There are many ways to judge movies, but one thing really matters: money. The more money a flick makes, the better. These horror franchises are the ones that brought in the most cash, though, what a monster or a serial killer can do with all that money is up for debate. You'll notice that long-running series tend to place higher on this list, but we also calculated out the average gross per movie as well. So what is the highest grossing horror movie? Is it the slew of 80s horror movies, the killer-slasher movies, paranormal ghost movies? Find out!
Highest Grossing Horror Movies
Monster movies and slasher flicks make piles of money - dig this rundown of the horror franchises that pulled in the most cash over the years.
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By K. Thor Jensen August 29, 2011 |
Credit: The Ring
| 11 | The Ring |
For a while it looked like Asian horror was going to be the wave of the future - more explicitly, English-language remakes of Asian horror movies. The flick that kicked it all off was The Ring. Gore Verbinski's take on the tale of the haunted videotape that caused anybody who watched it to die made over $129 million in gross profit, and the sequel tacked another $75 million onto that. After a slew of imitators (The Grudge, The Eye), the trend fell off fast, but it's still enough to earn a spot on the list.
Credit: 20th Century Fox
| 10 | The Omen |
You're going to notice a trend on this list, as many of the flicks have an original run in the 70s and 80s followed by a reimagining in the 21st century. A fine example of that is The Omen, the tale of the Antichrist reborn as a punk-ass kid. The original 1976 movie was the fourth highest-grossing flick of the year, pulled in nearly $61 million on a budget of under $3 million, and two sequels followed for another $50 million. And then in 2006 the remake hit, pulled in the highest Tuesday opening in American history with over $12 million just that day.
Credit: The Blair Witch Project
| 9 | The Blair Witch Project |
Most of the flicks on this list have a few well-performing entries under their belt, but for The Blair Witch Project, it's riding to a spot on the strength of just one. The 1999 film, marketed as a pseudo-documentary used one of the most effective strategies of all time and raked in just under $250 million in theaters - an incredible showing for a horror movie starring no-name actors. The sequel certainly didn't perform up to the expectations of the original, but it still added enough cash to the pile to get it on the list. The filmmakers are still busily working away in Hollywood trying to get a third film made.
Credit: United Artists
| 8 | Child's Play |
You wouldn't believe it, but the Child's Play franchise is one of the strongest performers in the horror genre. The first film, which featured Brad Dourif as the voice of Chucky the homicidal doll, made a pile of cash worldwide on a very low budget, and the inevitable sequels soon followed. The series saw a very entertaining reboot with 1998's Bride of Chucky and 2004's Seed of Chucky, but 2012 is going to see a remake of the original flick, toning down the comedy elements and bringing it back into the world of straight horror.
Credit: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre
| 7 | Texas Chainsaw Massacre |
Tobe Hooper's 1974 slasher classic laid the groundwork for the psycho-killer genre, and a number of the other flicks on this list wouldn't exist without it. Leatherface and his murderous cannibal family are some of the most treateningly gross antagonists in movie history, and the gritty aesthetic is one of a kind. Made on a shoestring budget of just $140,000, it brought in $30 million. Three sequels followed before the flick was rebooted in 2003 with a remake, which itself saw a sequel. There's an upcoming 3D film in the pipeline as well, which may vault the series a spot or two higher on the list.
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