Here's a new edition of "Directors at the Box Office", which seeks to explore the directors' trajectory at the box office and analyze their hits and bombs. I already talked about a few, and as I promised, it's James Wan's turn.
Wan relocated from Perth to Melbourne, where he attended RMIT University, he graduated from RMIT with a Bachelor of Arts in Media in 1999. He became friends with Leigh Whannell, and both shared an interest in horror films. Together, they started developing a project to launch their careers.
From a box office perspective, how reliable was he to deliver a box office hit?
That's the point of this post. To analyze his career.
Saw (2004)
"How much blood would you shed to stay alive?"
His directorial debut. It stars Cary Elwes, Leigh Whannell, Danny Glover, Monica Potter, Michael Emerson, and Ken Leung. The film tells a nonlinear narrative revolving around the mystery of the Jigsaw Killer, who tests his victims' will to live by putting them through deadly "games" where they must inflict great physical pain upon themselves to survive. The frame story follows Jigsaw's latest victims, Adam and Dr. Gordon, who awaken in a large, dilapidated bathroom, with Gordon being ordered to kill Adam to save his own family.
After finishing film school, Wan and Whannell wanted to write and fund a film. The inspiration that they needed came after watching the low-budget independent films The Blair Witch Project and Darren Aronofsky's Pi. The two thought the cheapest script to shoot would involve two actors in one room. One idea was to have the entire film set with two actors stuck in an elevator and being shot in the point of view of security cameras.
Wan pitched the idea to Whannell of two men chained to opposite sides of a bathroom with a dead body in the middle of the floor and they are trying to figure out why and how they are there. By the end of the film, they realize the person lying on the floor is not dead and he is the reason they are locked in the room. Whannell initially did not give Wan the reaction he was looking for. He said, "I'll never forget that day. I remember hanging up the phone and started just going over it in my head, and without any sort of long period of pondering, I opened my diary that I had at the time and wrote the word 'Saw'." Before writing the word "Saw" in a blood-red, dripping font, the two had not come up with a title. "It was one of those moments that made me aware that some things just really are meant to be. Some things are just waiting there to be discovered", Whannell said.
The character of Jigsaw did not come until months later, when Whannell was working at a job he was unhappy with and began having migraines. Convinced it was a brain tumor, he went to a neurologist to have an MRI; and, while sitting nervously in the waiting room, he thought: "What if you were given the news that you had a tumor and you were going to die soon? How would you react to that?" He imagined the character Jigsaw having been given one or two years to live and combined that with the idea of Jigsaw putting others in a literal version of the situation but only giving them a few minutes to choose their fate. Wan did not intend to make a "torture porn" film, and the script only had one short segment of torture. He said the film "played out like a mystery thriller".
Both Wan and Whannell managed to raise $30,000, but it was clear that this was not gonna be enough, especially as the film kept expanding. They shopped it to some Australian studios, but they all turned it down. Their agent convinced them that they would find better luck in America. To make the process easier, they spent $5,000 on a short film that would serve as the basis for the film. The short revolves around the script's jaw trap scene, which they thought would prove most effective, with Whannell playing David, the man wearing the reverse bear trap. Wan filmed it in two days and sent it alongside the script. Their terms were simple: Wan wanted to direct it, and Whannell wanted to star in it.
Producer Greg Hoffman bought their script, fascinated by the short film. He got his partners involved, subsequently forming Twisted Pictures. They would offer Wan and Whannell completely creative freedom and 25% of the net profits. They received an offer from DreamWorks, but they turned it down as they felt their terms would not be respected. With the producers, they secured a $1.2 million budget.
Due to the low budget, they had to hire actors willing to work for cheap, and they could only afford to build the bathroom set. There was no time for Elwes and Whannell to rehearse their scenes together to not conflict with the schedules of Danny Glover and Michael Emerson, who were only available for a certain number of days. Due to the tight shooting schedule, Wan could not afford to shoot more than a couple of takes per actor. Having a lot of missing gaps in the final product, Wan had to improvise with editor in trying to connect the scenes.
Days before the film premiered at the Sundace Festival, it was picked up by Lionsgate for distribution. They were planning to release it straight-to-DVD, but they decided theatrical was the way after the film received a positive response at festivals.
The film debuted in Halloween weekend, earning $18 million, Lionsgate's second biggest debut and already recouping its investment by a wide margin. It eventually closed with $56 million domestically and $103.9 million worldwide, becoming one of the most profitable horror films of all time. It received mixed reactions, particularly for its tone and poor acting. Nevertheless, as time went on, reception grew, becoming one of the most iconic horror titles of the century. It spawned a franchise, but Wan did not return as director. He was a new star.
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Budget: $1,200,000.
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Domestic gross: $56,000,369.
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Worldwide gross: $103,911,669.
Dead Silence (2007)
"You scream. You die."
His second film. The film stars Ryan Kwanten, Amber Valletta, Donnie Wahlberg, and Bob Gunton, and follows Jamie Ashen, a young widower returning to his hometown to search for answers to his wife's death. When he digs deeper, he realizes that her death might have a connection with a deceased ventriloquist and her dummy.
While Wan and Whannell hit a home run with Saw, this was the exact opposite. It bombed at the box office with just $22 million worldwide, and it also received negative reviews. If Saw had one of the best twist endings, Dead Silence has one of the worst.
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Budget: $20,000,000.
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Domestic gross: $16,809,076.
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Worldwide gross: $22,382,047.
Death Sentence (2007)
"Protect what's yours."
His third film. The film is loosely based on the 1975 novel by Brian Garfield and stars Kevin Bacon, Garrett Hedlund, Kelly Preston, Aisha Tyler, and John Goodman. It follows Nick Hume, a man who takes the law into his own hands after his son is murdered by a gang member as an initiation ritual; Hume must then protect his family from the gang's resulting vengeance.
Brian Garfield wrote the Death Wish novel, but was disappointed with the adaptation, so he wrote Death Sentence. Producers tried to adapt it, but it was stuck in development hell. After Wan read Garfield's novels and, having seen all the film adaptations, he was inspired to make a film of the novel. Wan hired Garfield to write the first few drafts for the film, with the final script being written by Ian Mackenzie Jeffers.
It was another critical and commercial dud for Wan. While he hit it with Saw, he really needed a hit now.
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Budget: $10,000,000.
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Domestic gross: $9,534,258.
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Worldwide gross: $16,974,459.
Insidious (2011)
"It's not the house that's haunted."
His fourth film. It stars Patrick Wilson, Rose Byrne, and Barbara Hershey. The story centers on a married couple whose boy inexplicably enters a comatose state and becomes a vessel for a variety of demonic entities in an astral plane.
After finishing Saw, Wan said that while he was proud of the film, he also felt that the violence and gore put some people off and made them hesitant to work with him. So he wanted to make a horror film that would lack these aspects. Leigh Whannell wrote the script, which was filmed in just 3 weeks.
The film debuted with $13 million on its opening weekend, already recouping its $1.5 million budget. The crazy thing, however, was the legs. On its second weekend, it eased just 29%, which was insane for a horror title. It kept holding extremely well, closing with $54 million domestically and $100 million worldwide, becoming one of the most profitable films of the year. It also received a generally favorable response. It was the hit that Wan needed.
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Budget: $1,500,000.
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Domestic gross: $54,009,150.
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Worldwide gross: $100,106,454.
The Conjuring (2013)
"Based on the true case files of the Warrens."
His fifth film. The film stars Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga, and follows Ed and Lorraine Warren, paranormal investigators and authors associated with prominent cases of haunting. The Warrens come to the assistance of the Perron family, who experienced increasingly disturbing events in their newly occupied farmhouse in Rhode Island in 1971.
Producer Tony DeRosa-Grund was inspired by the Warrens that he wrote a treatment, but the project was stuck in development hell. Subsequently, he met producer Peter Safran, who got Chad and Carey W. Hayes to write the script based on his ideas. Using DeRosa-Grund's treatment and the Ed Warren tape, the Hayes brothers changed the story's point of view from the Perron family to the Warrens'. The brothers interviewed Lorraine Warren many times over the phone to clarify details.
New Line bought the script, and got Wan attached as director. Wan said that after Insidious, he wasn't interested in another ghost or supernatural film, but what attracted him to the project was the fact that it was based on real-life people. After casting Wilson and Farmiga, they visited Lorraine Warren for research. Warner Bros. originally set the film for early 2013, but moved it to the competitive summer season after positive test screenings. Despite limiting violence and language, the MPAA rated it R as they deemed it "so scary."
The film surpassed expectations by earning $41 million on its opening weekend, the biggest debut for an original R-rated horror film. More importantly, is that it held very well, which was incredibly rare for horror. It closed with $137 million domestically and $320 million worldwide, becoming Wan's highest grossing film by a wide margin. it also received high praise from critics, also becoming one of the few horror films to get an "A−" on CinemaScore. Wan was now a huge horror filmmaker.
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Budget: $20,000,000.
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Domestic gross: $137,446,368.
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Worldwide gross: $320,415,166.
Insidious: Chapter 2 (2013)
"It will take what you love most."
His sixth film. The sequel to Insidious, it stars Patrick Wilson, Rose Byrne, Lin Shaye, Ty Simpkins, and Barbara Hershey. In the film, Josh Lambert and his family relocate to his mother's old house in the hopes of recovering from past trauma. However, they soon encounter strange and chilling paranormal events.
After the success of Insidious, Jason Blum wanted a sequel, but refused to do it if Wan and Whannell didn't return. After Wan finished working on The Conjuring, he developed the story with Whannell. On why he agreed to helm a sequel, "I think the sequel to Insidious is kind of my reaction to Saw where for my own reason I wasn't as involved in the sequels, and so I felt with Insidious, think it would be good to shepherd it and keep it more in track to the version I had when I made the first film so that it doesn't detour too far." Wan also decided to make the film more grounded, inspired by his work in The Conjuring.
The film had a monster debut. It earned $40 million on its opening weekend, almost outgrossing the original's entire gross. It also made Wan one of the few directors to helm two films on the same year that debut with $40+ million. But while the original Insidous had insane legs, Chapter 2 didn't have any; it closed with $83 million domestically and $161 million worldwide. It also received unfavorable reviews. While Whannell would still be heavily involved with the franchise, this was Wan's last major involvement.
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Budget: $5,000,000.
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Domestic gross: $83,586,447.
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Worldwide gross: $161,919,318.
Furious 7 (2015)
"Vengeance hits home."
His seventh film. The seventh installment in the Fast & Furious franchise, it stars Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, Dwayne Johnson, Michelle Rodriguez, Tyrese Gibson, Chris "Ludacris" Bridges, Jordana Brewster, Djimon Hounsou, Kurt Russell, and Jason Statham. In the film, Dominic Toretto, Brian O'Conner and their team are recruited by covert ops leader Mr. Nobody to prevent Mose Jakande, a terrorist, from obtaining a hacking program, but Deckard Shaw, a former special forces soldier seeking to avenge his comatose young brother Owen Shaw, puts the team in danger.
In 2011, Universal Studios announced that a sixth and seventh Fast & Furious would be filmed back-to-back; both would be written by Chris Morgan and directed by Justin Lin. By 2012, however, Dwayne Johnson confirmed the plans were scrapped, and attention pivoted to the sixth film solely for now. Before the sixth film hit theaters, Lin announced that he would step back from directing the seventh film. Lin said that Universal wanted the film to get ready for summer 2014, which was an extremely short window for him, as they didn't have many reliable franchises compared to other studios.
Just a few weeks later, Wan was confirmed to direct the film. Wan said that his experience with low-budget films made him prioritize creativity, and that a high budget film like this was a big test for him. Universal set a July 2014 release date, and filming began in September 2013.
And so it happened.
On November 30, 2013, Paul Walker died in a single-vehicle accident. Universal halted filming, removed it from schedule and had the crew rework the rest of the film. Wan confirmed the film would not be scrapped, while Diesel confirmed it would now release in April 2015. Walker's character, Brian O'Conner, would not be killed. Instead, the film hired Weta Digital visual effects house to recreate Walker's likeness, using his brothers Caleb and Cody as stand-ins, for the scenes remaining. Wan said this was the hardest film experience of his career, but he was determined to finish the film in Walker's memory.
The film broke so many records on its release. It opened with a colossal $147 million on its opening weekend, which was the biggest debut in the franchise and the biggest April debut. Worldwide, it debuted with $384 million, which is one of the biggest in history. It became the highest grossing film in the franchise in just one week, and crossed the $1 billion milestone in 17 days, which was also a record. It eventually closed with $1.515 billion worldwide, making it the fourth highest grossing film of all time. It also received high praise, becoming the highest rated film of the franchise across the board. Understandably, Wan chose not to return to the franchise. He was contracted to direct the eighth and ninth film, but Universal allowed him to go make another film, especially as Wan said that the demanding production was impacting on his health.
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Budget: $190,000,000.
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Domestic gross: $353,007,020.
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Worldwide gross: $1,515,342,457.
The Conjuring 2 (2016)
"The next true story from the case files of Ed and Lorraine Warren."
His eighth film. The sequel to The Conjuring, it stars Vera Farmiga, Patrick Wilson, Frances O'Connor, Madison Wolfe, Simon McBurney, and Franka Potente. The film follows the Warrens as they travel to England to assist the Hodgson family, who are experiencing poltergeist activity at their Enfield council house in 1977 which later became referred to as the Enfield poltergeist.
Before the original release, WB was already working on a sequel after the positive test screenings. As the script was written, Wan confirmed he would return, "the idea of continuing the saga of Ed and Lorraine Warren is actually very exciting. So the idea of going back to kind of nurture my baby that I created is part of the reason why I'm going back to do The Conjuring 2."
The film performed very similarly to the original; while it decreased domestically, it earned more worldwide. It was also well received. This was Wan's last major involvement in the franchise.
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Budget: $40,000,000.
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Domestic gross: $102,516,140.
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Worldwide gross: $322,811,702.
Aquaman (2018)
"Home is calling."
His ninth film. The sixth film in the DC Extended Universe (DCEU), it stars Jason Momoa, Amber Heard, Willem Dafoe, Patrick Wilson, Dolph Lundgren, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, and Nicole Kidman. It follows Arthur Curry/Aquaman, who sets out to lead the underwater kingdom of Atlantis and stop his half-brother, King Orm from uniting the seven underwater kingdoms to destroy the surface world.
Aquaman was a character that has been trying to make it to the big screen, but it was always falling in development hell. Of course, that all changed when James Cameron made his version in 2006, but that's a different story for another day.
As the DCEU got underway, WB was prioritizing an Aquaman film. They approached Peter Jackson twice to direct it, but he turned it down. Subsequently, WB met with Wan to discuss two films: The Flash or Aquaman. Wan chose the latter, as he felt the former was already done. The film would be set after Justice League, with Jason Momoa confirmed to play the lead character. Several vendors provided visual effects, ranging from high-detail hair simulations to the creation of CGI animals and locations.
It debuted with $67 million. Thanks to the holiday legs, the film held extremely well. Even after the failure of Justice League, the film earned a huge $335 million domestically and $1.152 billion worldwide, becoming the highest grossing film in DC's history. It received generally favorable reviews for its action sequences and CGI, but criticism for its writing. Wan confirmed he would helm a sequel, but he first wanted to try something else first.
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Budget: $200,000,000.
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Domestic gross: $335,104,314.
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Worldwide gross: $1,152,028,393.
Malignant (2021)
"A new vision of terror."
His tenth film. The film stars Annabelle Wallis, Maddie Hasson, George Young, Michole Briana White, and Jacqueline McKenzie, and follows a woman who begins to have visions of people being murdered, only to realize the events are happening in real life.
In 2019, Wan confirmed he would direct a new horror film, which would be in line with a giallo film. He co-wrote the film with his wife, Ingrid Bisu. Bisu's fascination with medical anomalies led her to read about Edward Mordake, which inspired the Gabriel character. He cited the influence of Italian horror filmmaker Dario Argento, particularly his films Tenebrae, Phenomena, and Trauma.
Like other 2021 films released by WB, the film was also available on HBO Max on the first day of release. The film flopped at the box office, earning just $34 million worldwide against its $40 million budget. But it received favorable reviews, with many noting it should be viewed as self-parody.
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Budget: $40,000,000.
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Domestic gross: $13,391,791.
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Worldwide gross: $34,891,791.
Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom (2023)
"The tide is turning."
His 11th film. The sequel to Aquaman, it is the 15th and final film in the DC Extended Universe (DCEU), and stars Jason Momoa, Patrick Wilson, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Amber Heard, Randall Park, Dolph Lundgren, Temuera Morrison, Martin Short, and Nicole Kidman. The film follows Arthur Curry/Aquaman, who must work with his half-brother Orm to prevent Black Manta from killing his family and using the cursed Black Trident to overheat the world while searching for the lost seventh kingdom of the seas.
Wan was already developing ideas for an Aquaman sequel, and Jason Momoa himself said he was very involved in writing a treatment. In February 2019, WB officially confirmed a sequel set for December 2022, with Wan returning as director. Wan did not want to rush the film, and also wanted to prioritize his work on Malignant before returning to Aquaman.
The film would not be based on a specific comic book, but was taking inspiration from the Aquaman stories of the Silver Age of Comic Books that featured Black Manta as the villain. Wan said it would be more serious than the first film and feature themes that were more relevant to the real world, such as climate change. He said the creatives were not afraid to address this in a big way through the film, and cited the Aquaman character being environmentally conscious in the comic books as someone who fights to keep the ocean clean.
Amber Heard's casting in the film was the subject of controversy and various reports regarding the extent of her role, in part due to her off-screen legal issues following allegations of domestic abuse made against her by her ex-husband Johnny Depp. A petition to remove her from the film was signed by 4 million people, and while Peter Safran said they would not act based on that, Heard claimed that "they didn't want to include" her in the film, and that she had to fight to keep her part. She claimed that revisions were made to the script that reduced her role to a "very pared down version", including removing action sequences for her character, and she was unable to renegotiate her option contract that stipulated she would earn $2 million for the sequel, which was double what she made for the first film. Walter Hamada confirmed they were considered recasting her, but not due to her off-screen issues, but due to concerns over Heard's lack of chemistry with Momoa.
The film faced a very difficult production. While Wan wanted the film to be a buddy comedy film between Momoa and Wilson, he was facing pressure from the higher-ups after having the release date delayed. The film was supposed to feature an appearance by Michael Keaton as Batman. Keaton's version was set to be introduced to the DCEU in The Flash before that film's release was pushed to after Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom's. The scene reportedly confused audiences during test screenings, and this was why Ben Affleck joined the reshoots. Keaton's cameo was scrapped, but Affleck was also omitted from the film.
On top of that, the test screenings were reportedly negative, forcing the producers to re-work the film. Warner Bros. film chairs Michael De Luca and Pamela Abdy told Wan to reduce the budget for reshoots because the film's budget had reached $205 million during production. During this, DC faced a new leadership change when James Gunn and Peter Safran were named as the co-chairmen and co-CEOs of the newly formed DC Studios at the end of the month. Safran had been "fixing" the film, while Gunn had provided notes on it by the following month.
The film underwent re-shoots in 2023, and while it is reported that they were massive, Wan dismissed those rumors. Wan said he had to make some adjustments during production as it had been challenging to keep track of the different versions of the DCEU while remaining mindful of other plans for the franchise, but was fortunate that the Aquaman films were "far removed" from the rest of the DCEU films and characters. In September, he said the film would not be connected to any previous DCEU films as he was uncertain if it was going to be released before or after The Flash, which was intended to reboot the DCEU. He explained that he had directed a relatively small amount of additional photography, which he described as a routine part of the production process, due to some actors being unavailable during some parts of principal photography. Lundgren later said that the studio decided to reshoot much of the footage to rebuild it with a slightly different storyline, resulting in his and Heard's roles being reduced.
The film disappointed at the box office, and despite the holiday legs, it made just $124 million domestically and $439 million worldwide, becoming a box office bomb. While it was the highest grossing DC film since Aquaman, it also marked an awful 62% drop from the previous film. In fact, it was the eighth box office in a row for the DCEU. The film also received negative reviews, particularly for its tone, writing, pacing and comedy.
And so, a dead universe was put out of its misery.
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Budget: $215,000,000.
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Domestic gross: $124,481,226.
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Worldwide gross: $439,381,226.
Other Projects
Wan has been working more as a producer than director. Some other films he has produced are the Conjuring and Insidious franchises, Lights Out, Mortal Kombat, *M3GAN, Night Swim, etc. He is also credited as an executive producer on all Saw films, but he does not have a big role in the films.
On TV, he directed the series premiere of the MacGyver reboot.
The Future
His next project is a Creature From the Black Lagoon remake for Universal. He will produce and is set to direct the film.
FILMS (FROM HIGHEST GROSSING TO LEAST GROSSING)
| No. | Movie | Year | Studio | Domestic Total | Overseas Total | Worldwide Total | Budget |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Furious 7 | 2015 | Universal | $353,007,020 | $1,162,334,379 | $1,515,342,457 | $190M |
| 2 | Aquaman | 2018 | Warner Bros. | $335,104,314 | $816,924,079 | $1,152,028,393 | $200M |
| 3 | Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom | 2023 | Warner Bros. | $124,481,226 | $314,900,000 | $439,381,226 | $215M |
| 4 | The Conjuring 2 | 2016 | Warner Bros. | $102,516,140 | $220,295,401 | $322,811,702 | $40M |
| 5 | The Conjuring | 2013 | Warner Bros. | $137,446,368 | $182,959,874 | $320,415,166 | $20M |
| 6 | Insidious: Chapter 2 | 2013 | FilmDistrict | $83,586,447 | $78,332,871 | $161,919,318 | $5M |
| 7 | Saw | 2004 | Lionsgate | $56,000,369 | $47,911,300 | $103,911,669 | $1.2M |
| 8 | Insidious | 2011 | FilmDistrict | $54,009,150 | $46,097,304 | $100,106,454 | $1.5M |
| 9 | Malignant | 2021 | Warner Bros. | $13,391,791 | $21,500,000 | $34,891,791 | $40M |
| 10 | Dead Silence | 2007 | Universal | $16,809,076 | $5,572,971 | $22,382,047 | $20M |
| 11 | Death Sentence | 2007 | 20th Century Fox | $9,534,258 | $7,440,201 | $16,974,459 | $10M |
Across those 11 films, he has made $4,190,164,682 worldwide. That's $380,924,062 per film.
The Verdict
Without a doubt, Wan has proven himself to be the most profitable horror director of the century. He managed to create so many profitable films on insanely low budget. As he said, the low budget forces you to come up with creative ways to make the best possible film. And he also translated that to the blockbuster genre with Furious 7 and Aquaman.
Of course, not all his films are home runs. He has made a few duds, and he also has 4 box office flops to his name. Oh well, nobody's perfect! And in the case of Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, you can read from all the interviews and the film itself that his heart is just not in the film. And it's hard to blame him, given the amount of mess behind the screen. There's only so much you can do to polish a dud. Let's just hope Creature From the Black Lagoon is a win for him.
Hope you liked this edition. You can find this and more in the wiki for this section.
The next director will be Martin Campbell. Our first Bond director.
I asked you to choose who else should be in the run and the comment with the most upvotes would be chosen. Well, we'll later talk about… Peter Weir. A director of so many great films, that sadly decided to retire.
This is the schedule for the following four:
| Week | Director | Reasoning |
|---|---|---|
| October 7-13 | Martin Campbell | How the fuck did he go from Casino Royale to Green Lantern? |
| October 14-20 | J.J. Abrams | We're so done with the mystery box, pal. |
| October 21-27 | Kenneth Branagh | How dost thou likest thine apples? |
| October 28-November 3 | Peter Weir | 3 films in a 26-year span is crazy. |
Who should be next after Weir? That's up to you.
It was a battle between Weir and Oliver Stone, with Weir barely winning. Considering how close it was, should Stone be next? Especially because given Stone is known for political commentary on his movies, it would come in the week of the U.S. Elections. Do you want Stone or someone else?
by SanderSo47