'Insidious' makers plot next horror sequel

‘Insidious’ makers plot next horror sequel

By John Horn

Sept. 16, 2013 12 AM PT

That didn’t take long.

A day after “Insidious: Chapter 2” killed it at the box office, the horror film’s makers said they are planning to make a third installment in the franchise.

Made for just $5 million, “Insidious: Chapter 2” sold an estimated $41.1 million of tickets in its opening weekend, more than three times the $13.3 million the first “Insidious” grossed in 2011.

On Monday, the film’s financiers -- Entertainment One, FilmDistrict and Sony Pictures Worldwide Acquisitions -- said they were developing a third “Insidious” movie, written by Leigh Whannell, a screenwriter on the first two “Insidious” films.

PHOTOS: Horror movie locations around Los Angeles

It’s unlikely the film will be directed by James Wan, who made the first two films but will be tied up for the next 10 months with “Fast & Furious 7.”

The third film will be produced by Jason Blum’s Blumhouse Productions; in addition to producing the two “Insidious” films, Blum also made “The Purge,” another low-budget horror hit released earlier this summer.

“FilmDistrict, eOne and SPWA have been incredible partners on the ‘Insidious’ franchise,” Blum said in a statement. “We are all so grateful for how audiences embraced James Wan and Leigh’s latest film and are excited to see what Leigh has in store for the third chapter.”

The success of the latest “Insidious” release dramatizes the remarkable economics of genre films made on the cheap.

SNEAKS: Movie trailers, full coverage

The movies are typically directed by experienced directors, some of whom are rebounding from a flop or coming back from a long layoff.

When Wan made the first “Insidious” film, for instance, he was coming off two duds in the same year: 2007’s “Dead Silence” and “Death Sentence.”

Unlike many summer movies, where there is no discernible cap on expenses, the horror hits have been made for comparatively little money. Wan made the first “Insidious” film for about $1.5 million, and the director’s other summer smash, “The Conjuring,” was produced for about $20 million.

“Given what they were made for, [the box office] is pretty amazing,” Wan said of the first “Insidious” film and “The Conjuring.”

The advantage of such low-budget productions is that if the films don’t turn out as well as hoped, they can be released straight to video without generating a material loss.

Joe Johnston’s “Not Safe for Work,” a Blumhouse thriller, may bypass theaters and instead open on DVD and on video-on-demand channels.

ALSO:

Low-budget horror hits box office highs

James Wan recalculates his career GPS and roars ahead

‘Insidious: Chapter 2’ is No 1. As low-budget horror rules again