Annabelle and Dracula Untold are horror hits at the box office

Last Updated on August 2, 2021

Anyone who thought the middling reviews and reactions for ANNABELLE and DRACULA UNTOLD were going to halt them at the box office were wrong. Dead wrong. The films are proving, especially overseas, that audiences do indeed crave horror in October, quality be damned.

ANNABELLE opened to a very nice $37 million at the beginning of the month, a great debut for the CONJURING spin-off. Though horror films have a tendency to drop like rocks in their subsequent weeks, the little-doll-that-could (kill people) has held steadily, racking up $74 million domestically in just three weeks. Internationally, it has done even bigger business, making $92 million. That's a grand total of $166 million worldwide for a movie with no stars and a budget of $6 million.

DRACULA UNTOLD may not have quite as impressive numbers, but it's still doing well for itself. It has made an okay $40 million in the states, but it's turning out to be a monster overseas, biting down on $95 million; the grand total is $136 million. For a movie that is attempting to kickstart an entirely new Universal Monster franchise, that's good news. It has a ways to go before it recoups its budget – a modest-for-Hollywood $70 million – but DRACULA UNTOLD is on its way to being a pretty nice little hit for the studio.

Marketing had a lot to do with these success stories; ANNABELLE especially was brilliantly sold by Warner Bros. Not only did the ads shove the connection to THE CONJURING down our throats, but they did indeed make it look genuinely creepy. DRACULA UNTOLD made a point to say "this ain't your daddy's Dracula" while highlighting nifty CG effects and epic battle sequences.

Next week, Universal tries for a second October hit with OUIJA; if that one sticks the landing – and there's no reason to think it won't – October will be looking like an ideal destination for the genre; maybe then we can finally stop arguing the point that it’s the ideal month for horror.