Production budget: $6,500,000 Worldwide gross: $252,673,813 Profit: 3,887% Take one look at the track record of James Wan and it's no surprise that Universal Pictures sought his services to fill the directors chair after regular helmer Justin Lin departed the Fast & Furious franchise. Wan made his presence known in Hollywood by teaming up with Leigh Whannell to bring Saw to the big screen in 2004. In so doing, he helped create one of horrors most successful franchises, and Wan and Whannell teamed up once again to make Insidious in 2010. Last year, Wan further cemented his position as a modern horror godfather by directing The Conjuring, and the films considerable success paved the way for 2014s most profitable film. Annabelle, the sequel/spinoff to The Conjuring focusing on the creepy doll that inspired the 2013 film, was released in early October. Promptly rounded on by critics to the tune of a miserable 29% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, the film has a Metacritic user score of 5.7 to match its lowly IMDb rating. Not that the filmmakers or Warner Bros. will be too perturbed: Annabelle finished its theatrical run with a massive $252 million. With a production budget of just $6.5 million, that translates to almost forty bucks in takings for every dollar spent and pride of place as the most profitable movie of 2014. Which of these movies surprised you? And which actually deserved to make such impressive margins? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
I watch movies and I watch sport. I also watch movies about sport, and if there were a sport about movies I'd watch that too. The internet was the closest thing I could find.
