IP Surveillance #9

Amazon MGM just snapped up a #1 NYT Bestseller in its opening week.

Dragon Cursed, Elise Kova's YA fantasy about dragon hunters facing brutal trials and hidden secrets, is the launch title for Entangled's new Mayhem imprint—and Amazon moved fast. Meanwhile, Sydney Sweeney is already lining up her next IP play: an Edith Wharton adaptation, just weeks after The Housemaid crossed $247M worldwide. And Netflix is aggressively building a podcast-to-screen pipeline, acquiring nearly 50 shows including true crime staples and comedy hits.

This edition features:

• 6 Deals: Dragon Cursed (Amazon MGM), Nightwatching (Mila Kunis), Custom of the Country (Sydney Sweeney), The Astrology House (Christina Ricci)
• 4 New Books Out: Fresh releases with adaptation potential
• 6 Announced Books: Fresh from Publishers Marketplace—romantasy, horror-comedy, and a Pulitzer winner's LA crime saga
• 4 Podcasts: The Red Weather (Rider Strong autofiction), Becoming DMX (50 Cent), Netflix's podcast expansion
• Alternative IP: God of War casting, Split Fiction game, Iron Lung film

📰 THIS WEEK IN IP

Dragon Cursed lands at Amazon MGM — Elise Kova's YA fantasy hit #1 on the NYT Bestseller list in its opening week. The story follows dragon hunters through brutal trials and hidden secrets. It's the launch title for Entangled's new Mayhem imprint, and Amazon moved fast.

What readers are saying: "HOLY MOLY. Elise Kova does it again! I was so excited for this and yet it STILL exceeded my expectations!" "This book rocked me. I can't trust anyone... the end ripped my heart out with that cliffhanger." "Plot twist, plot twist, plot twist."

Mila Kunis to star in Nightwatching — Tracy Sierra's debut thriller about a mother protecting her children from an intruder during a winter storm goes to Scott Free Productions. Directors Adam Schindler and Brian Netto (Malum) are attached. The book was a Jimmy Fallon Book Club pick.

What readers are saying: "5 OUTSTANDING stars! Pulse-pounding, edge-of-your-seat tension from start to finish! Best thriller I've read in YEARS!" "Nightwatching is what nightmares are made of. Disturbing in such a realistic way." "The Only book that has truly terrified me."

Sydney Sweeney tackles Edith Wharton — Fresh off The Housemaid's $247M global run, Sweeney will star in and produce Custom of the Country for Studiocanal. She plays Undine Spragg, an ambitious Midwest woman navigating New York society. Classic lit, modern star.

Christina Ricci boards The Astrology House — Carinn Jade's astrology-themed mystery is heading to Peacock as a series with Ricci attached to star and executive produce.

What readers are saying: "Gripping, hard to put down and dramatic! Instantly drew me in and had me hooked from the very beginning!" "Surprisingly juicy! A soapy portrayal with a final twist you will never see coming." "Page-turning, gothic-tinged drama."

Netflix adapts Nobel Prize winner Orhan Pamuk — The Museum of Innocence, Pamuk's melancholic Istanbul love story, becomes a Turkish Netflix series. The novel already has a real museum in Istanbul.

What readers are saying: "A love story that doubles as an obsessive catalog of memory." "Pamuk at his most romantic and melancholic." "One of the great novels of the 21st century."

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo returns — Stieg Larsson's Millennium series is getting another adaptation, this time as a TV series. Third time's the charm?