Las Vegas, Friday, 19 September 2025.
Universal’s Las Vegas red carpet launch on Friday introduced Horror Unleashed, a year‑round horror platform built to monetise IP beyond Halloween through curated mazes, themed areas, live entertainment and F&B activations. For retail and F&B planners this signals a strategic shift: horror becomes an evergreen revenue stream tied to Universal Monsters, Blumhouse and franchise properties, tested in a non‑park, destination‑entertainment setting. The rollout spotlights celebrity‑led PR, cross‑platform licensing potential, repeatable merchandising assortments, and operational impacts for staffing, crowd flow and safety when venues are sustainedly programmed for scare content. Operators should reassess merchandising windows, SKU depth, pricing cadence and themed F&B concepts to capture incremental spend outside traditional seasonal peaks. Replication at resorts and parks could alter calendar planning and inventory strategies. Immediate takeaway: Las Vegas serves as a lab for scaling evergreen IP commerce—prepare merchandising, supply and labour plans for a longer horror season rather than an October spike.