--- title: Universal Pictures Cancels Release of 'The Hunt' description: Universal released a statement canceling forthcoming horror movie 'The Hunt' following mass shootings in El Paso and Dayton. canonical: https://time.com/5646478/the-hunt-movie-pulled-mass-shootings-trump/ author: Nadia Suleman article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2019-08-09T20:49:28.000Z article:modified_time: 2024-01-24T11:17:26.000Z article:section: Entertainment og:title: Universal Pictures Cancels Release of 'The Hunt' Following Mass Shootings and Criticism From President Trump og:description: On Friday, President Trump tweeted that the movie is designed to "inflame and cause chaos" og:url: https://time.com/5646478/the-hunt-movie-pulled-mass-shootings-trump/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte98b2e3781c62ffc/698a012cb21a9ca560502282/the-hunt-4-1.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: Betty Gilpin The Hunt Universal Pictures og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Universal Pictures Cancels Release of 'The Hunt' Following Mass Shootings and Criticism From President Trump twitter:description: On Friday, President Trump tweeted that the movie is designed to "inflame and cause chaos" twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte98b2e3781c62ffc/698a012cb21a9ca560502282/the-hunt-4-1.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Universal Pictures Cancels Release of _The Hunt_ Following Mass Shootings and Criticism From President Trump > Sponsored content. 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Terms and conditions apply. * Savings buckets are a feature of Ally Bank's Savings Account. * No ATM fees from Ally Bank at Allpoint and Moneypass ATMs plus we reimburse for fees charged by other ATM owners nationwide up to $10 per statement cycle. * Early direct deposit offers eligible direct deposits up to two days sooner. * Spending buckets are a feature of Ally Bank's Spending Account.  by [Nadia Suleman](https://time.com/author/nadia-suleman/)  ## Nadia Suleman Updated: Jan 24, 2024 11:17 AM UTCPublished: Aug 9, 2019 8:49 PM UTC  Betty Gilpin in The Hunt Betty Gilpin in The HuntUniversal Pictures  by [Nadia Suleman](https://time.com/author/nadia-suleman/)  ## Nadia Suleman Updated: Jan 24, 2024 11:17 AM UTCPublished: Aug 9, 2019 8:49 PM UTC Universal Pictures announced Saturday afternoon that it will cancel the release of its violent thriller movie _The Hunt,_ following the prior decision to pause advertising it. This news comes less than 24 hours after President Donald Trump tweeted that film is meant to “inflame and cause chaos.” Earlier this week, advertisements and commercials for the now-axed horror movie, previously set for release on Sept. 27 from Universal Studios, were pulled by the production studio following mass shootings in [El Paso, Texas](https://time.com/5643110/el-paso-texas-mall-shooting/) and [Dayton, Ohio](https://time.com/5643370/oregon-district-ohio-mass-shooting/). A Universal Pictures spokesperson tells TIME in a statement, “While Universal Pictures had already paused the marketing campaign for _The Hunt,_ after thoughtful consideration, the studio has decided to cancel our plans to release the film.” “We stand by our filmmakers and will continue to distribute films in partnership with bold and visionary creators, like those associated with this satirical social thriller, but we understand that now is not the right time to release this film.” _The Hunt_ was directed by Craig Zobel (whose previous credits include drama-thrillers _Compliance_ and _Z for Zachariah_) and stars Hilary Swank, Emma Roberts and _Glow_‘s Betty Gilpin among others. According to a summary of the movie’s storyline listed on IMDB: --- > “” --- The trailers featured explicit gun violence, dramatic fight sequences and one scene featuring a man trying to escape a hunter armed with a bow and arrow**.** Spoiler –– it doesn’t end well. The idea of hunting humans for sport is far from new. In the 1924 novel _The Most Dangerous Game_, Richard Connell writes a fictionalized tale where a Russian aristocrat befriends and ultimately hunts a man who washes up on the shore of his isolated island — the book was later adapted into movies and reimagined in many other projects, across film, TV, and books. _The Hunger Games_ riffed off the premise of having citizens picked from a lottery fight one another to the death, all for the enjoyment of a wealthy few; the _Battle Royale_ series tasks classes of schoolchildren with competing in a similar death match. Indie movie _Series 7: The Contenders_ imagined a world where ‘contestants’ eliminated each other filmed for reality TV, and the list goes on. Blumhouse Productions company, which has carved itself a critically-acclaimed niche within the horror cinema world for low-budget films that gross millions at the box office, also released the _The Purge_ movie series, set in a world where all crime, including murder, is legal for 12 hours. Where _The Hunt_ appears to be distinguishing itself from its predecessors —_The Purge_ franchise notwithstanding — is in the politicization of its script, and apparent representation of the political divide currently present in the United States. (The trailer appears to present _The Hunt_ in contemporary times.) A [_Deadline_](https://deadline.com/2018/03/universal-blumhouse-the-hunt-the-leftovers-damon-lindelof-1202354827/) report confirming the screenplay had been picked for production described the movie as “politically-charged,” and [_The Hollywood Reporter_](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/ads-pulled-hunt-wake-mass-shootings-1229829) sets up the battle as between “elite liberals” hunting “MAGA types.” Citing dialogue from the script, _THR_‘s report makes the political positioning clear: --- > “” --- Neither Universal Studios nor Blumhouse Productions responded to a request from TIME to clarify details of _The Hun_t’s plot.  Justin Hartley, Emma Roberts in The Hunt Universal Pictures A Universal Pictures spokesperson told TIME on Aug. 8 that “out of sensitivity to the attention on the country’s recent shooting tragedies, Universal Pictures and the filmmakers of _The Hunt_ have temporarily paused its marketing campaign and are reviewing materials as we move forward.” The Hollywood Reporter noted that AMC had aired a commercial for the movie over the weekend, while ESPN had “cleared” ad to air but pulled it prior to broadcast (and prior to Universal’s decision to halt ads altogether.) On Friday afternoon, President Trump appeared to tweet concerns, writing that an unnamed movie — that seems to fit with _The Hunt_‘s plot — was made “in order to inflame and cause chaos.” > [](https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1159898199802425344) > [](https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1159898201018834944) Gun control advocates say the decision to pause _The Hunt_‘s ad campaign in light of last weekend’s shootings is a good one. “No one’s saying that a movie shouldn’t be made or released,” Lanae Erickson, Senior Vice President for the Social Policy and Politics at [Third Way](https://www.thirdway.org/about), a D.C. based public policy think tank, tells TIME. “It’s really just not appropriate at this particular moment to have those ads on the air.” “I don’t think that anyone is going to stop putting out horror films,” Erickson continues. “There are people who want to consume those films and that’s fine. It’s just \[about\] taking a moment of respect for the victims of these mass shootings.” Movie and TV shows have often been rescheduled to account for mass shootings and other real-life tragedies. In 2002, the release date for [_Phone Booth_ ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JiI91igl180)was postponed for months following the series of sniper attacks in Washington, D.C. And last year, episodes of Paramount’s _Heathers_ TV series were pulled [on multiple occasions](https://variety.com/2018/tv/news/paramount-network-heathers-1203008019/) after school shootings. Regardless, a source close to the movie says the movie’s release date is not scheduled to change. One executive at Universal went as far as to tell _THR_ that “it might even be more powerful now.” ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5646478/the-hunt-movie-pulled-mass-shootings-trump/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5646478/the-hunt-movie-pulled-mass-shootings-trump/"},"headline":"Universal Pictures Cancels Release of The Hunt Following Mass Shootings and Criticism From President Trump","datePublished":"2019-08-09T20:49:28.000Z","dateModified":"2024-01-24T11:17:26.000Z","description":"On Friday, President Trump tweeted that the movie is designed to \"inflame and cause chaos\"","url":"https://time.com/5646478/the-hunt-movie-pulled-mass-shootings-trump/","keywords":["movies","mass shootings","onetime"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte98b2e3781c62ffc/698a012cb21a9ca560502282/the-hunt-4-1.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Nadia Suleman","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/nadia-suleman/"}],"articleSection":"Entertainment","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte98b2e3781c62ffc/698a012cb21a9ca560502282/the-hunt-4-1.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Betty Gilpin The Hunt Universal Pictures","caption":"Betty Gilpin The Hunt Universal Pictures","creditText":"Universal Pictures","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/entertainment/","name":"Entertainment"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/movies/","name":"movies"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/5646478/the-hunt-movie-pulled-mass-shootings-trump/","name":"Universal Pictures Cancels Release of The Hunt Following Mass Shootings and Criticism From President Trump"}}]}] ```