Halloween season is the natural moment to ask which horror movies actually made the most money, and the honest answer keeps changing faster than most people realize. We pulled the current worldwide box office rankings and verified every figure, and 2026 alone has quietly pushed three different films into the all-time top 12 — a genuinely unusual run for a genre that rarely dominates a single calendar year this hard.
The 12 Highest-Grossing Horror Movies of All Time
1. It (2017) — $719.8 million
Andy Muschietti’s Stephen King adaptation remains the horror genre’s all-time box office champion by a comfortable margin. Our take: nearly nine years later, nothing else in the genre has come close to touching this number — it’s the benchmark every horror release still gets measured against.
2. The Sixth Sense (1999) — $672.8 million
M. Night Shyamalan’s twist-ending ghost story has held its spot near the top for over two decades. Our take: a genuine reminder that horror’s biggest hits aren’t always gore-driven — a quiet, slow-burn mystery built this number entirely on word of mouth.
3. I Am Legend (2007) — $585.5 million
Will Smith’s post-apocalyptic creature feature still ranks as one of the genre’s biggest global performers. Our take: a star-driven horror-adjacent blockbuster like this is increasingly rare — most of today’s genre hits lean on original concepts rather than A-list leads.
4. World War Z (2013) — $540.0 million
Brad Pitt’s zombie epic overcame a famously troubled production to become one of the highest-grossing horror films ever made. Our take: proof that a massive marketing push and a bankable star can carry a zombie movie well past genre expectations, even one that needed extensive reshoots to get there.
5. Obsession (2026) — $521.3 million
Blumhouse’s original horror hit became the highest-grossing horror release of 2026 and is now officially one of the most profitable movies of the year relative to its budget. Our take: an original, non-franchise horror film cracking the all-time top five is genuinely rare territory — this is the breakout story of the year in the genre.
6. The Conjuring: Last Rites (2025) — $499.3 million
The franchise’s latest and final chapter closed out the “Conjuring” universe as its biggest earner yet. Our take: ending a long-running horror franchise with its best opening and biggest total is a rare feat — most long-running series fade well before their final entry.
7. Jaws (1975) — $495.2 million
Still the film most credited with inventing the modern summer blockbuster, five decades on. Our take: the fact that a 1975 release is still outgrossing most horror movies released this decade says everything about how enduring this film’s cultural footprint remains.
8. It Chapter Two (2019) — $473.1 million
The sequel didn’t match its predecessor’s total but still landed comfortably inside the all-time top 10. Our take: a dip from the original is normal for horror sequels — this is still an objectively massive number for a nearly three-hour horror epic.
9. Beetlejuice Beetlejuice (2024) — $452.0 million
Tim Burton’s belated sequel, 36 years after the original, outperformed almost every expectation. Our take: this is one of the better case studies in recent memory for how much nostalgia alone can drive a legacy sequel’s opening weekend and beyond.
10. The Exorcist (1973) — $430.9 million
More than 50 years later, it remains the oldest film still sitting inside horror’s all-time top 10. Our take: genuinely remarkable longevity — very few films from the 1970s, in any genre, are still outgrossing new releases on an unadjusted basis today.
11. Backrooms (2026) — $402 million
A24’s internet-folklore adaptation became the studio’s highest-grossing film to date. Our take: a film built from an online creepypasta concept out-grossing A24’s entire prior catalog is one of the more unlikely horror success stories in years.
12. Resident Evil (2026) — $384.9 million
Zach Cregger’s franchise reboot is now both the highest-grossing “Resident Evil” film ever and Cregger’s own biggest release, surpassing his previous hit “Weapons.” Our take: rebooting a video-game franchise that had grown stale and turning it into one of the year’s biggest horror earners is a genuine directorial statement.
Biggest Surprise
The real story here isn’t any single film — it’s that three different 2026 releases (Obsession, Backrooms, and Resident Evil) all cracked the all-time top 12 in the same calendar year. That almost never happens; most years are lucky to land one horror film anywhere near the genre’s all-time upper tier, let alone three. Whatever is driving audiences back into theaters for horror specifically this year, the box office numbers back it up far more dramatically than the usual “horror is having a moment” headlines suggest.
For more of this year’s best horror options, see our picks for the best Halloween horror movies to stream in 2026, and for the full picture on how 2026’s biggest releases are performing across every genre, check our Hollywood Box Office 2026 tracker. Figures above are sourced from Box Office Mojo.
Want to see how Clayface’s Halloween weekend run is going right now? Check our Halloween weekend box office race breakdown.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the highest-grossing horror movie of all time?
“It” (2017) remains the highest-grossing horror film ever, with $719.8 million worldwide.
What is the highest-grossing horror movie of 2026?
“Obsession” leads 2026’s horror releases with $521.3 million worldwide, making it the fifth-highest-grossing horror film of all time.
How many 2026 horror movies made the all-time top 12?
Three: “Obsession” (#5), “Backrooms” (#11), and “Resident Evil” (#12) all rank among the 12 highest-grossing horror films ever made.
Is World War Z really considered a horror movie?
It’s typically classified as horror/action given its zombie-outbreak premise, and it’s consistently included on all-time horror box office rankings by trackers including Box Office Mojo.
