What Is The Highest-Grossing Horror Movie Of All Time?

Warner Bros.

Horror has been one of the most consistent money makers for Hollywood pretty much ever since movies became a popular form of entertainment for the masses. Even dating back to the days of "Nosferatu" and the early Universal Monsters films, it's a genre that delivers consistently yet, very frequently, gets very little respect. Even so, studios will continue going back to this well because when a horror movie breaks through with audiences, it can mean big money.

There have been plenty of blockbuster horror movies throughout history, from director William Friedkin's Oscar-winning, groundbreaking "The Exorcist" to more recent success stories like "Alien: Romulus." It's a never ending well that can be tapped over and over again when all else fails. But there is one that stands tall above the rest to hold the distinction as the highest-grossing horror movie in the history of the box office.

The movie in question hit theaters in 2017 and came from the mind of a horror master, namely Stephen King. "It," which still ranks as arguably the greatest book King has ever written, was adapted as a miniseries in 1990 by ABC. Eventually, though, Warner Bros. brought King's novel about the evil clown named Pennywise to the big screen under the direction of Andy Muschietti. The resulting film captured the attention of audiences all around the world becoming a true pop culture phenomenon. No horror movie has made more money than "It" before or since.

Warner Bros.

"It" was in development at Warner Bros. for a long time, going through many iterations before it finally got the green light. At one point, before Muschietti ("Mama") ended up with the gig, Cary Fukunaga very nearly made an unconventional version of "It," which fell apart late in the game. While there are plenty of horror fans out there who would still like to see that iteration, it's hard to argue that the studio made the wrong choice in the end.

Muschietti's version hit theaters in September 2017, riding a wave of critical praise as well as a killer marketing campaign. "It ended up debuting with $123 million domestically, which was more than double what estimates suggested it would make. That still ranks as the biggest opening weekend in box office history for the month of September. It was also just the tip of the iceberg, as the film would continue to rake in the dough all around the world for weeks on end.

"It" finished its run with just over $700 million worldwide, making it the biggest horror movie ever. To make things even sweeter for WB and everyone involved, the adaptation had a $35 million budget, making it extremely profitable. The vast majority of movies that have ever made that kind of money at the box office have had much higher budgets. In short, it was a home run.

Warner Bros. and Muschietti also decided to split King's book in half, which paved the way for a sequel that hit theaters in 2019. "It Chapter Two" couldn't match the heights of its predecessor, but it still pulled in a massive $473 million worldwide, which makes it one of the top 10 biggest horror movies ever made as well. So, as a franchise, there are few horror brands in history that can touch Pennywise.

Buena Vista Pictures Distribution

In terms of raw dollars earned at the box office, nothing touches "It." The next-closest horror movie is M. Night Shyamalan's 1999 classic "The Sixth Sense" ($672.8 million). The rest of the top five is rounded out by Will Smith's "I Am Legend" ($585.5 million), the biggest zombie movie ever, "World War Z" ($540 million), and Steven Spielberg's "Jaws" ($483.6 million).

There are a few things to consider. For one, there are those who will disagree about what does or doesn't qualify as a horror movie. It's a debate that can't be readily settled either, which makes this list a little cloudy. Even so, "It" stands above just about any other movie one could rightfully consider horror. The other thing that needs to be taken into account, of course, is inflation, which changes things more than a little bit.

If we adjust for inflation, "The Sixth Sense" would have made $988 million in 2017 dollars, using the U.S. Inflation Calculator. "Jaws," meanwhile, would be leaps and bounds above the rest of the competition, as it would have made roughly $2.2 billion in 2017 dollars (or a staggering $2.8 billion in today's dollars). That would put it right up there with James Cameron's "Avatar" as one of the highest-grossing movies ever made, regardless of genre.

Playing the inflation game muddies the waters. But "Jaws" hit theaters at a time when there was far less competition for one's attention. "It" managed to do what it did in the era of streaming and the internet. That's impressive. It's not an apples to apples situation. Either way, its place in cinema history is firmly cemented.