James Wan

Last updated

James Wan
James Wan in 2019.jpg
Wan in 2019
Born (1977-02-26) 26 February 1977 (age 47)
Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia
NationalityAustralian [1]
Alma mater RMIT University (B.A., 1998)
Occupations
  • Film director
  • screenwriter
  • film producer
  • film editor
  • comic book writer
Years active1998–present
Spouse
​
(m. 2019)​
Chinese name
Traditional Chinese 溫 子 仁
Simplified Chinese 温子仁

James Wan (born 26 February 1977) is an Australian filmmaker. He has primarily worked in the horror genre as the co-creator of the Saw and Insidious franchises and the creator of The Conjuring Universe. The lattermost is the highest-grossing horror franchise at over $2 billion. [2] Wan is also the founder of film and television production company Atomic Monster.

Contents

Beginning his career with the Saw franchise, Wan made his feature directorial debut with his first film in 2004. The franchise became commercially successful and grossed more than $1 billion globally. [3] [4] Following a period of setbacks, [5] Wan found new success with the Insidious series, in which he directed the first film in 2010 and its 2013 sequel. The same year as the second Insidious, Wan directed the first Conjuring film to critical and commercial success. He served as the director of the second installment in 2016 and produced subsequent films in the franchise.

Outside of horror, Wan directed Furious 7 (2015), the seventh installment of the Fast & Furious franchise, and the DC Extended Universe superhero films Aquaman (2018) and its sequel Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom (2023). Both Furious 7 and Aquaman grossed over $1 billion, making Wan the eighth director with two films to reach the milestone. [6] He is the 16th highest-grossing director of all time as of 2021, with his films having grossed over $3.7 billion worldwide. [7] [8]

Early life and education

James Wan was born on 26 February 1977 in Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia to Chinese-Malaysian parents. Wan and his family moved to Perth, Western Australia when he was seven. [9] He attended Lake Tuggeranong College in Canberra [10] [11] before returning to Perth as an adult. Wan relocated from Perth to Melbourne, where he attended RMIT University, he graduated from RMIT with a Bachelor of Arts in Media in 1999. [12]

Career

2004–2006: Debut

Prior to 2003, Wan and his friend, fellow filmmaker Leigh Whannell, had begun writing a script for a horror film, citing their dreams and fears as inspiration for its plot. Upon completing the script, Wan and Whannell had wanted to select an excerpt from their script, later to be known as Saw and film it to pitch their film to studios. With the help of Charlie Clouser, who had composed the score for the film, and a few stand-in actors, Wan and Whannell shot the film with a relatively low budget. Whannell also decided to star in the film as Adam Stanheight, one of the film's main protagonists. [13]

After the release of the full-length Saw, the film was met with overwhelming success in the box office both domestically and internationally. The film ended up grossing $55 million in America, and $48 million in other countries, totaling over US$103 million worldwide. This was over $100 million more than the production budget. [14] This led the studio to green-light the sequel Saw II and later the rest of the Saw franchise. Since its inception, the Saw films have become the highest grossing horror franchise of all time worldwide in unadjusted dollars. In the United States alone, Saw is the second highest grossing horror franchise, behind only the Friday the 13th films by a margin of $10 million. [15] [16] Wan directed Saw (2004) and co-wrote Saw III (2006). Meanwhile, he and Whannell have predominantly served as executive producers to the sequels Saw II, Saw III, Saw IV , [17] Saw V , Saw VI , Saw 3D , Jigsaw , Spiral and Saw X .

2007–2009: Professional setbacks

Wan at 2007 San Diego Comic-Con James Wan.JPG
Wan at 2007 San Diego Comic-Con

In 2007, Wan directed two featured films. The first was the horror film Dead Silence , which was the result of advice from Wan and Whannell's agent at the time; Wan and Whannell have since stated that the film was a negative experience for them. [5] Dead Silence featured Australian actor Ryan Kwanten and is based on the premise of a legend, whereby the ghost of a ventriloquist, Mary Shaw, removes the tongue of any person who screams in its presence. Rather than a gore movie, Wan described the film as "a creepy doll movie. It's in the spirit of those old Twilight Zone episodes or Hammer Horror Films. Very old-school." [18] [19] [20] The film grossed over $22 million [21] against a production budget of $20 million. [22] It received negative reviews from critics. [23] [24]

Wan's second directorial film of 2007 was the vigilante action drama film Death Sentence , a film adapted from the 1975 novel of the same name by Brian Garfield that was written as the sequel to Death Wish. [25] [26] The film's protagonist (Kevin Bacon) was a father seeking revenge for his murdered son, who was killed by a local gang. Whannell played a minor character as one of the gang members. [27] [28] Wan described the film as "a raw and gritty, 70s styled revenge thriller ... It's my arthouse movie with guns." [18] The films grossed $17 million [29] against a production budget of $20 million. [30] Similar to Wan's previous film, it received negative reviews. [31] [32] Author Garfield later stated, "I think that, except for its ludicrous violence toward the end, the Death Sentence movie does depict its character's decline and the stupidity of vengeful vigilantism," adding, "As a story it made the point I wanted it to make." [33]

Having worked on his previous three films continuously, Wan told the male lifestyle website CraveOnline that he was ready for "a bit of time off just to chill... but at the same time I'm using this opportunity to write again." [34] In 2008, Wan directed a trailer for the survival horror video game Dead Space . [35] During this time, Wan and Tobe Hooper were in talks to revive the Texas Chainsaw Massacre series with a trilogy of films, with both planning to direct although the studio instead made 2013's Texas Chainsaw 3D . [36]

2010–2013: Career resurgence

Wan returned to the horror genre with the film Insidious , which premiered at the 2010 Toronto International Film Festival as part of the "Midnight Madness" program and was sold to Sony Pictures Worldwide for a seven-figure sum within four hours of the premiere's conclusion. The film began its American theatrical release in the first weekend of April 2011 and achieved third place at the box office, with an estimated US$13.5 million in ticket sales. [37] Starring Patrick Wilson, Rose Byrne and Barbara Hershey, the film was made independently, as Wan sought complete creative control and also wanted to make a film that was markedly different from the gore that he had become synonymous with due to Saw. Wan stated in an interview, "the fact that Insidious was not being run by a committee really afforded me the luxury to make a film with lots of creepy, bizarre moments that a studio might not 'get.'" [38] Wan later revealed that he wanted to "experiment in other genres, or make films in other genres because I love, Leigh and I have, we're not just horror fans. We're film fans. I love action films. I want to do action films. I want to do romantic comedies. I love all this stuff. So, if I find the good material, I'll do it. [37]

Wan's next film, The Conjuring (2013), centered on the real life exploits of husband and wife Ed and Lorraine Warren, a married couple that investigated paranormal events. [39] The film focused on the couple's most famous case second to the Amityville haunting, in which they investigated a witch's curse on a Rhode Island family farm. In his second collaboration with the pair, Patrick Wilson starred in the film, with him and Vera Farmiga playing the husband and wife respectively. [40] Filming commenced in North Carolina, United States, [40] in late February 2012 and New Line Cinema, together with Warner Bros. Pictures, had initially slated the film for a release on 25 January 2013. [41] [42] A test screening of the film occurred in October 2012 at the New York Comic Con event, where it screened in the IGN Theater, and the audience feedback was overwhelmingly positive. At that stage, Wan had several more weeks before the film was completed. The film was released in July 2013 [43] and was a critical [44] [45] and commercial success, grossing $319.5 million. [46]

After work on The Conjuring was complete, Wan directed a sequel to 2010's Insidious. The film was once again written by Wan's longtime collaborator and close friend, Whannell, and the cast of the original film returned. Filming for the sequel commenced in January 2013 and the film was released on 13 September 2013. The budget for the film had been described as "shoestring" by one media outlet. Oren Peli, the creator of the Paranormal Activity franchise, returned as an executive producer. [47] Film District distributed Insidious: Chapter 2 . [48] It received mixed reviews [49] [50] but grossed over $161 million worldwide against a budget of $5 million. [51] Wan later admitted that he wasn't as involved in the sequel, adding "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" since he never intended to make a sequel initially. [43]

2014–present: Professional expansion, Atomic Monster and Blockbuster films

Wan at the 2018 San Diego Comic-Con James Wan (41963140870) (cropped).jpg
Wan at the 2018 San Diego Comic-Con

In early 2013, Wan entered into negotiations with Universal Pictures to direct the seventh installment to Fast & Furious action franchise after Justin Lin, who directed the previous four sequels, confirmed that he would not continue as director in January 2013. Wan was part of a directorial shortlist alongside Jeff Wadlow, Baltasar Kormákur and Harald Zwart. [52] A final confirmation that Wan would direct was revealed in April 2013, [53] with Lin approving. [54] [55] The film, Furious 7 , was released in April 2015. It became the most commercially successful film in the franchise, grossing over $1.516 billion globally [56] and received positive reviews. [57]

Wan later completed a deal to direct The Conjuring 2 as part of a significant long-term deal with New Line Cinema. Head of New Line, Toby Emmerich, explained that Wan is the sole director that the studio signed a deal with, as New Line considers Wan to be "a class of one". [58] The film was released on June 10, 2016, to high critical acclaim and commercial success. [59] That same month, Wan launched his own production company, Atomic Monster, at New Line Cinema. With the company, he develops and produces budget films in the science fiction, horror, and comedy genres. Films produced by the label included The Conjuring 2 and Lights Out . [60]

Wan later produced Demonic , a Dimension Films horror movie that was scheduled for a December 2014 release, alongside Lee Clay. Wan conceived the idea for the film, which was directed by Will Canon and features Maria Bello in the lead role. Max La Bella penned the script. The film was eventually released on VOD in August 2017. [61]

He then produced Annabelle , a spin-off of The Conjuring that served as a prequel to the 2013 film. The spin-off was profitable, made on a budget of $6.5 million and grossing over $256 million [62] As part of the franchise, he also produced the prequel film Annabelle: Creation (2017), another Conjuring spin-off horror film, The Nun (2018), and Annabelle Comes Home (2019). Wan co-wrote The Nun and Annabelle Comes Home with Gary Dauberman. [63]

In 2018, Wan directed the DC Extended Universe superhero film Aquaman. [64] [65] [66] The film grossed over $1.148 billion worldwide, [67] becoming the highest-grossing DCEU film as well as the highest-grossing film based on a DC Comics character, internationally, surpassing The Dark Knight Rises . [68] In 2019, Wan developed a television series based on the character Swamp Thing, for the DC Universe streaming service. [69]

On 7 August 2015, Wan signed-on to produce New Line Cinema's 2021 Mortal Kombat reboot. [70] Four years later, the South Australian Government's budget included a huge boost to the South Australian Film Corporation, with the Mortal Kombat reboot, as the largest film production in the state's history, set to be a key recipient. [71] In February 2018, Wan was confirmed to executive produce the animated adaptation of Stan Sakai's Usagi Yojimbo comic book series. [72] The CGI animated series premiered on Netflix in 2022 and was titled Samurai Rabbit: The Usagi Chronicles . [73] In 2021, Wan directed the horror film Malignant , starring Annabelle Wallis and co-produced the film adaptation of the slasher novel There's Someone Inside Your House by Stephanie Perkins, under his Atomic Monster label, alongside Shawn Levy's 21 Laps Entertainment for Netflix. [74] [75] [76] Also in 2021, Wan executive produced the television adaptation of I Know What You Did Last Summer for Amazon Prime. [77]

On November 16, 2022, it was announced that Wan's production company Atomic Monster was in talks to merge with Jason Blum's Blumhouse Productions with the company having a shared first look deal with Universal Pictures. Both companies would continue to operate as separate labels, with each maintaining its own creative autonomy and brand identity. [78] [79] [80]

Future projects

In 2018, The Hollywood Reporter reported that Wan and producers Roy Lee and Larry Sanitsky were developing a film adaptation of the Stephen King novel The Tommyknockers and shopping the package to studios. [81] Deadline later reported that Universal had won the bidding war and acquired the feature film package. Wan will produce the film adaptation under his Atomic Monster label, with an eye to direct. [82]

In March 2020, Wan was announced to be working with Universal Pictures to produce a modern remake of Frankenstein . [83]

Wan is also attached to a television series based on the Italian horror comics series Dylan Dog , which was announced in October 2019. [84] [85] [86] In December 2022, he stated that the series was still in development, and that he was also working with the publishing house to find investors. [87]

Wan will produce the horror film Border Patrol with Screen Gems, with Johannes Roberts directing the movie. [88]

In October 2023, Disney Branded Television announced a Gargoyles live-action reboot with Wan and Michael Clear, joining the executive producing ranks. [89]

Unreleased projects

In 2009, a Whannel–Wan collaborative project, called X Ray, was announced and was described as a new "film noir/action project," with producer Robbie Brenner also attached to the project, however as of December 2012, no further developments were reported. [90] It was also announced that an adaptation of Scott O. Brown 's graphic novel Nightfall was to be Wan's next film after Death Sentence. The plot involves the events that take place after a criminal is sent to a Texas prison run by vampires. [91] However, nothing materialised and Wan lost the rights to the film.

In 2012, Disney was reported to be developing a remake of The Rocketeer [92] and Wan was in talks about directing the film. However, no film ever came to fruition. [93] Similarly, Wan's negotiations to direct an adaption of the 1980s television series MacGyver film never materialised and he pulled out from directing due to scheduling conflicts. [94] Instead, a reboot television series titled MacGyver premiered in September 2016. Wan executive produced the series and directed the pilot episode. [95] Wan was also at one point attached to the director role for a live action Robotech film for Sony, but was replaced by Andy Muschietti in July 2017. [96] [97]

A "horror-tinged" spin-off of Aquaman called The Trench was in development. Wan would have produced while Noah Gardner and Aidan Fitzgerald were signed on to write the script. [98] It was cancelled in April 2021. [99]

Personal life

On 22 June 2019, Wan became engaged to Romanian actress Ingrid Bisu, making the announcement on his Instagram account. [100] They married on 4 November 2019. [101]

Filmography

Key
†Denotes films that have not yet been released

Feature films

YearTitleDirectorWriterProducerNotes
1998StygianYesYesNoCo-written and -directed with Shannon Young; festival screenings only, never commercially released
2004 Saw YesStoryNo
2005 Saw II NoNoExecutive
2006 Saw III NoStoryExecutive
2007 Dead Silence YesStoryNo
Death Sentence YesNoNo
Saw IV NoNoExecutive
2008 Saw V NoNoExecutive
2009 Saw VI NoNoExecutive
2010 Insidious YesNoNoAlso editor
Saw 3D NoNoExecutive
2013 The Conjuring YesNoNo
Insidious: Chapter 2 YesStoryNo
2014 Annabelle NoNoYes
2015 Demonic NoNoYes
Furious 7 YesNoNo
Insidious: Chapter 3 NoNoYesAlso cameos as "Theater Director"
2016 The Conjuring 2 YesYesYes
Lights Out NoNoYes
2017 Annabelle: Creation NoNoYes
Jigsaw NoNoExecutive
2018 Insidious: The Last Key NoNoYes
The Nun NoStoryYesAlso second unit director
Aquaman YesStoryNo
2019 The Curse of La Llorona NoNoYes
Annabelle Comes Home NoStoryYes
2021 Mortal Kombat NoNoYes
Spiral: From the Book of Saw NoNoExecutive
The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It NoStoryYes
Malignant YesStoryYes
There's Someone Inside Your House NoNoYes
2022 M3GAN NoStoryYes
2023 Insidious: The Red Door NoNoYes
The Nun II NoNoYes
Saw X NoNoExecutive
Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom YesStoryYes
2024 Night Swim NoNoYes
Salem's Lot †NoNoYesPost-production
2025 Mortal Kombat 2 †NoNoYes
TBA The Monkey †NoNoYes

Short films

YearTitleDirectorWriterEditorNotes
2003 Saw YesYesYesRetroactively referred to as Saw 0.5
2008Doggie HeavenYesCreatorYesProduced for Xbox Live as part of their
"Masters of Horror Take On Comedy" series; alternative title "Woof!" [102]

Television

YearSeries
DirectorExecutive
Producer		Notes
2016–2021 MacGyver YesYesDirected episode "The Rising"
2019 Swamp Thing NoYes
2021 Aquaman: King of Atlantis NoYes
I Know What You Did Last Summer NoYes
2022 Archive 81 NoYes
Samurai Rabbit: The Usagi Chronicles NoYes

Reception

Critical, public and commercial reception to films James Wan has directed as of 16 September 2021:

YearFilm Rotten Tomatoes [103] Metacritic [104] CinemaScore [105] BudgetBox office [106] Release StudioProduction Studio
2004Saw51% (188 reviews)46 (32 reviews)C+$1.2 million$103.9 million Lionsgate Twisted Pictures
2007Dead Silence20% (77 reviews)34 (15 reviews)C+$20 million$22 million Universal Pictures
Death Sentence21% (112 reviews)36 (24 reviews)C$20 million$16.9 million 20th Century Fox Hyde Park Entertainment
Baldwin Entertainment Group
2010Insidious66% (174 reviews)52 (30 reviews)B$1.5 million$97 million FilmDistrict Blumhouse Productions
2013The Conjuring86% (208 reviews)68 (35 reviews)A–$20 million$319.5 million Warner Bros. Pictures New Line Cinema
The Safran Company
Evergreen Media Group
2013Insidious: Chapter 239% (123 reviews)40 (30 reviews)B+$5 million$161.9 million FilmDistrict Blumhouse Productions
2015Furious 7 81% (241 reviews)67 (44 reviews)A$190 million$1.516 billion Universal Pictures Original Film
One Race Films
MRC
China Film
2016The Conjuring 280% (227 reviews)65 (38 reviews)A–$40 million$320.4 million Warner Bros. Pictures New Line Cinema
The Safran Company
Atomic Monster
2018Aquaman65% (334 reviews)55 (49 reviews)A–$160 million$1.148 billion Warner Bros. Pictures
DC Films
The Safran Company
2021Malignant76% (157 reviews)51 (23 reviews)C$40 million$34 million New Line Cinema

Atomic Monster
Starlight Media Inc.
My Entertainment Inc.

2023Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom34% (198 reviews)42 (42 reviews)B$205 million$412.7 millionAtomic Monster

The Safran company Domain Entertainment DC Studios

Notes

    Related Research Articles

    <i>Saw</i> (film) 2004 American film by James Wan

    Saw is a 2004 American horror film directed by James Wan, in his feature directorial debut, and written by Leigh Whannell from a story by Wan and Whannell. It is the first installment in the Saw film series, and stars Whannell alongside Cary Elwes, Danny Glover, Monica Potter, Michael Emerson, and Ken Leung.

    <span class="mw-page-title-main">Patrick Wilson</span> American actor (born 1973)

    Patrick Joseph Wilson is an American actor. He began his career in 1995, starring in Broadway musicals. He received nominations for two Tony Awards for his roles in The Full Monty (2000–2001) and Oklahoma! (2002). He co-starred in the acclaimed HBO miniseries Angels in America (2003), for which he was nominated for a Golden Globe Award and a Primetime Emmy Award.

    <span class="mw-page-title-main">Leigh Whannell</span> Australian screenwriter, actor, producer, and director

    Leigh Whannell is an Australian filmmaker and actor. He is best known for writing films directed by his friend James Wan, including Saw (2004), Dead Silence (2007), Insidious (2010), and Insidious: Chapter 2 (2013). Whannell made his directorial debut with Insidious: Chapter 3 (2015), and has since directed two more films, Upgrade (2018) and The Invisible Man (2020).

    <span class="mw-page-title-main">Lin Shaye</span> American actress

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    <i>Insidious</i> (film) 2010 horror film by James Wan

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    <i>The Conjuring</i> 2013 American supernatural horror film

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    <i>Insidious: Chapter 2</i> 2013 horror film by James Wan

    Insidious: Chapter 2 is a 2013 American supernatural horror film directed by James Wan. The film is a sequel to the 2010 film Insidious, and the second installment in the Insidious franchise, and the fourth in terms of the series's in-story chronology. The film stars Patrick Wilson and Rose Byrne, reprising their roles as Josh and Renai Lambert, a husband and wife who seek to uncover the secret that has left them dangerously connected to the spirit world. The film was released September 13, 2013.

    Blumhouse Productions, LLC, doing business as Blumhouse, is an American independent film and television production company founded in 2000 by Jason Blum and Amy Israel.

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    <i>Insidious</i> (film series) Horror film franchise

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    <i>Insidious: Chapter 3</i> 2015 horror film by Leigh Whannell

    Insidious: Chapter 3 is a 2015 supernatural horror film written and directed by Leigh Whannell in his directorial debut. The film is a prequel to the first two films and the third installment in the Insidious franchise. The film stars Dermot Mulroney and Stefanie Scott, with Angus Sampson, Whannell, and Lin Shaye reprising their roles from the previous films.

    <i>The Conjuring 2</i> 2016 American supernatural horror film

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    <i>Insidious: The Last Key</i> 2018 film by Adam Robitel

    Insidious: The Last Key is a 2018 American supernatural horror film directed by Adam Robitel and written by Leigh Whannell. It is produced by Jason Blum, Oren Peli, and James Wan. It is the fourth installment in the Insidious franchise, and the second in the chronology of the story running through the series. Starring Lin Shaye, Angus Sampson, Whannell, Spencer Locke, Caitlin Gerard, and Bruce Davison, the film follows parapsychologist Elise Rainier as she investigates a haunting in her childhood home.

    <i>The Conjuring</i> Universe American horror media franchise

    The Conjuring Universe is an American horror franchise and shared universe centered on a series of supernatural horror films. The franchise is produced by New Line Cinema, Atomic Monster, and the Safran Company, and distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures. The films present a dramatization of the supposed real-life adventures of Ed and Lorraine Warren, paranormal investigators and authors associated with prominent yet controversial cases of haunting. The main series follows their attempts to assist people who find themselves harassed by spirits, while the spin-off films focus on the origins of some of the entities the Warrens have encountered.

    <i>The Nun</i> (2018 film) American film by Corin Hardy

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    The Nun II is a 2023 American gothic supernatural horror film directed by Michael Chaves, with a screenplay written by Ian Goldberg, Richard Naing, and Akela Cooper from a story by Cooper. Serving as a sequel to The Nun (2018) and the eighth installment in The Conjuring Universe franchise, the film stars Taissa Farmiga, Jonas Bloquet, and Bonnie Aarons, returning from the first film, with Storm Reid and Anna Popplewell joining the cast. Peter Safran and James Wan return as producers.

    <i>The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It</i> 2021 American supernatural horror film

    The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It is a 2021 American supernatural horror film directed by Michael Chaves, with a screenplay by David Leslie Johnson-McGoldrick from a story by Johnson-McGoldrick and James Wan. The film serves as a sequel to The Conjuring (2013) and The Conjuring 2 (2016), and as the seventh installment in The Conjuring Universe. Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga reprise their roles as paranormal investigators and authors Ed and Lorraine Warren, with Ruairi O'Connor, Sarah Catherine Hook, and Julian Hilliard also starring. Wan and Peter Safran return to produce the film, which is based on the trial of Arne Cheyenne Johnson, a murder trial that took place in 1981 Connecticut, in addition to The Devil in Connecticut, a book about the trial written by Gerald Brittle.

    <i>Insidious: The Red Door</i> 2023 film by Patrick Wilson

    Insidious: The Red Door is a 2023 American supernatural horror film directed by Patrick Wilson from a screenplay by Scott Teems based on a story by Leigh Whannell and Teems. It is a direct sequel to Insidious: Chapter 2 (2013), and the fifth and final installment in the Insidious franchise. Original director James Wan serves as a producer, as does Jason Blum through his Blumhouse Productions banner. Wilson, Ty Simpkins, Rose Byrne, Andrew Astor, Steve Coulter, Joseph Bishara, Whannell, Angus Sampson, and Lin Shaye reprise their roles from previous films. Sinclair Daniel and Hiam Abbass join the cast.

    References

    1. ↑ Symkus, Ed (28 March 2015). "Furious and furiouser". The Boston Globe . Archived from the original on 2 May 2015. Retrieved 27 April 2015. Wan, 38, who is an Australian but lives in the States, spoke about the film and about Walker by phone from Los Angeles.
    2. ↑ "Conjuring Franchise". Box Office Mojo . Archived from the original on 18 December 2018. Retrieved 25 July 2016.
    3. ↑ Woods, Laura (30 October 2015). "13 Highest-Grossing Horror Franchises of All Time". The Philadelphia Inquirer . Archived from the original on 9 June 2020. Retrieved 10 September 2020.
    4. ↑ Nilles, Billy (29 October 2019). "15 Spooky Secrets About the Saw Franchise". E! Online . Archived from the original on 5 November 2019. Retrieved 10 September 2020.
    5. 1 2 Whannell, Leigh (31 August 2011). "Dud Silence: The Hellish Experience Of Making A Bad Horror Film". The Word in the Stone. Leigh Whannell. Archived from the original on 9 July 2012. Retrieved 29 September 2012.
    6. ↑ Mendelson, Scott (7 January 2019). "When 'Aquaman' Tops $1 Billion, James Wan Will Join James Cameron In Rare Box Office Company". Forbes . Archived from the original on 16 August 2019. Retrieved 16 August 2019.
    7. ↑ "James Wan - Box Office". The Numbers . Archived from the original on 1 February 2021. Retrieved 25 January 2021.
    8. ↑ "Top Grossing Director at the Worldwide Box Office". The Numbers. Retrieved 2 December 2023.
    9. ↑ Chaw, Kenneth (10 June 2016). "The Conjuring 2 director James Wan keen to film in Malaysia". The Star Online. Archived from the original on 17 March 2018. Retrieved 17 March 2018.
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