidding war, Deadline first reported back in July. The trade said the scramble followed the record-breaking success of fellow YouTube-horror adaptation Backrooms.
100 million+ YouTube views across the official Mandela Catalogue episodes Source: Deadline
11 Studios that competed for the film rights Source: Deadline
We covered the original bidding war in detail on BriefLedger at the time.
Who’s behind the camera
Kister is directing the adaptation himself, from a screenplay he adapted with screenwriter Tyler Clifton. Spielberg and Amblin producer Holly Bario are producing for the studio, according to Bloody Disgusting.
Producer Aaron B. Koontz is on board for Paper Street Pictures. United Artists’ Scott Stuber and Nick Nesbitt are also producing, with Kister and Clifton credited as producers too.
The UK context
No UK release date, distributor or BBFC rating has been confirmed for The Mandela Catalogue yet. For a sense of the appetite here, look at Backrooms, the earlier YouTube-horror hit that kicked off this whole trend.
£4.2 million Backrooms’ opening weekend at the UK and Ireland box office — the biggest A24 opening in the territory’s history Source: Variety
We reviewed Backrooms when it landed in UK cinemas back in May.
Why it matters
Hollywood keeps mining viral internet horror for box office gold. Amazon MGM and Warner Bros. have both chased rival YouTube properties this year, including Siren Head.
The Mandela Catalogue will share its opening weekend with an untitled Universal event film. That sets up a genuine box office fight for summer 2028, more than a year and a half before either film reaches screens.
Reported from publicly available interviews and verified press sources. Last reviewed 12 September 2026.
Lewis Calvert Founder & Editor, BriefLedger
Lewis founded BriefLedger and has six years of experience covering film, TV, and entertainment news. He leads the site’s Movies and TV sections and runs the news desk — always with a straight-talking British take.
