Hotel Transylvania 5 reveals its title and first plot tease, hitting theaters October 2027

Bit of a twist from Sony Animation today: the Hotel Transylvania lot are officially dusting off their capes for a fifth go-around, now titled 'The Haunting of Hotel Transylvania'. Mark your calendar—or don’t, but Sony clearly wants you to—the release date’s set for 8 October 2027 and this time they’re sending it back to cinemas.

Who’s Steering This Ship?

Directing duties on this one fall to Jennifer Kluska and Alan Hawkins. If those names sound familiar, it’s probably because Kluska co-directed the last outing, 'Transformania'. Lawrence Jonas is producing, and Series mastermind Genndy Tartakovsky is still keeping a finger in the pie as executive producer, with Michelle Murdocca back as well. So, by and large, it’s the core creative gang returning, just on a slight shuffle of chairs.

Distribution Jigsaw

The business side gets a tad complicated: Sony will release the film in North America, but they’ve handed off international distribution to Amazon MGM Studios. Odd bedfellows, but there you go.

Mavis Steps Up, Dracula Rests On His Coffin

Here’s what Sony’s saying about the actual story: Dracula’s off enjoying retirement, presumably with some sort of monster version of a piña colada, while Mavis takes over running the infamous hotel. Naturally, it doesn't just all tick along quietly: a bunch of creepy, unexplained happenings kick off at the resort, so the Drac Pack (what they insist we call them) has to regroup to solve the latest supernatural puzzle. That's your lot for the plot, but it’s a clear shift—Mavis is now at the wheel, with her dad hanging about in the background until things get properly weird.

Words From The Powers That Be

Sony’s animation heads—Kristine Belson and Damien de Froberville—summed it up like this:

'From the beginning, Hotel Transylvania has invited audiences into a world where monsters feel like family... With this next instalment, we’re honouring that legacy of heart and humour while delivering the unexpected surprises audiences love.'

Not much actual substance, admittedly, but if you’re into a bit of corporate enthusiasm, that’s the temperature in the boardroom.

Amazon MGM Studios’ film boss, Courtenay Valenti, threw in:

'Hotel Transylvania is one of those rare franchises that has become a beloved tradition for families around the world—a film series that has always balanced irreverent humour with genuine heart.'

She’s also, unsurprisingly, 'thrilled' about this partnership, which is good, because presumably Sony is thrilled too. Lots of thrill all round.

A Staggering History of Monsters and Money

If you’ve lost track of how big this series actually is, here’s a quick rundown:

• Hotel Transylvania (2012): $355 million worldwide
• Hotel Transylvania 2 (2015): $475 million worldwide
• Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation (2018): $530 million worldwide
• Hotel Transylvania: Transformania (2022): Skipped cinemas entirely and went straight to Prime Video

So, while 'Transformania' took the streaming route—a bit of an odd move at the time, but that’s what happens when cinemas are up the creek—the next one is adamantly theatrical. Assuming no more global nightmares, it’ll be the first HT film to hit cinemas in nine years. And apparently we’re back to a proper monster mystery in the hotel, rather than the more scattered plotting of a couple of sequels.