Warner Bros. has signed a first-look deal with Chris Ferguson’s production company Oddfellows, giving the studio early access to projects the company develops and deepening its relationship with Warner’s new speciality label, Clockwork. The agreement is significant because it strengthens Warner Bros.’ strategy of making modestly budgeted theatrical films while aligning it with a producer behind recent independent horror successes such as “Longlegs”, “The Monkey” and “Backrooms”. It also signals Warner’s intention to back filmmaker-led genre projects as part of a broader cinema slate.

Oddfellows, founded in 2013, is expected to produce lower-budget films for Clockwork, which is led by former Neon executive Christian Parkes, a previous collaborator of Ferguson’s on “Longlegs” and “The Monkey”. Under the deal, Warner Bros. will also use Oddfellows’ Vancouver studio for Ferguson-backed projects and for films referred from across its motion picture group, including Warner Bros. Pictures and New Line Cinema. In statements, Warner executives Michael De Luca and Pam Abdy said the partnership supports an “aggressively priced” theatrical model, while filmmakers Osgood Perkins and Kane Parsons credited Ferguson and his team with playing a major role in the success of their films.