Blumhouse Productions has established itself as a powerhouse in horror movie production over the last two decades. Platforming directors such as James Wan, Leigh Whannell, and Jordan Peele, the studio has created some of the most popular horror franchises in recent years. With film series such as Insidious, Paranormal Activity, and The Purge, Blumhouse is no stranger to sequels, but follow-up films don't always perform as well as the originals.
The films discussed below may be the lowest-grossing Blumhouse sequels, but remember that just because a movie didn't perform as expected doesn't mean it's a bad movie. Unless it's an Amityville sequel.
Paranormal Activity: Ghost Dimension
2015 saw the release of the sixth installment of the Paranormal Activity franchise. The first film not to feature the character of Katie, and the first of the series to be presented in 3D Ghost Dimension didn't capture the hearts of fans in the same way as the previous films. Featuring a new family that discovers a box of old tapes and a video camera and a young girl communing with spirits, the film didn't exactly break new ground.
Made with a budget of $10 million, the film domestically made $18,297,124 while it globally netted $77,959,374. While by no means a flop, compared to other installments in the franchise, Ghost Dimension performed pretty poorly. For reference, the original Paranormal Activity was made for $4500 and globally grossed $194,183,034, while the subsequent two entries also grossed close to $200 million each.
The Forever Purge
Released in 2021 as a direct sequel to the 2016 film The Purge: Election Year, The Forever Purge takes place in 2048, where the original rules of Purge night have been reinstated. With the election of the New Founding Fathers of America, racial violence has skyrocketed across the country. Married migrant couple Juan and Adela illegally enter the US ten months before the next Purge, allowing them to establish their life before all hell breaks loose come Purge night. Purgers don't stop their activities when dawn breaks, and instead the Forever Purge plagues all 50 states.
Made with a budget of $18 million The Forever Purge made $44,539,245 and only $76,994,245 globally. Compare that to its predecessor Election Year which made $118,514,727, and it's clear that the franchise took a hit with the recent release. Whether that was due to a lack of interest or the pandemic remains to be seen.
Happy Death Day 2U
Following the surprise success of the 2017 time loop horror comedy Happy Death Day, the sequel Happy Death Day 2U was released in 2019. Once again starting with a time loop, the sequel soon slides into a parallel dimension with main character Tree discovering that her boyfriend is dating someone else, but the Babyface killer persists. There is also the matter of fixing a homemade reactor to return to her dimension and finally escape the time loop trouble.
With a budget of $9 million, a domestic box office of $28,148,130, and a global box office of $64,686,515 the sequel didn't repeat the same results as the original which was made for $5 million and globally made $125,010,260 double what the sequel pulled in.
Sinister 2
With the original Sinister being proclaimed one of the scariest movies of all time, a sequel was almost inevitable. James Ransone reprises his role from the original film as he attempts to end the curse of Bughuul forever. There is also another family under threat from Bughuul as the demon and his small army of ghost children try to influence young Dylan Collins to murder his family. Already in distress due to being on the run from an abusive father, Dylan's younger brother becomes jealous that the ghost children want Dylan, and begins to fall under the sinister influence of Bughuul as Dylan resists.
Made with a budget of $10 million and making $27,740,955 domestically, the global box office for Sinister 2 was just $54,104,225. Seen as a pretty poor follow-up to the original, the box office isn't markedly different from the original, which was made for $3 million and globally made $87,727,807. The main difference between the two films is the quality and legacy of the first film compared to its sequel.
Unfriended: Dark Web
The 2018 sequel to the 2014 film Unfriended:Dark Web follows Matias, who discovers a laptop in an internet cafe that has access to the Dark Web. The original owner of the laptop is someone known as Norah C., who soon begins contacting Matias and threatening him in an attempt to recover their laptop. Part of a group of cybercriminals and hackers called The Circle, Norah C, also known as Charon, begins to torment Matias and his friends culminating in a grisly end for the protagonists.
The budget for Dark Web was $1 million with the film bringing in only $8 million domestically and $16,434,588 globally. While received generally positively, the film gained little traction upon its release compared to the original which was made for the same amount but grossed $64 million worldwide.
Amityville: The Awakening
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The tenth film in the official line of Amityville movies, The Awakening is one of the worst-performing films on the Blumhouse roster. An intended meta film, taking place in the "real world" and establishing the Amityville series as fiction, Belle and her family move into the famous Amityville house and begin to experience the demonic activity as the presence in the house takes over Belle's brain-dead twin brother, who was left comatose and paralyzed after an accident.
Generally poorly received, The Awakening made only $742 in the US on its opening weekend and grossed $8 million worldwide. With the long history of Amityville sequels not being up to snuff, it wasn't much of a surprise for audiences when this one flopped.