The 5 Biggest Horror Movie Franchises Ever, Ranked By Box Office

Horror is and has consistently been one of the most reliable genres in cinema history. Though not always getting the respect it deserves, the horror genre has been relied upon by Hollywood for decades to bring in the big bucks. These movies are often made on the cheap, have loyal audiences, and tend to do big business at the box office. The best part? If one hits, you've got a potential franchise on your hands.

From the earliest examples of this, like the Universal Monsters, to giant slasher series like "Halloween," these franchises transcend generations, lasting decades. But which ones are the biggest of the big thus far, as box office is concerned? Only six in history have ever made at least $1 billion, with "Scream" recently joining that list thanks to the success of "Scream 7" at the box office,  with "Scream 8" now all but assured. Ghostface couldn't quite crack the top five, though that may happen before all is said and done. 

But where do things stand in the here and now? We're going to look at the five biggest horror franchises ever at the box office. The one caveat is that a couple of franchises are on the cusp of breaking into this list in the coming months/years. "A Quiet Place 3," which will be written and directed by John Krasinski, is likely to bring that franchise well past the $1 billion mark. "Final Destination" is also very close, thanks to last year's "Bloodlines."

With that said, we're going to look over the standings as of this publication, breaking down each one of these storied horror franchises from a financial POV. From Jigsaw to the Warrens, from evil clowns to deadly aliens, let's get into it, shall we?

Arguably the most gore-filled franchise on this list, "Saw" is also perhaps the most unlikely $1 billion horror franchise to ever come about. Beginning in 2004 with James Wan's "Saw," the smash hit gave rise to one of the genre's biggest franchises. Against a very tiny budget of just over $1 million, it made $103 million worldwide, setting the whole thing in motion.

Nine sequels later, the series centered on Jigsaw's twisted games in which he tries to teach people to appreciate life has earned a grand total of $1.14 billion at the global box office. That means each of these movies has averaged just $110 million each, all with extremely reasonable production budgets. None of these movies have ever cost more than $20 million to produce. That's bang-for-buck in Hollywood if ever there were such a thing. Even the most hated "Saw" movie, namely "Saw: 3D," earned $136.1 million globally. It's been largely unstoppable.

The biggest earner was "Saw III" with a whopping $164.8 million, all against a $10 million budget. The lowest-grossing entry in the series to date remains 2021's "Spiral: From the Book of Saw," which made just $40.6 million, though that was at a time when theaters were still largely getting back on their feet in the aftermath of the pandemic.

Looking ahead, the franchise still has gas left in the tank. Following the success of "Saw X" in 2023, the planned "Saw 11" was canceled, with the franchise rights sold to Blumhouse. One of the biggest horror studios around is now planning to take over, with Wan set to oversee the project as a producer. This franchise's total will certainly continue to grow in the years ahead.

If we were talking about which horror movie franchises have the best per-movie average in the history of cinema, it would be no contest. Pennywise would take the cake. In 2017, director Andy Muschietti managed to get the long-gestating adaptation of Stephen King's beloved, hulking novel "It" off the ground, with spectacular results. "It" became the biggest horror hit ever at the box office, taking in a whopping $700 million worldwide.

That single movie would put it amongst the 20 biggest horror franchises in history, unadjusted for inflation. Then, Muschietti's sequel arrived a couple of years later in 2019. Though "It: Chapter Two" had to live in the shadow of its predecessor, it was still a resounding success, taking in $473 million worldwide. Combined, the movies have made a grand total of $1.17 billion globally, good enough to currently sit at the number four spot on the list.

That means the movies have averaged about $585 million each. Granted, these really are two halves of a whole, attempting to adapt King's gigantic novel more holistically. There was also another adaptation in the '90s made as a TV miniseries, but that obviously didn't impact the box office. The only downside to this particular franchise is that it's unlikely to see many more entries in the years to come. 

We've got "It: Welcome to Derry" on HBO, but barring some kind of spin-off or remake, this is probably always going to stand as a two-and-done, remarkable run for the ages. Pennywise earned his place in cinematic horror history in record time. 

"Resident Evil" is one of the most enduring franchises in horror. What started as a beloved series of video games produced by Capcom eventually became one of the most surprising, long-running runs of box office hits. Beginning in 2002 with director Paul W.S. Anderson's original action/horror zombie flick that started it all, this series broke through into the mainstream.

2002's "Resident Evil" beat the video game movie curse at a time when these movies rarely worked. While it largely had very little to do with the game itself, the first movie earned $103 million worldwide against a very reasonable $33 million budget. That paved the way for a series of sequels, largely centered on Milla Jovovich as Alice. To date, the franchise has pulled in a grand total of $1.28 billion worldwide against combined budgets of $313 million, with seven live-action movies. All told, that's a nice return on investment for Sony Pictures.

The lowest-grossing entry and only real bomb in the "Resident Evil" franchise is 2021's "Welcome to Raccoon City," a reboot that attempted to be more faithful to the games themselves. It made just $41.9 million worldwide on a $25 million budget, though 2021 was a rough year at the box office, as the pandemic was still a major factor. The biggest hit was 2017's "Resident Evil: The Final Chapter," which earned $314.1 million worldwide, with the vast majority coming from overseas audiences.

This is another franchise that will see its total climb in the coming years, as Zach Cregger's new "Resident Evil" movie, set in the game universe, is set to hit theaters in late 2026. Whether or not that kicks off a new era for the franchise remains to be seen.

This is where we might get into an argument about what counts as horror, but there's no question that "Alien" has its roots in horror. Ridley Scott's original "Alien" was one of the most important hits in horror box office history. Ever since, through ups and downs, reboots and crossovers, the franchise has pulled in a grand total of $1.98 billion worldwide. It's the second-biggest horror franchise ever in terms of money made from tickets sold, though there's also some room for argument there.

For one, this total includes the "Alien vs. Predator" movies. 2004's "Alien vs. Predator" was a minor box office hit, grossing $177.4 million worldwide. Its hit status was minor due to its hefty $70 million budget. These movies are quite a bit more expensive than "Saw," for example. 2007's "Alien vs. Predator: Requiem" made $130.2 million worldwide, meaning the two films pulled in more than $300 million combined. If anyone believes that including "Predator" crossover movies is unfair, the total for "Alien" comes down to $1.68 billion. That still puts it in second place pretty handily.

There are nine movies in total, seven if we don't count "AvP." The biggest hit is the divisive prequel "Prometheus," which made $403.3 million worldwide. The lowest-grossing entry outside of "Requiem" is "Alien 3," which made $159.8 million. Overall, these movies are more expensive, but they also tend to have a larger audience than the average horror movie.

2024's "Alien: Romulus" got the series back on track with $350.8 million worldwide. Fede Alvarez won't be returning to direct the "Romulus" sequel, but one is in the works, meaning the franchise will continue to grow even more in the coming years.

Now, we get to the biggest of the big. The Conjuring Universe is the largest non-Marvel cinematic universe around. The franchise has pulled in a truly astonishing $2.9 billion worldwide, or $2.77 billion depending on how one wants to count it, but we'll get to that in a second.

The franchise kicked off in 2013 with James Wan's "The Conjuring," which made a massive $319.4 million worldwide. That naturally paved the way for "The Conjuring 2" and other sequels but, more importantly, opened the door for a full universe of spin-offs. That began in "Annelbelle," a low-budget juggernaut that made $257 million worldwide. That in turn paved the way for "The Nun," with these spin-offs also getting sequels.

The biggest sticking point remains "The Curse of La Llorona," a hit that The Conjuring Universe didn't want. Even though it made $123.2 million worldwide and has connective tissue with the franchise, it's not technically considered part of the canon by Warner Bros. and New Line Cinema. So, if we don't count it, the franchise's total sits at $2.77 billion. Still far and away above everything else on this list. The franchise also either has 9 or 10 movies to date, depending on whether or not this one counts.

The franchise's biggest hit came last year with "The Conjuring: Last Rites," which pulled in an astonishing $499.1 million worldwide. A prequel is now in the works, meaning this universe will probably cross the $3 billion mark eventually. Is it unfair to count a full cinematic universe as one franchise? That's up to the individual to decide. Even so, "The Conjuring" movies alone have made $1.34 billion, firmly in top three territory on this list. These are juggernauts, period.