‘Smile’ has Made $200M Worldwide on a Budget of $17M

Many have been trying to pinpoint the exact reasons why Parker Finn’s “Smile” has been such a resounding box-office. After all, it has no big-name actors and the reviews were not that overtly spectacular.

Part of its recipe for success was a perfectly timed release date coinciding with good word of mouth, and the other was the way Finn managed to make the familiar feel scary again. Finn has a gift for tension and he utilizes it wonderfully in “Smile.” It’s the kind of movie that should absolutely be seen in a packed cinema.

This has led to “Smile,” which has a small budget of $17 million, grossing more than $200 million worldwide. I presume sequel(s) will now be in the works, and I hope Finn takes no part in them. He’s just too talented to waste his time recycling the same concept.

I’ve been saying this for a few weeks now, but the box-office success of many 2022 horror movies will translate into plenty more getting greenlit in the coming months and years. Hollywood has taken note of highly successful titles such as “Smile,” “Terrifier 2,” “Halloween Ends,” “The Black Phone,” “Barbarian” and “Nope.”

It’s really been quite the phenomenon. We should rejoice at the thought of studio of heads investing more money into original stories, which many of us have been craving for years. Not just that, smaller indie studios will also be producing more horror, taking films like “Barbarian” “Smile” and “Terrifier 2” as inspiration.