Summary
- Successful horror movies like Smile, Terrifier, and A Quiet Place have the potential to become major franchises due to their financial success and critical acclaim.
- Films like Talk to Me, X, and M3GAN have already been confirmed to have sequels, suggesting that they could become staple series in the horror genre.
- The Invisible Man, Bird Box, and Don't Breathe have the opportunity to establish themselves as modern franchises, with potential for spin-offs and prequels to expand their universes. The Pope's Exorcist also has sequel potential due to its recent popularity.
The rise of the horror genre over the past decade has created many potential big horror movie franchises. Some of the most original and famous horror movies of the 21st century have emerged in recent years, culminating in a renaissance of independent content within the longstanding genre. While there are still plenty of classic slashers and supernatural horror movies to choose from nowadays, horror as a whole has matured with creativity and sophistication that has been solidified by groundbreaking films such as Ari Aster's Hereditary and Jordan Peele's Get Out.
Several of the most popular horror movies in recent cinematic history have already run their course and do not plan to continue with a sequel or third installment. The previously trending Happy Death Day horror series has not announced any plans to stretch its 2019 sequel into a major franchise, nor is it likely that the popular It movies will extend past a Chapter 2 since much of Stephen King's original novel source material has been covered by both movies. There are, however, at least a dozen successful horror movies that have yet to produce a sequel or a trilogy that have great potential to become a seasoned franchise similar to Halloween and Scream.
12 Smile
Smile was one of the most profitable horror movies of 2022, generating nearly 13 times its production budget of $17 million at the global box office. With such great financial success, it's a safe bet that Paramount will be reinvesting in a Smile sequel and potentially beyond, with Smile 2 officially confirmed in April 2023. The original film employed a unique marketing strategy involving actors creepily smiling at professional sporting events on TV, which could make for even more innovative advertising strategies in the future.
11 Terrifier
The original Terrifier was released in 2016 and received its sequel in 2022, with a third installment already officially announced for 2024. The signature explicit gore of the first two movies is the main grab for this franchise in the making, with expectations for Terrifier 3 to be even more extreme and bloody than the first two films. With the success of a third movie set to release in October 2024, Terrifier could be a horror franchise that is here to stay.
10 A Quiet Place
A Quiet Place was another major horror success at the box office, generating nearly 20 times its $17 million budget at the 2018 worldwide box office. With the critical acclaim of both the original film and A Quiet Place Part II, the franchise is set to become one of the more consistent horror movie series of the 2020s. A Quiet Place 3 is officially confirmed to star Emily Blunt and be written by John Krasinski with a 2025 expected release date following a spin-off prequel A Quiet Place: Day One expected in 2024.
9 Talk To Me
Talk to Me quickly became one of 2023's most popular and critically acclaimed horror films largely due to its association with the prestigious production company A24. Talk to Me was able to succeed at a highly competitive 2023 box office by accruing roughly $55 million globally from a budget reportedly less than $5 million. Talk to Me 2 has been officially confirmed by A24, making it just the third film from the production company to have a greenlit sequel.
8 X
The immediate success of X and its sequel Pearl in 2022 made it one of the fastest-growing horror movie series in recent memory. Both X and Pearl received critical acclaim upon their release which were separated only by a matter of months. X marks another A24 horror movie series with massive franchise potential, with the third installment titled MaXXXine already confirmed with director Ti West at the creative helm.
7 The Black Phone
The Black Phone was a surprising hit at the 2022 box office, generating over $160 million at the worldwide box office from its estimated $18 million production budget. Due to the financial success alone, a potential sequel or spin-off is likely to be produced in some capacity although there has been no official announcement of such as of date.
6 M3GAN
M3GAN became another 2022 horror movie hit and earned a 2025 sequel announcement virtually right after it was released. M3GAN is one of the most critically acclaimed horror movies since 2020 that offers a fresh take on an artificial intelligence gone rogue narrative. With the great potential for success of M3GAN 2.0, the series could become a staple of the horror genre for years to come.
5 Barbarian
Barbarian was yet again another acclaimed 2022 horror movie in contention for the best of the genre during that year. While writer/director Zach Cregger has gone on the record saying that a Barbarian 2 from him is unlikely, that doesn't necessarily mean that a Barbarian sequel is completely off the table. Cregger did leave the door open to returning to the Barbarian universe for an expansion if the right ideas come to him, but for now, the franchise rests on its massive potential.
4 The Invisible Man
2020's The Invisible Man is technically a reboot of a franchise that ran from the 1930s to the beginning of the 1950s, but the updated version starring Elizabeth Moss gives the franchise a fighting chance to establish itself in the 21st century. The film made nearly 20 times its $7 million production budget at the global box office, making it one of the most portable movies of the year. The rebooted franchise has seven original films to pull inspiration from in the modern era, which remains unconfirmed but hopeful.
3 Bird Box
Netflix's Bird Box became a cultural phenomenon and the subject of many memes in 2018, which inspired its 2023 spin-off Bird Box Barcelona. Due to the cultural impact of the original movie, Netflix could continue to make a series of spin-off movies regardless of lead actress Sandra Bullock's involvement. With a premise as strong as the original Bird Box, Netflix could continue to transfer it between different actors and locations for years to come.
