Blumhouse Productions have put out some of the best movies that people associate with horror, from Get Out (2017) to David Gordon Green's Halloween trilogy (2018, 2021, 2022). The company is known for making movies for $3 million to $5 million, which often results in ihgh prorfits since the movies do well at the box office. While this is the standard, there are some Blumhouse films that were made for a lot more money than that.
According to The Numbers, there are several Blumhouse horror movies that had high budgets, and these movies had high box office grosses as well (with the exception of one).
The First Purge (2018): $13 million
The 2018 entry in The Purge Blumhouse horror franchise tells a story of a horribly bleak America, as the New Founding Fathers of America (NFFA) are now in charge instead of the Republicans and Democrats and people are struggling to find jobs and make money.
Made for $13 million, the film grossed $137,056,262 worldwide. There have been five films in The Purge franchise with a sixth Purge film coming. The franchise brings up significant questions about politics and crime, as the premise that one day a year, people can do whatever they want is definitely a terrible idea.
The Forever Purge (2021): $18 million
The Purge can be considered a political horror franchise, but The Forever Purge is the best movie since it really leans into that. It made less money than The First Purge, grossing $76,994,245 worldwide.
James DeMonaco shared with Collider that he thought that The Forever Purge would be the final film in the franchise. The director shared what changed their mind: "It was the complete final stage. It was in. It ended with America on fire. Me and (director) Everardo [Gout] were like, 'This is it. This is how we’re ending it.' And then, I woke up four months ago and I had a new idea. I pitched it to everybody and they really liked it, so if the audience wants it and the cinema gods tell us we can do it, I think we have another one that we’d be excited to do."
The Hunt (2020): $18.2 million
While The Hunt was made for $18.2 million, it didn't do well at the box office, grossing $11,481,750 worldwide and $5,812,500 domestically. With a script by Damon Lindelof and Nick Cuse, The Hunt follows wealthy people who hunt those who are more conservative than they are politically. Hilary Swank and Betty Gilpin starred in the film, with Emma Roberts playing a character named "yoga pants."
Not considered one of the best horror movies of 2020, The Hunt was talked about but for all the wrong reasons. It was meant to be a satire of Trump-era politics. Jason Blum explained, according to Indiewire.com, “The pre-release controversy of The Hunt ruined the whole movie. I mean, it ruined the release of the movie. The Hunt was going to be a big hit movie, and the controversy before the movie destroyed the release of the movie." Blum continued, "It was controversy about a movie no one had seen. People were making up stuff about a movie they had not seen, and I really hope it never happens again.”
Halloween Kills (2021): $20 million
Halloween Kills grossed $131,647,155 at the global box office, and while Scream (2022) made more money than Halloween Kills worldwide, the 2021 sequel made more money domestically. It's interesting to note that Halloween Kills was made for $20 million, making it one of the most expensive Blumhouse horror movies.
While Halloween Kills has a major character death that some might find upsetting and confusing, horror fans were eager to see the next entry in the trilogy and see how Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis) is faring against her forever enemy Michael Myers. While the budget was high, the movie definitely did well, as it was impossible not to get swept up in the hype and discussion about what would another Halloween movie would be like.
Glass (2019): $20 million
Glass is another expensive Blumhouse horror movie, with a budget of $20 million and $246,999,039 worldwide gross. It's also one of the highest-grossing Blumhouse horror movies. It comes after M. Night Shyamalan's films Unbreakable (2000) and Split (2016). In Glass, Bruce Willis portrayed David Dunn/The Overseer, Samuel L. Jackson played Elijah Price/Mr. Glass, and the main character is Kevin Wendell Crumb/The Horde, played by James McAvoy. Shyamalan's is famous for funding Glass using profits from The Visit (2015) and Split (2016).
In an interview with NME, the director talked about how he thinks about horror movies: "For me it’s my favourite genre because as you can see, I can make you laugh, I can make you cry. The goal isn’t to scare you. It’s actually to make you feel something.”