20 TERRIBLE Horror Movies That Were Huge Hits
5. The Strangers: Chapter 1
2008's home invasion horror The Strangers was a massive commercial success, ensuring that this blatant one-off project was going to be franchised out until audiences got tired of it.
2018's belated, mostly standalone sequel The Strangers: Prey at Night fared less well but still turned an easy profit on its low budget, and in 2024 the series was resurrected yet again for a new trilogy of films kicking off with The Strangers: Chapter 1.
More-or-less a tepid rehash of the original 2008 film, Chapter 1 lacked the gut-wrenching suspense and unease of its inspiration, delivering a thoroughly naff, warmed-over retread with no compelling ideas of its own. But it still managed to gross $48.2 million, which, with the film's silly-low $8.5 million budget, made it an easy hit.
Moreover, the entire new trilogy of Strangers films was shot consecutively in Slovakia in 2022 for a total budget of around $25 million, and though each installment was less successful than the one before, they still grossed a total of almost $80 million, ensuring a firm return for Lionsgate.