Which horror film was the highest grossing in each of the 23 years of the 21st century (24 photos)

The history of horror dates back to 1896, when cinema pioneer Georges Méliès showed his short film "The Devil's Castle". Since then, the genre has gone through many stages of its development. The first big step was German Expressionism, which gave us the legendary 1922 film Nosferatu, a Symphony of Terror, which laid the foundations of the genre. Already in the 30s and 40s, American cinema picked up the baton. More complex special effects began to appear in films, stories became more artistic, and the projects themselves became much less like “theater productions.” In general, an excursion into the history of horror can take a lot of time! Today, horror films have ceased to be a marginal genre. Today, horror films are made by famous directors, big movie stars are invited to play the main roles and, accordingly, the films collect very serious money. Yes, there are enough “meaty” horror films of category “B”, but at least several times a year, very cool projects come out on the screens. We invite you to see which horror film became the highest grossing in each of the 23 years of the 21st century.

By the way, the word “horror” is a loose concept, because the horror genre is very diverse and has a lot of subgenres. For example, for seasoned horror fans, the film "Sweeney Todd, the Demon Barber of Fleet Street" is just a children's musical. But in fact it belongs to the "horror" genre. And the film “Prometheus” is pure science fiction, which is very difficult to call “scary”. However, the prequel to "Alien" is automatically classified as a "horror" genre.

We apologize for the “lots of letters.” Enjoy watching everyone!

2001 - Others





Box office: 209 million

An even bigger hit that year was the film Hannibal, which many publications classify as horror, but it is more of a thriller.

2002 - Call



Box office: 249 million

2003 - Gothic





Box office: 141 million

2004 - Damnation



Box office: 187 million

2005 - Ring 2



Box office: 163 million

As you can see, in the first half of the 2000s, American remakes of Japanese horror films about creepy spirits enjoyed particular success.

2006 - Saw 3



Box office: 164 million

Many parts of this franchise collected good amounts, but only Saw 3 was able to become the leader of the year among horror films.

2007 - Sweeney Todd, the demon barber of Fleet Street



Box office: 153 million

2008 - Monstro



Box office: 172 million

2009 - Paranormal Activity



Box office: 193 million

The film was shot already in 2007, but found a distributor only in 2009 - and for good reason! The film became one of the most successful in history in terms of budget/box office ratio.

2010 - Resident Evil 4: Afterlife 3D



Box office: 300 million

2011 - Paranormal Activity 3



Box office: 207 million

Of course, after the success of the first part, a franchise of the same name was formed - sequels began to be churned out every year.

2012 - Prometheus



Box office: 403 million

The return of Alien, but in a modified form, turned out to be extremely successful in terms of box office receipts.

2013 - World War Z



Box office: 540 million

Brad Pitt and zombies - we couldn't imagine this before, so people went to the cinemas in droves.

2014 - Annabelle



Box office: 257 million

The spin-off of the film “The Conjuring” was able to become athe owl leader of his year, in contrast to his “ancestor”. But it’s okay, the main series will take its course.

2015 - Astral 3



Box office: 113 million

2016 - The Conjuring 2



Box office: 320 million

2017 - It



Box office: 702 million

The absolute box office record holder among all horror films in cinema history.

2018 - The Nun's Curse



Box office: 365 million

By the way, this film is also a spin-off of “The Conjuring”. It's safe to say that this is the premier horror franchise of the 2010s.

2019 - It 2



Box office: 473 million

No one doubted that the second part would collect a considerable box office. The amount turned out to be noticeably less than that of the original, but still this is the third indicator in the entire list.

2020 - A Quiet Place 2



Box office: 297 million

The first part lost quite a bit to “The Nun’s Curse,” but the sequel left no chance for other horror films of its year. This story has an interesting concept.

2021 - The Conjuring 3: By the Will of the Devil



Box office: 206 million

The Conjuring again! Already this decade. But it won't stop there either.

2022 - Smile



Box office: 217 million

2023 - The Nun 2 (so far)



Box office: 265 million

So far this is the highest-grossing horror film of this year (but there is a nuance) and again the Conjuring franchise.

Bonus: Five Nights at Freddy's (2023)



Box office (after 7 days at the box office): 136 million

Most likely, this film will overtake The Curse of the Nun 2 by a margin and become the highest-grossing horror film of 2023, since its release only began on October 25.