Fifth And Final 'The Purge' Movie Sets Its Release Date For July 2020

Universal Pictures and Blumhouse Pictures will be holding their last Purge. The fifth and final The Purge movie is set to open in theaters in July 2020, bringing to an end the series created by James DeMonaco that went from sleeper horror hit to critically acclaimed franchise.

Universal and Blumhouse have set a release date for the fifth The Purge film, which is currently being called the "Untitled Next Purge Chapter." The Purge 5 will be released on July 10, 2020, opening opposite Sony's new Ghostbusters film directed by Jason Reitman.

The fifth Purge film will follow up 2018's The First Purge, a prequel film that depicts the origins of the annual "Purge," a 12-hour span once a year in which all crime in America, including murder, is legal. Each film follows a different annual Purge, with the last chronological film, The Purge: Election Year, fittingly coming out in 2016.

James DeMonaco, who wrote and directed The Purge, The Purge: Anarchy and The Purge: Election Year, has not confirmed whether he'll be returning for the upcoming sequel, though he did reveal last year that he plans for the fifth film to be the last. "I have it in my head," DeMonaco told Entertainment Weekly in October. "I think I'm going to write it. I think it's a great way to end it all. We want to end it all, I think, in this one, and I'm very excited. When I came up with the idea and pitched it to everybody, they seemed psyched, and I think it will be a really cool ending, how we take this one home."

With the fifth Purge film, so will end one of the most unusual hit horror franchises to hit the big screen. When the original The Purge opened in 2013, it was a scrappy home invasion thriller starring Ethan Hawke that went on to gross $89.3 million worldwide and kicked off a franchise that would grow increasingly vicious and ambitious in scale, with its political messaging thrust to the forefront. To date, the franchise has grossed $456.8 million worldwide.

Although The Purge may soon be losing its bloodlust on the big screen, it's still going strong on the small screen. The Purge TV series debuted to mixed reception on USA in September, but was soon renewed for a second season by the network.