Universal Pictures and SyFy Ventures have joined forces to create Syfy Films. The new film company will create theatrical films under the SyFy brand that will be distributed by Universal Pictures. Their plan is to release two movies per year by 2012, with production budget ranging from $5 million to $25 million.

Syfy President Dave Howe said,

“We know that the sci-fi genre is huge when it comes to the Hollywood box office, and we believe there is a real gap in the market when it comes to mid-range budget movies, of the 20 highest grossing films of all time, nearly all are in the sci-fi or fantasy genre, a broad spectrum that includes “Avatar,” “The Dark Knight” and kid-friendly films like the “Harry Potter” and “Pirates of the Caribbean” series’.

Lower budget films like director Neill Blomkamp’s District 9, will serve as a model for the new company.