The 'Conjuring' Universe Films Crosses $1 Billion Mark With New 'Annabelle' Movie

08/31/2017 03:40 pm EDT

When New Line Cinema premiered The Conjuring in 2013, the box office numbers and critical reception let them know they had a huge hit on their hands. Four years later, the studio can finally begin to grasp just how much this shared universe of horror films has dominated the market, as their four released films have earned a combined $1 billion worldwide, according to Deadline.

"This year marks the 50th anniversary of the founding of New Line, and without question the horror genre has always been an integral and important part of the company's DNA," explained Toby Emmerich, President and Chief Content Officer of Warner Bros Pictures Group. "While the genre has certainly evolved over the decades, watching the critical and commercial success of the Conjuring universe has been truly spectacular and I am incredibly proud of all the talented people involved in making this happen."

Another impressive feat for these series of films is that they've all been rated R, which severely limits the audience that can attend a theatrical run.

While, in some ways, these huge box office numbers are a surprising, when the filmmakers behind the franchise are considered, it shouldn't come as a shock.

Prior to writing/directing The Conjuring, filmmaker James Wan gave audiences Saw and Insidious, with the former going on to earn six sequels and with a seventh sequel opening this fall, while the fourth installment in the Insidious franchise will be hitting theaters next year. His work with the Conjuring films have also proven a launching off point for Wan, going on to direct Furious 7 and the upcoming Aquaman.

Churning out new installments in familiar franchises is no new strategy for the horror genre, as series like Halloween, Friday the 13th, and A Nightmare on Elm Street have earned a slew of sequels, spanning decades. However, The Conjuring has adopted a model much more similar to the big budget blockbuster films as of late, spinning out popular characters to explore a new mythology.

Despite only being featured for a few minutes in The Conjuring, the possessed Annabelle doll was the first of the series' spin-offs. That film was a big enough hit to have resulted in this past weekend's Annabelle: Creation, which opened to over $100 million worldwide. Last year's The Conjuring 2 has spawned two spin-offs, with The Nun having recently wrapped filming and The Crooked Man announced to hit theaters sometime in 2019.

The Conjuring 2 and The Conjuring hold the second and third spots, respectively, for horror movie box office totals. The two films sit behind The Exorcist in the number one spot.

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