Sony Acquires 'Mouthwashing' Film Rights, Karyn Kusama Set to Direct

Sony Pictures has acquired the feature film rights to Mouthwashing, the 2024 psychological horror video game from Swedish developer Wrong Organ and publisher Critical Reflex, with Karyn Kusama attached to direct, Deadline reported on Thursday, Oct. 29. Matt Manfredi and Phil Hay are adapting the game for the screen, and Scott Derrickson, C. Robert Cargill and Vince Cheng are producing under their Crooked Highway banner, which has a deal under Sony's Screen Gems label, according to the report.

The Hollywood Reporter, which also reported the deal Thursday, said Crooked Highway has a producing deal with Sony Pictures Entertainment to produce feature films for Screen Gems. The trade noted that Kusama, Manfredi and Hay previously worked together on the 2015 psychological horror thriller The Invitation and the 2018 Nicole Kidman thriller Destroyer. No cast, story details or release window have been announced, Inven Global reported.

Developer and publisher confirm the deal

Wrong Organ confirmed the project on X shortly after the trade reports, according to Inven Global, which quoted the studio as writing, "The rumors are true," and adding, "The Tulpar journey goes on, we hope it continues to hurt." Inven Global reported that Critical Reflex said the film will be produced by Screen Gems, and quoted the publisher's own post: "You thought you could escape responsibility by turning off your console?"

The film announcement coincided with the game's expansion beyond PC. Mouthwashing launched on Xbox Series X|S, Xbox on PC, Xbox One and Xbox Game Pass on Oct. 29, 2026, according to a post on Xbox Wire published Oct. 20, which said the title would be available "day one with XBOX Game Pass." The Hollywood Reporter said the game launched Thursday on PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch and Xbox platforms. Engadget likewise reported that as of Thursday the game was available on Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S and through Xbox Game Pass.

What the game is and how it has sold

Mouthwashing follows five crew members stranded aboard the space freighter Tulpar, which crash lands on an asteroid, The Hollywood Reporter said, describing a first-person game that combines surreal visuals with a nonlinear narrative exploring responsibility, denial and the consequences of unchecked power. The game's Steam store page describes it as "a first-person horror game following the dying crew of a shipwrecked space freighter."

Sales totals differ slightly by source. Deadline reported the game has sold close to 1 million units, and The Hollywood Reporter said it has sold nearly one million units on PC. Xbox Wire and Critical Reflex, as cited by Inven Global, put the total at more than 800,000 copies. The Hollywood Reporter said the game earned an 88 score on Metacritic and "overwhelmingly positive" user reviews on Steam, and won the best narrative and players' choice categories at the Horror Game Awards as well as best hidden gem at the New York Game Awards. Per the studio, content about the game has generated 63 million views on YouTube and nearly one billion views on TikTok, the trade reported.

Deadline reported that Wrong Organ, an independent studio based in Stockholm, is currently developing Carcass Clad, a co-op tank horror game in which players take the roles of Commander, Driver and Gunner.

Sony's recent run with game adaptations

The Hollywood Reporter framed the acquisition as Sony's next game adaptation after the studio relaunched the Resident Evil franchise with Zach Cregger's film. That reboot opened to $60 million domestically in September, the largest debut in the franchise's history, with a global start of $108.3 million, Variety reported at the time. Variety said Sony spent $75 million on the film. "Putting Zach Cregger in charge of a major franchise like 'Resident Evil' [made] something familiar feel fresh and original again," analyst Paul Dergarabedian told the outlet.

By early October, Deadline reported that the film's release in China was on course to make it Cregger's highest-grossing movie, passing the $270 million worldwide total of Weapons. Box office tracker The Numbers lists the film's worldwide gross at $385,194,016, including $154,885,964 domestically, and lists Sony Pictures as its domestic distributor with a home video release set for Nov. 3, 2026.

The filmmakers behind the project

Derrickson and Cargill signed their first-look deal with Sony Pictures Entertainment to produce feature films for Screen Gems in June 2024, Deadline reported at the time. In a joint statement then, the pair said Screen Gems' "commitment to giving thoughtful, intense, genre films theatrical distribution is in line with what we very much want to be doing both as a company and as artists." Ashley Brucks, then president of Screen Gems, said in the same announcement that the studio felt "lucky to have them here at Screen Gems."

Kusama was nominated for two Primetime Emmy Awards for directing the series Yellowjackets, on which she also serves as an executive producer, Deadline reported. Her film credits include The Invitation, Jennifer's Body and Girlfight, for which she won Best Director and the Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival. Manfredi and Hay's credits include Clash of the Titans and the Ride Along films, according to The Hollywood Reporter, which said Derrickson last directed The Black Phone 2 and The Gorge, both released in 2025.