The summer movie horror hit Annabelle: Creation has passed another milestone at the box office by crossing $300 million in global ticket sales. Released in theaters August 11, the prequel to the 2014 worldwide smash Annabelle was a hit out of the gate domestically, earning $35 million domestically against the film’s $15 million budget.

First introduced in the opening scenes of the 2013 horror smash The Conjuring, Annabelle: Creation examined the origins story of the demonically-possessed vintage doll, and in the process became the fourth film in writer-director-producer James Wan’s Conjuring movie universe following the release of The Conjuring 2 in 2016.

As reported by Deadline, Annabelle: Creation earned enough in theaters this weekend to push it pass the $300 million mark in worldwide ticket sales. As of Sunday, the film has earned $301.5 million globally, with $101.9 million of the total coming from domestic ticket sales and $199.6 million in box office receipts overseas. By contrast, the first Annabelle movie earned $256.8 million in global ticket sales, with $84.2 million in tickets sold stateside and $172.6 million in overseas. Annabelle was made for $6.5 million, a pittance in comparison to the budgets of most of Hollywood’s blockbuster hits.

To date, the four films in The Conjuring Universe have earned more than $1.2 billion worldwide. The first Conjuring movie took in $318 million globally, while The Conjuring 2 ended its worldwide theatrical run with $320.2 million in ticket sales. The movie universe crossed the $1 billion mark in ticket sales one week after the release of Annabelle: Creation in theaters, and has since added $200 million to that total thanks to the film’s immense popularity here and abroad.

With such massive returns on its small investments, the future no doubt looks bright for The Conjuring Universe. The next spinoff film, The Nun (based on the ghoulish nun character who was introduced to fans in The Conjuring 2), is due in theaters July 13, 2018, and another Conjuring 2 spinoff movie The Crooked Man is in development. On top of that, The Conjuring 3 is also in the works.

There’s no question that when it comes to producing horror films, The Conjuring Universe studio Warner Bros. clearly has an incredible handle on finding low-budget material with blockbuster potential. The studio also produced the big screen adaptation of Stephen King’s IT , which took in an astounding $123 million in its opening weekend domestically against a $35 million budget. Last weekend, the film became the first horror movie to cross the $300 million mark domestically, and to date, IT has earned more than $630.6 million globally – with $314.9 million of that total coming from ticket sales stateside as of Sunday.

Source: Deadline

  • The Nun Release Date: 2018-09-07