20 Huge Horror Movie Hits NOBODY Expected

Terrifier is one of the most mind-boggling horror success stories of all time, given that Damien Leone's original 2016 slasher grossed just north of $400,000, a solid return on its $55,000 budget, but hardly box office dynamite. Yet the film's success on streaming ensured that Terrifier 2 became a breakout hit, netting $15.8 million against a beefier $250,000 budget. 

However, Terrifier 3 is where Leone's franchise well and truly crossed the Rubicon, defying any and all expectations of what a sadistic, mean-spirited, ultra-gory horror movie could be.

Last year's threequel was produced for $2 million and ended up grossing an eye-watering $90.3 million, ensuring it became the highest-grossing unrated film of all time by a massive margin. Notably, it opened at #1 on its opening weekend, even dethroning the far more mainstream-skewing, big-budget superhero sequel Joker: Folie à Deux. What an outcome for an IP that had such humble origins and could so easily have been a one-and-done cult horror film.

With Terrifier 4 currently in the works, it'll be fascinating to see if Leone can one-up himself yet again.