Production Budget Analysis

What was the production budget for The Conjuring 2?

Directed by James Wan, with Vera Farmiga, Patrick Wilson, Madison Wolfe leading the cast, The Conjuring 2 was produced by New Line Cinema with a confirmed budget of $40,000,000, placing it in the mid-budget category for horror films as part of the The Conjuring Collection.

With a $40,000,000 budget, The Conjuring 2 sits in the mid-range of studio releases. Marketing costs for a wide release at this level typically add $30–60 million, putting the break-even point near $100,000,000.

Budget Comparison — Similar Productions

• 42 (2013): Budget $40,000,000 | Gross $95,020,213 → ROI: 138% • A Few Good Men (1992): Budget $40,000,000 | Gross $243,240,178 → ROI: 508% • Big Trouble (2002): Budget $40,000,000 | Gross $8,493,890 → ROI: -79% • Boomerang (1992): Budget $40,000,000 | Gross $131,052,444 → ROI: 228% • Fifty Shades of Grey (2015): Budget $40,000,000 | Gross $569,651,467 → ROI: 1324%

Key Budget Allocation Categories

▸ Practical Effects, Prosthetics & Makeup Horror productions invest disproportionately in practical effects — prosthetic applications, animatronics, blood and gore effects, and creature suits. A single hero creature suit can cost $50,000–200,000.

▸ Atmospheric Production Design & Cinematography Creating dread through environment is essential. Abandoned locations must be secured and dressed, lighting rigs designed for shadow and tension, and sets built to enable specific camera movements and reveals.

▸ Sound Design & Score Horror is arguably the most sound-dependent genre. Foley work, ambient textures, frequency manipulation, and jump-scare stingers require specialized sound designers working with unconventional techniques.

Key Production Personnel

CAST: Vera Farmiga, Patrick Wilson, Madison Wolfe, Frances O'Connor, Lauren Esposito Key roles: Vera Farmiga as Lorraine Warren; Patrick Wilson as Ed Warren; Madison Wolfe as Janet Hodgson; Frances O'Connor as Peggy Hodgson

DIRECTOR: James Wan CINEMATOGRAPHY: Don Burgess MUSIC: Joseph Bishara EDITING: Kirk M. Morri PRODUCTION: New Line Cinema, The Safran Company, Atomic Monster, RatPac Entertainment FILMED IN: United States of America

Box Office Performance

The Conjuring 2 earned $322,819,915 in worldwide box office revenue.

Break-Even Analysis

Using the industry-standard 2.5x multiplier (P&A + exhibitor shares of 40–50% + distribution fees), The Conjuring 2 needed approximately $100,000,000 to break even. The film surpassed this threshold by $222,819,915.

Return on Investment (ROI)

Revenue: $322,819,915 Budget: $40,000,000 Net: $282,819,915 ROI: 707.0%

Detailed Box Office Notes

The Conjuring 2 grossed $102.5million in the United States and Canada and $217.9million in other territories for a worldwide total gross of $320.4million. The film was the highest-grossing horror film of the year and the second-highest-grossing horror film overall of all time, behind only 1973's The Exorcist ($441.3million). It was partly credited for the success of fellow Warner Bros. horror film Lights Out, which was released a month later.

In North America, the film opened on June 10, 2016, alongside Warcraft and Now You See Me 2, and was projected to gross $35 to 40million from 3,343 theaters in its opening weekend. The film grossed $3.4million from its Thursday night previews, besting the $3.3million made by its predecessor, and $16.4million in its first day. In its opening weekend, the film grossed $40.4million from 3,434 theaters (almost matching its predecessor's $41.9million opening), making it the biggest opening for a horror film since the original film in 2013, the biggest-ever for the month of June (breaking The Purges record), and the fifth-biggest for a horror film of all time, behind the first film, Paranormal Activity 2 and Paranormal Activity 3 ($40.6million and $52.5million, respectively), and the 2009 remake of Friday the 13th ($40.6million). It began to lose a considerable number of theaters by its third weekend as a result of numerous newly released films. Forbes magazine noted that The Conjuring 2 was falling faster than the previous film but had already made more than Insidious: Chapter 2, Annabelle, and both The Purge and The Purge: Anarchy had done at that point in their releases. Unlike its predecessor, The Conjuring 2 proved to be more front-loaded, earning 2.5 times its opening weekend, compared to the original film earning 3.22 times its debut number.

Outside North America, the film has been released across 60 countries. It played well in Latin America and performed exceptionally well in other Catholic countries due to its spiritual themes while it also did well in the UK, where the film is set. It added another $43.1million in its second weekend from a total of 57 countries as well as passing the $100million threshold. However, it still remained in second place at the international box office, behind then-newcomer Finding Dory.

It recorded the biggest opening day of all time for a horror film in 24 markets, including Mexico ($1.6million), Brazil ($735,000), Australia ($401,000), and all of Latin America.

Profitability Assessment

VERDICT: Highly Profitable

The Conjuring 2 was a clear financial success, generating $322,819,915 worldwide against a $40,000,000 production budget — a 707% ROI. After estimated marketing costs, the film still delivered substantial profit to New Line Cinema.

INDUSTRY IMPACT

Franchise: The Conjuring 2 is part of the The Conjuring Collection.

The outsized success of The Conjuring 2 likely influenced studio greenlight decisions for similar horror projects.

PRODUCTION NOTES

▸ Development

In July 2013, prior to The Conjuring release, Variety reported that New Line Cinema was already in the early stages of development of a sequel with Chad Hayes and Carey W. Hayes writing the script, following the positive test screenings and reviews of the first film. Final Destination 5 writer Eric Heisserer would later be brought in to doctor the Hayes' script, focusing mainly on dialogue. In January 2015, David Leslie Johnson was hired for rewrites. The film deals with the case of the Enfield poltergeist, which took place in the London Borough of Enfield from 1977 to 1979, and involved the alleged haunting of two sisters, aged 11 and 13, at their mother's council house. The Conjuring 2 also touches on the Warrens' most famous and most documented case, The Amityville Horror.

▸ Pre-Production

In July 2013, it was reported that Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson had signed on to reprise their roles from The Conjuring. This was confirmed in February 2014. On October 21, 2014, it was announced that James Wan would return to direct the sequel, and production would begin in mid-2015. Speaking to his decision to return for the sequel, Wan stated:

In early July 2015, lead actors Farmiga and Wilson visited Lorraine Warren at the New England Paranormal Research Center in Connecticut in preparation for their roles. On July 28, 2015, Wan officially began pre-production for the film. In August 2015, the film was granted $5.6million in tax credits from the California Film Commission for bringing the production to the state.

On September 13, 2015, Don Burgess was confirmed as the film's director of photography. In September 2015, Frances O'Connor, Simon McBurney, newcomer Lauren Esposito, and Madison Wolfe joined the cast. Franka Potente, Simon Delaney, Maria Doyle Kennedy, and newcomers Patrick McAuley and Benjamin Haigh were also reported to have been cast in late September 2015. In November 2015, it was announced that Abhi Sinha had joined the cast of the film. On December 1, 2015, it was confirmed that Sterling Jerins would reprise her role as the Warrens' daughter Judy.

▸ Filming & Locations

Principal photography for The Conjuring 2 began on September 21, 2015, in Los Angeles, California. Due to an inexplicable series of events during production of the first film, a priest from the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Santa Fe was brought in to bless the set of the sequel by the film's producers. Production moved to London on November 18, 2015, with filming taking place in and around The Warrington, a pub in the residential district of Maida Vale. On November 22, filming took place at Marylebone station. Filming concluded on December 1, 2015. Production lasted for 50 days, with 40 days filming on sound stages at Warner Bros. Studios, Burbank, and 10 days on location in London. Additional photography began in March 2016 to reinvent the film's antagonist, who was initially a "demonic figure with wings". Wan felt the design did not fit and instead opted to change the demon to a nun, with Bonnie Aarons cast in the role, to make the film more grounded.

[Filming] Principal photography for The Conjuring 2 began on September 21, 2015, in Los Angeles, California. Due to an inexplicable series of events during production of the first film, a priest from the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Santa Fe was brought in to bless the set of the sequel by the film's producers. Production moved to London on November 18, 2015, with filming taking place in and around The Warrington, a pub in the residential district of Maida Vale. On November 22, filming took place at Marylebone station. Filming concluded on December 1, 2015. Production lasted for 50 days, with 40 days filming on sound stages at Warner Bros. Studios, Burbank, and 10 days on location in London. Additional photography began in March 2016 to reinvent the film's antagonist, who was initially a "demonic figure with wings". Wan felt the design did not fit and instead opted to change the demon to a nun, with Bonnie Aarons cast in the role, to make the film more grounded.

▸ Music & Score

The original musical score for The Conjuring 2 was written by Joseph Bishara and was released on June 3, 2016, by WaterTower Music. Bishara, a recurring collaborator of director James Wan, composed the score after having previously written the music for The Conjuring and the Insidious film series. Lead actor Patrick Wilson performs Elvis Presley's "Can't Help Falling in Love" on a guitar in the film, while songs such as the Clash's "London Calling", the Bee Gees' "I Started a Joke" and the traditional nursery rhymes "This Old Man" and "There Was a Crooked Man" are also featured. Composer Mark Isham's family themes from the first film, "Photograph" and "Happy Family", were also used in The Conjuring 2.

AWARDS & RECOGNITION

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CRITICAL RECEPTION

Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of A− on an A+ to F scale, the same score earned by its predecessor.

In her review for The Hollywood Reporter, Sheri Linden praised the film, saying, "Three years after The Conjuring rattled the multiplex with old-school horror, director James Wan ups the ante with an excellent sequel." Owen Gleiberman of Variety gave the film a mixed review, writing, "On one level, The Conjuring 2 is just a not-bad megaplex funhouse movie, no more and no less, but on another level it offers its potential fans a helping of reassurance to go along with the fear. If there are ghost demons out there, then God must be out there as well. Audiences, it was long ago proven, will pay to see both." TheWrap's Alonso Duralde gave the film a positive review, stating, "Frightening rarely strikes twice in the same place, despite the efforts of so many horror sequels, but even if The Conjuring 2 doesn't deliver the delightful jolts of its predecessor, it maintains a consistent chill throughout, with a slow and steady dread that creeps up on you over time."

In a mixed review, Chris Nashawaty of Entertainment Weekly gave the film a B−, writing, "There are some solid scares (Wan is too gifted in the dark art of gotcha manipulation to not make you leap a few times), but there's nothing on par with the first film's brilliant hide-and-clap scene with Lili Taylor." Jacob Wilkins of The Cavalier Daily lauded the film, calling Wan a "master of horror" and remarked that the film was "fresh, original and unsettling". Pete Hammond of Deadline.com wrote that he was "pleasantly surprised" by the sequel and what Wan has accomplished with the film, stating, "Wan knows the tricks of this trade (heightened sound effects, moving furniture, dark corners) but somehow miraculously he really puts a fresh spin on it all here. It's riveting stuff, even if in a familiar cinematic environment." He added, "It is one hell of a movie."