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Spec script sales 2020
Every feature spec script and pitch sale reported by Deadline, Variety and The Hollywood Reporter in 2020, with buyer, writer, genre and reps. Full-year archive. Other years: 2026, 2025, 2024, 2023, 2022, 2021. See also sales by month and our monthly Spec Market Reports.
342020 deals logged
26spec sales
8pitch sales
18different buyers
Deals by month (2020)
Top genres
Top reps
All 2020 spec and pitch sales
| Reported | Title | Writer(s) | Buyer | Type | Genre | Reps |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dec 21, 2020 | Untitled Sean O'Keefe Thriller A female-led kidnapping thriller in the spirit of Ransom. |
Sean O'Keefe | Netflix | pitch | Thriller | ICM Partners, Brian Lutz |
| Dec 15, 2020 | Tin Roof Rusted Two lifelong best friends discover they are both pregnant and struggle to stay bonded under outside pressure. |
Michelle Harper | TriStar | spec | Comedy | UTA, Kaplan/Perrone |
| Dec 4, 2020 | Switchboard A late-1940s switchboard operator communicates with, and may be targeted by, an active serial killer. |
Devon Graye | Dark Hell | spec | Horror | UTA |
| Oct 30, 2020 | The Princess Described as Rapunzel meets The Raid. |
Ben Lustig, Jake Thornton | 20th Century Studios | spec | Action | UTA, Circle of Confusion, Behr Abramson Levy |
| Oct 16, 2020 | The Gorge A high-action, genre-bending love story: two young people in a corrupt, lethal world find soulmates in each other on a dangerous assignment. |
Zach Dean | Skydance | spec | Action | Lit Entertainment Group |
| Oct 15, 2020 | Untitled Katie Wech R-Rated Comedy A hard-R CGI/live-action hybrid comedy described as Sausage Party meets Toy Story. |
Katie Wech | New Line | spec | Comedy | Verve, Goodman, Genow |
| Oct 12, 2020 | Raindrop An estranged mother and daughter unravel a conspiracy after a time-travel mission goes wrong. |
Anna Halberg, Spenser Cohen | Amazon | pitch | Sci-Fi | Verve, Anonymous Content, McKuin, Frankel & Whitehead |
| Oct 2, 2020 | Heads of State An action film reteaming John Cena and Idris Elba. |
Harrison Query | Amazon | pitch | Action | Verve, Ground Control |
| Sep 21, 2020 | Bring Me Back An epic love story; logline under wraps. |
Crosby Selander | Legendary | spec | Romance | Kaplan/Perrone |
| Sep 21, 2020 | It's Wednesday Night Single parents revel on a kid-free night until a newly divorced mom vanishes and her best friend must find her before a custody hearing. |
Jenna Milly, Ann Marie Allison | Netflix | spec | Comedy | |
| Aug 27, 2020 | Mother Land A family haunted by an evil spirit for years questions whether the evil is real. |
Kevin Coughlin, Ryan Grassby | Lionsgate | spec | Horror | Paradigm, The Coronel Group, Hansen, Jacobson, Teller |
| Aug 17, 2020 | Arcana A gritty urban fantasy set in a hidden world of magical clans. |
Michael Finch, Alex Litvak | Lionsgate | spec | Fantasy | Verve, Fourth Wall |
| Aug 4, 2020 | Back Home A contained, VFX-heavy sci-fi mystery thriller billed as a modern Hitchcock whodunit. |
Anne Vithayathil | Artists Film Group | spec | Sci-Fi | Plain-Text |
| Jul 14, 2020 | Role Play A young married couple's life is upended when secrets about their pasts come out. |
Seth Owen | Studiocanal | spec | Thriller | |
| Jul 10, 2020 | Fresh A social thriller. |
Lauryn Kahn | Legendary | spec | Thriller | |
| Jul 9, 2020 | Shell A satirical horror tale with sci-fi elements set in the health and beauty industry. |
Jack Stanley | HBO Max | spec | Horror | Silent R Management, Jackoway Austen Tyerman |
| Jul 8, 2020 | Sabine A young female detective hunting a serial killer begins to see the world through the killer's eyes. |
Gregg Hurwitz, Philip Eisner | Screen Gems | spec | Thriller | Untitled Entertainment, Cheng Caplan Company |
| Jun 24, 2020 | The Hills Have Eyes for You An underdog horror romantic comedy with genre-bending scares and laughs. |
David Stieve | Netflix | spec | Horror Comedy | Farah Films & Management |
| Jun 22, 2020 | The Culling A troubled priest makes a last stand against a demon from a remote cabin in the woods. |
Stephen Herman | Lionsgate | spec | Horror | Good Fear |
| Jun 15, 2020 | The Ancestor A psychological thriller about an African American medical student. |
Kay Oyegun | HBO Max | spec | Thriller | Underground |
| May 20, 2020 | Flight A thriller; plot under wraps. |
Miles Chapman | Paramount | spec | Thriller | |
| May 14, 2020 | Our Man From Jersey A blue-collar 007 star vehicle for Mark Wahlberg. |
David Guggenheim | Netflix | pitch | Action | Verve, Lit Entertainment Group, Ziffren, Brittenham |
| May 8, 2020 | Here Comes the Flood A heist thriller; sold in a mid-seven-figure deal. |
Simon Kinberg | Netflix | spec | Thriller | |
| May 5, 2020 | 2084 In an authoritarian society after global destruction, a young couple discover something that sparks a rebel movement. |
Mattson Tomlin | Paramount | spec | Sci-Fi | Grandview |
| May 4, 2020 | Untitled Beck & Woods Sci-Fi Thriller An original sci-fi thriller from the A Quiet Place writers, who will also direct (later released as 65). |
Scott Beck, Bryan Woods | Sony | spec | Sci-Fi | ICM Partners, Anonymous Content, Manatt, Phelps & Phillips |
| Apr 30, 2020 | The Aliens Are Stealing Our Weed Two hapless pot growers uncover an alien conspiracy after their entire marijuana crop vanishes. |
Ryan Firpo | Paramount | spec | Comedy | UTA, LBI Entertainment |
| Apr 27, 2020 | Catching Out A drama exploring a youth subculture. |
Nic Sheff | HBO Max | pitch | Drama | Manage-Ment |
| Apr 10, 2020 | 16 States A road trip during a zombie pandemic. |
John Requa, Glenn Ficarra | Lionsgate | spec | Horror | |
| Mar 10, 2020 | Murder in the White House The President is murdered at a private dinner and a Secret Service agent has until morning to find which guest did it. |
Jonathan Stokes | Paramount | spec | Thriller | |
| Mar 6, 2020 | Kingdom Come A heist film; plot undisclosed. |
Kyle Ward, Rawson Marshall Thurber | Netflix | pitch | Action | Verve, Management 360, WME, Hansen Jacobson |
| Mar 3, 2020 | The Pinkerton A supernatural revenge western hybrid. |
Daniel Casey | Warner Bros. | spec | Western | |
| Mar 3, 2020 | Violent Night An elevated thriller set against the Christmas holidays. |
Pat Casey, Josh Miller | Universal | pitch | Action | APA, Gotham Group, VanderKloot Law |
| Feb 11, 2020 | Bomb Squad Two unlikely partners team up to stop a serial bomber whose escalating attacks threaten America's energy supply. |
Greg Kwedar, Clint Bentley | Solstice Studios | pitch | Thriller | ICM Partners, Gang, Tyre, Ramer, Brown & Passman |
| Jan 29, 2020 | It's the End of Liz as We Know It A high-concept sci-fi action comedy; plot under wraps. Sold for a high-six-figure sum. |
Jennifer Harrington | Sony | spec | Sci-Fi Comedy |
FAQ
How many spec scripts sold in 2020?
The Spec Sheet has logged 26 feature spec script sales and 8 pitch sales reported by the trades in 2020. Counts reflect publicly reported deals only; many sales are never announced, and other trackers (such as Scott Myers at Go Into The Story) count slightly differently.
Who bought the most spec scripts in 2020?
Netflix led with 6 of the 34 2020 deals in our database.
What genres sold in 2020?
The most common genres among reported 2020 sales were Thriller (9), Action (6), Horror (5).
Browse all 217 sales since 2020.