Highest grossing horror movies

20. The Ring (2002) - $249.3 million
19. Get Out (2017) - $252.4 million
18. The Village (2004) - $256.6 million
17. Annabelle (2014) - $256.8 million
16. The Silence of the lambs (1991) - $272.7 million
15. What lies beneath (2000) - $291.4 million
14. Annabelle: Creation (2017) - $292.5 million
13. Shutter Island (2010) - $294.8 million
12. Ghostbusters (1984) - $295.2 million
11. Resident Evil: Afterlife (2010) - $300.22 million
10. Van Hel Sing (2004) - $300.25 million
9. The Conjuring (2013) - $318 million
8. The Conjuring 2 (2016) - $320.2 million
7. Se7en (1995) - $327.3 million
6. Hannibal (2001) - $351.6 million
5. Sings (2002) - $408.2 million
4. The Exorcist (1973) - $441.3 million
3. Jaws (1975) - $470.6 million
2. IT (2017) - $653.9 million
1. The Sixth Sense (1999) - $672.8 million

Horror films - the economics

Paranormal Activity -- production costs were about $15,000 .  Generated in excess of $190 million at the global box office.

The Blair Witch Project -- It's production costs were about $35,000 and it made in excess of $245 million at the global box office.

Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides officially holds the record for highest budget with a budget of $378.5 million. It is number 20 in the list of highest grossing films of all time and grossed $1,045,713,802.

Some things that hold horror movies back are; limited appeal, no family audience and not considered 'artistic'

Signs and Codes (Barthes)

Symbolic codes - Symbolism within the text. It exercises opposites to show contrast and create greater meaning, creating tension, drama and character development.


Enigma codes - Refers to mystery within text, clues are dropped but no clear answers are given. Enigmas make the audience want to know more and when they're unanswered, they tend to frustrate the audience.


Action codes - Contains sequential elements of action in text and adds suspense to the text


Intertextuality - The relationship between texts


Iconography - The visual images and symbols used in a piece of work


Star vehicle - A movie, play or TV show produced mainly to enhance a Star's career