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World's most profitable film of 2024 earned 45x its budget, beat Joker 2, bigger hit than Pushpa 2, Deadpool & Wolverine
The most profitable film of 2024 was made on a $2 million budget, but still beat Joker Folie a Deux, and became a bigger hit than Deadpool & Wolverine.
This was a year for sequels and remakes. The highest-grossing films across genres were all parts of one franchise or the other. Big films like Inside Out 2 and Deadpool & Wolverine even grossed over a billion dollars at the box office. But despite that, these titles were not the most profitable film of the year. That title went to a small independent film that was made on a $2 million budget, and still managed to beat Joker: Folie a Deux at the box office. (Also read: Highest-grossing film of 2024 is a kids' movie with no star, earned $1.7B; beat Deadpool & Wolverine, Dune 2, Venom 3)
World's most profitable film of 2024
The independent horror flick Terrifier 3 is the biggest hit of the year if earning compared to budget are considered. The Christmas supernatural slasher film was made on a budget of just $2 million and had no recognisable name in the star cast. Yet, the Damien Leone directorial rode on positive reviews and solid word of mouth from the audience to mint $90 million worldwide, a massive 45 times its budget. This made it the most profitable film of the year. Inside Out 2, the highest-grossing film of the year, earned $1.7 billion but was made on a $200-million budget, making its profit percentage much lower. Similarly, Deadpool & Wolverine, the other big hit of the year, also made $1.33 billion on a $200-million budget. These films earned 6-8 times their budget at the box office, but in sheer profitability, were way behind Terrifier 3.
India's highest-grossing film, Pushpa 2: The Rule, has earned ₹1700 crore at the box office, which is roughly five times its budget. That is again, a number much lower than what Terrifier 3 has managed.
How Terrifier 3 beat Joker: Folie à Deux
Terrifier 3 was released in theatres on October 11, a week after Todd Phillips' sequel to the billion-dollar hit Joker was released. And even as everyone had expected Joker: Folie à Deux to steamroll the indie horror film, the opposite happened. Due to bad reviews and disinterest among core fans, Joker: Folie a Deux crashed at the box office. Terrifier 3 earned $18.9 million in North America in its opening weekend. On the same weekend, Joker 2 finished second, managing only $7 million.
Directed by Damien Leone, Terrifier 3 is a sequel to Terrifier 2 and Terrifier, both successful films in their own right. It stars David Howard Thornton, Lauren LaVera, Elliott Fullam, and Samantha Scaffidi.
