The Nun and the Conjuring saga at the top of the world’s top horror box office
Stronger than Halloween, Freddy, Scream, Amityville or Friday the 13th!
She’s back in theaters this week and she’s going to attract crowds once again! The terrifying Nun resumes its horror business in The Curse of Saint Lucia and with her, it’s the saga Conjuring who puts a part back into the machine. An already extraordinarily profitable machine.
Indeed, since its creation in 2013, with The Warren Files by James Wan, the franchise Conjuring has accumulated more than $2.1 billion in worldwide revenue (8.5 million admissions in France) in 9 films!
Stratospheric scores, which make the license held by the Warner Bros. studio. the biggest horror saga in the history of cinema at the box office. And by far !
Indeed, behind it we find the franchise Sawwhich, in as many films (9), has raked in $1 billion in theaters, since Saw (2004) until Spiral (2021) and in the meantime Saw X. In France, it totals 4.7 million entries.
Scream did much more at home, since Ghostface scared 9.2 million spectators in France. But in 6 films, Scream (1996) to Scream VI (2023), the saga initiated by Wes Craven only takes third place in the world’s top horror charts, with $912 million in global revenue.
Behind it is Paranormal Activity which follows with 872 million dollars accumulated in 7 films (4.7 million admissions in France) from the first opus in 2006 until Paranormal Activity: Next of Kin (released on Paramount+ in 2021).
We then find Insidious. The other saga launched by James Wan collected $717 million in 5 films (2.4 million admissions in France) from the 2010 film to Insidious: The Red Door (in 2023).
What about the old historic franchises then? Although the names still echo in our nightmares, they are further behind.
Halloween accumulates 876,457 million dollars in worldwide revenue, in 13 films (3 million admissions in France) Halloween: Night of the Masks (1978) until Halloween Ends (in 2023).
Freddy and its terrifying fingers have not gathered more than 472 million in 9 films (3.6 million admissions in France) since The Claws of the Night (1984) until the 2010 remake, Freddy: Claws of the Night.
Jason does the same. Friday 13 has accumulated 462 million dollars in 12 films (2.2 million admissions in France) since Friday 13 (1980) remake Friday 13 (2009).
Franchise evil Dead collected $300 million in 5 films (2.1 million admissions in France) from Sam Raimi’s 1987 film to Evil Dead Risein 2023.
The 8 films Chainsaw Massacre make even less with 252 million dollars in overall revenue, since the Texas Chainsaw Massacre from 1974 until Leatherface from 2017.
Finally, the mythical Amityville complete this ranking. In 6 films released in theaters, the historical saga has grossed 230 million dollars, since The Devil’s House in 1979 until Amityville Murders of 2019.
Franchise Conjuring therefore still has a bright future ahead of it and should continue to pursue its spin-off films. Especially since they are the ones who bring in the most: with 365 million dollars in 2018, The Nun is to date the biggest success of the saga, ahead of The Warren Files.