The Action Network’s supercomputer has analyzed 400+ horror movies from more than 80 horror franchises to determine what are the most and least successful horror sequels, prequels, remakes and spin-offs of all time.
Part of the analysis were famous franchises such as Alien, Halloween, Terrifier, Friday the 13th, Jaws, Scream, Saw, A Nightmare on Elm Street, Hellraiser & many more.
After all the movie titles were collected, they were assigned points by the supercomputer on the basis of their worldwide box office reported gross, user reviews score, Rotten Tomatoes and Metacritic score as well as the estimated return on investment.
To see the horror movies that have ended up with the most points, have a look below. You can also see the most and least successful movies of the different categories in their respective detailed sections below.
Most Successful Movies (Points Ranking)
According to the results of a points-based system, which was assigning 1 point to the movies that performed better than the first movie in their respective horror franchises, the supercomputer determined that the most successful horror sequel / prequel / remake / reboot / spin-off ever is Resident Evil (2026), with 10 Cloverfield Lane (2016), Evil Dead II (1987), Final Destination: Bloodlines (2025), Silent Night, Deadly Night (2025), Terrifier 2 (2022) and Terrifier 3 (2024) tied for second place.
1. Resident Evil
Resident Evil (2026) outperformed Resident Evil (2002) in all 5 categories measured: total worldwide gross, Rotten Tomatoes score, Metacritic score, IMDb ratings score and estimated ROI, gaining the maximum 5 points – more than any other movie in the analysis.
| Movie | WW Gross in dollars | Estimated budget | Rotten Tomatoes score | Metacritic score | IMDb ratings score | Estimated ROI | Total points |
| Resident Evil (2002) | 102,984,862 | 33,000,000 | 36% | 35 | 6.6 | 212.08% | |
| Resident Evil (2026) | 247,641,828 | 65,000,000 | 96% | 79 | 7.6 | 281.06% | 5 |
2. 10 Cloverfield Lane
The tie for second place is shared by six films, each earning 4 points apiece.
10 Cloverfield Lane (2016) performed better than the first movie in the Cloverfield franchise, Cloverfield (2008), in 4 areas: Rotten Tomatoes score, Metacritic score, IMDb ratings score, and Estimated ROI.
| Movie | WW Gross in dollars | Estimated budget | Rotten Tomatoes score | Metacritic score | IMDb ratings score | Estimated ROI | Total points |
| Cloverfield (2008) | 172,394,180 | 25,000,000 | 78% | 64 | 7.0 | 589.58% | |
| 10 Cloverfield Lane (2016) | 110,216,998 | 15,000,000 | 90% | 76 | 7.2 | 634.78% | 4 |
3. Evil Dead II
Evil Dead II (1987) performed better than The Evil Dead (1981) in 4 areas: total worldwide gross, Metacritic score, Rotten Tomatoes score, and IMDb ratings score.
| Movie | WW Gross in dollars | Estimated budget | Rotten Tomatoes score | Metacritic score | IMDb ratings score | Estimated ROI | Total points |
| The Evil Dead (1981) | 2,895,590 | 350,000 | 86% | 71 | 7.4 | 727.31% | |
| Evil Dead II (1987) | 5,932,279 | 3,600,000 | 88% | 72 | 7.7 | 64.79% | 4 |
4. Final Destination: Bloodlines
Final Destination: Bloodlines (2025) outperformed the original Final Destination (2000) on 4 metrics: WW gross, Rotten Tomatoes score, Metacritic score and Estimated return on investment.
| Movie | WW Gross in dollars | Rotten Tomatoes score | Metacritic score | IMDb ratings score | Estimated ROI | Total points |
| Final Destination (2000) | 112,880,294.00 | 36% | 39 | 6.7 | 390.78% | |
| Final Destination: Bloodlines (2025) | 314,630,814.00 | 92% | 73 | 6.7 | 529.26% | 4 |
5. Silent Night, Deadly Night
Silent Night, Deadly Night (2025) performed better than the 1984 original in 4 areas: WW gross, Rotten Tomatoes score, Metacritic score and IMDb ratings score.
| Movie | WW Gross in dollars | Estimated budget | Rotten Tomatoes score | Metacritic score | IMDb ratings score | Estimated ROI | Total points |
| Silent Night, Deadly Night (1984) | 2,491,460 | 1,065,000 | 55% | 31 | 5.8 | 133.94% | |
| Silent Night, Deadly Night (2025) | 5,586,884 | 4,000,000 | 76% | 53 | 6.1 | 39.67% | 4 |
6. Terrifier 2 & 3
Terrifier 2 (2022) & Terrifier 3 (2024) also got 4 points each, since they performed better than the first Terrifier (2016) in the same areas: Worldwide gross, Estimated ROI, Rotten Tomatoes score as well as IMDb user rating.
| Movie | WW Gross in dollars | Estimated budget | Rotten Tomatoes score | Metacritic score | IMDb ratings score | Estimated ROI | Total points |
| Terrifier (2016) | 416,322 | 35,000 | 57% | Unknown | 5.6 | 1089.52% | |
| Terrifier 2 (2022) | 15,387,633 | 250,000 | 86% | 59 | 6.1 | 6055.50% | 4 |
| Terrifier 3 (2024) | 55,831,933 | 2,000,000 | 77% | 61 | 6.7 | 2691.60% | 4 |
All of the 400+ movies and their metrics can be found in a searchable interactive table below. You can also keep reading to learn about the top-performing movies in each of the subsections.
Worldwide Gross
Even though the budget and gross of the 1990 TV Mini Series "It" is not known, it can be safe to say that the 2017 remake of "It" surpassed the success of the first adaptation, grossing over 704 million dollars and becoming the highest-grossing horror movie of all time. It is also the highest grossing horror remake ever.
When only the total worldwide gross is considered, the remaining highest-grossing franchise continuations that make up the top 4 are: It Chapter 2 (2019, gross: 473 million dollars, IT franchise), The Conjuring: Last Rites (2025, gross: 459 million dollars), Prometheus (2012, gross: 403 million dollars, Alien franchise) and The Nun (2018, gross: 366 million dollars, Conjuring universe).
However, when looking strictly at the difference in total worldwide gross of a franchise's first movie and its continuations where box office numbers are known (since it was not known for 1990's It), the most successful franchise continuation is the 2012 prequel to the legendary Alien – Prometheus (2012).
Alien (1979) was a box office success of its own, grossing 108.5 million dollars on a budget of 11 million dollars, however, Prometheus reportedly grossed over 403 million dollars, thus grossing 294.8 million more than the first movie in the Alien franchise. Its worldwide gross of over 400 million also makes it the most successful horror prequel ever made.
Critic Reviews
The top 5 horror continuations with the highest Rotten Tomatoes score are:
- Creep 2 (2017) – 100% score, sequel of Creep (2014)
- Slumber Party Massacre (2021) – 100% score, remake of the 1982 version
- Aliens (1986) – 98% score, sequel of Alien (1979)
- Resident Evil (2026) – 96% score, reboot of Resident Evil (2002)
- Prey (2022) & Predator: Killer of Killers (2025) – 94% score, Predator franchise
On Metacritic, the top 5 horror continuations with the highest score are:
- Aliens (1986) – 84 score, sequel of Alien (1979)
- 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple (2026) – 81 score, 28 Days Later franchise / The Fly (1986) – 81 score, remake of the 1958 version
- Resident Evil (2026) – 79 score, reboot of Resident Evil (2002)
- Predator: Killer of Killers (2025) – 78 score, Predator franchise / 28 Weeks Later (2007) – 78 score, sequel of 28 Days Later (2002)
The continuation of a horror franchise which saw the biggest increase in critical acclaim is Resident Evil (2026), which has a Rotten Tomatoes score of 96%, while the 2002 original has a RT score of 36%, thus a 60% increase.
Final Destination: Bloodlines (2025) has the next-largest increase in Rotten Tomatoes score, from 36% for the original Final Destination (2000) to 92% for the 2025 sequel, an increase of 56%.
Slumber Party Massacre (2021) is close behind, with a Rotten Tomatoes score of 100%, while the 1982 original has a RT score of 45%, thus a 55% increase.
On Metacritic, Resident Evil (2026) has the biggest increase in Metacritic score – the original had a score of 35, while the 2026 reboot has a score of 79, thus a 44-point increase. Final Destination: Bloodlines (2025) follows closely, with the original's score of 39 versus 73 for the 2025 sequel, a 34-point increase. Predator: Killer of Killers (2025) also shows a large jump in critical acclaim compared to the first movie in the Predator franchise – it has a Metacritic score of 78, while The Predator (1987) has a score of 47, thus a difference of 31 points.
On the other hand, the sequel with the biggest fall from grace with the critics is 1987's Jaws: The Revenge. In comparison to the first movie in the Jaws franchise, Jaws (1975), which has 97% on Rotten Tomatoes, Jaws: The Revenge (1987) has only 2%, thus a difference in quality of staggering 95%.
Other notable mentions of critically panned continuations are 1995's Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers. In comparison to the first movie in the Halloween franchise, Halloween (1978), which has 96% on Rotten Tomatoes, The Curse of Michael Myers has only 8%, thus a difference of staggering 88%; on Metacritic, The Curse of Michael Myers (1995) has a score of 10, while Halloween (1978) has a score of 90, thus 80 points more. Additionally, the 2010 reboot of A Nightmare on Elm Street has only 14% on Rotten Tomatoes, while the 1984 original has 95%, thus a difference of 81%.
User Rating
When looking strictly at the highest-rated continuations of horror franchises, the movie with the highest IMDb user rating is Aliens (1986), which has a user rating of 8.4/10, only 0.1 point lower score than the 1979 Alien.
The rest of the top 5 of the highest rated horror continuations are:
- Dawn of the Dead (1978) – 7.8 rating, George Romero's Dead series
- Evil Dead II (1987) – 7.7 rating, Evil Dead series
- Resident Evil (2026) – 7.6 rating, Resident Evil franchise / The Fly (1986) – 7.6 rating, remake of The Fly
- Army of Darkness (1992) – 7.4 rating, Evil Dead series / Predator: Killer of Killers (2025) – 7.4 rating, Predator franchise
It turned out to be quite rare for a continuation of a horror franchise to have a higher IMDb user rating than its first movie, but some notable mentions are: Terrifier 2 (2022) & Terrifier 3 (2024), Resident Evil (2026), Pearl (2022) and I Spit On Your Grave (2010). The first Terrifier (2016) has a user rating of 5.6/10, while its second installment, Terrifier 2 (2022), has a user rating of 6.1/10 and Terrifier 3's (2024) user rating is even higher – 6.7/10. Resident Evil (2026) has a user rating of 7.6/10, up from 6.6/10 for the 2002 original. Pearl (2022) has a user rating of 7/10, while the first movie in the X film series X (2022) has a rating of 6.5/10. Meanwhile, the 2010 version of I Spit On Your Grave has a user rating of 6.2/10, while its 1978 version has a score of 5.6/10.
Once again, Jaws: The Revenge (1987) takes the crown for the biggest downward fall in IMDb user ratings, getting a rating of 3/10, while the 1975 version of Jaws has a user rating of 8.1/10 – a difference of 5.1.
Other notable mentions of movies with a worse user rating than the first movie in the franchise are Howling: New Moon Rising (1995), Hellraiser: Revelations (2011), Exorcist II: The Heretic (1977), and The Return of the Texas Chain Massacre (1995). Howling: New Moon Rising (1995) has a user rating of 1.8/10, while The Howling (1981) has a rating of 6.5/10 – a difference of 4.7; Howling: New Moon Rising (1995) is also among the worst rated sequels overall on IMDb. Hellraiser: Revelations (2011) has a rating of 2.7/10, and the 1987 Hellraiser has a user rating of 6.9/10 – adifference of 4.2. Meanwhile, Exorcist II: The Heretic (1977) has a rating of 3.8/10, and The Exorcist (1973) has a user rating of 8.1 – a difference of 4.3. Lastly, The Return of the Texas Chain Massacre (1995) has a rating of 3.3/10, and its first installment has a rating of 7.4/10 – a difference of 4.1.
Return On Investment
Lastly, the most successful franchise continuation when the estimated return on investment is considered are Terrifier 2 (2022) & Paranormal Activity 2 (2010).
Terrifier 2 had a budget of 250,000 and it grossed over 15 million dollars – its estimated ROI is 6055.5%. When looking at Paranormal Activity 2 (2010), on a reported budget of 3 million dollars it grossed 177.5 million dollars, thus a ROI of 5817%.
The remaining top 6 of the most successful ROI franchise continuations are:
- Paranormal Activity 3 (2011) ROI 4040%, Paranormal Activity universe
- Annabelle (2014) ROI 3862%, The Conjuring universe
- Saw II (2005) ROI 3593%, Saw universe
- Insidious: Chapter 2 (2013) ROI 3138%, Insidious franchise
When looking solely at the difference between the estimated ROI of the first installment and its continuation, the most successful is Terrifier 2 (2022) with a 6055.5% ROI in comparison to Terrifier's (2016) ROI of 1089.5%.
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Methodology
- In total, 401 different horror movies across 80 horror franchises / universes were collected, focusing on the most notable horror franchises and horror movies with sequels, prequels, or remakes
- In the points analysis, 1 point was given to the sequel/prequel/remake/revival which had a higher performance than the first movie in the given franchises in the following categories: Rotten Tomatoes score, IMDb rating, Metacritic score, Reported worldwide gross and an estimated ROI
- If a given metric was not available for a movie, that movie was omitted from the analysis, it could not gain points in that category and has "Unknown" tag – for example, if the box office gross is not known for the first movie in a franchise A, even if the sequel's box office gross is known, it cannot get points in that category since it cannot be said that it has a higher gross than the first movie in the franchise or not
- Main Sources: IMDb.com, Rottentomatoes.com, Metacritic.com
