The Australian filmmaker James Wan directed The Conjuring, and he is also the creator of the entire Conjuring universe. He is well-known for his works in the horror genre. Besides The Conjuring universe, Wan is also the co-creator of the Saw and Insidious franchises.
At more than $2 billion, The Conjuring is the highest-grossing horror franchise. Wan is also the creator of Atomic Monster, a production firm for movies and TV shows.
James Wan was born to Chinese-Malaysian parents on February 26, 1977, in Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia. Around the age of seven, Wan and his family relocated to Perth, Western Australia. Before moving back to Perth as an adult, he went to Lake Tuggeranong College in Canberra. After moving from Perth to Melbourne, Wan enrolled at RMIT University, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts in Media in 1999.
James Wan's career
Wan's career started with the Saw franchise, and in 2004, he directed his first feature film. The franchise achieved commercial success, generating over $1 billion in global revenue. Wan obtained new success after a period of failure with the Insidious series, of which he directed the first movie in 2010 and its follow-up in 2013.
In the same year as the second Insidious, Wan directed the critically and commercially successful first Conjuring film. He directed the second part of the franchise in 2016 and produced subsequent films in the series.
Aside from horror, Wan directed the DC Extended Universe superhero movies Aquaman (2018) and its follow-up Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom (2023), as well as Furious 7 (2015), the seventh edition of the Fast & Furious franchise. Wan became the eighth director with two films to achieve the $1 billion mark with Furious 7 and Aquaman. As of 2021, his films have made over $3.7 billion globally, placing him as the 16th highest-grossing director of all time.
James Wan’s The Conjuring Universe
The Conjuring Universe is an American horror franchise and shared universe based on several supernatural horror films. Warner Bros. Pictures distributes the series, which is produced by Atomic Monster, the Safran Company, and New Line Cinema.
The films depict the alleged actual-life events of Ed and Lorraine Warren, paranormal investigators and writers connected to well-known but difficult haunting cases. While the spin-off films concentrate on the origins of some of the creatures the Warrens have encountered, the main series follows their efforts to help those who are being harassed by spirits.
Having a combined budget of $208 million, the franchise has made a total of $2.2 billion in revenue, making it the highest-grossing horror franchise to date. However, the franchise has received several mixed reviews.
Also read: The conjuring universe in order
FAQs about James Wan
The Australian filmmaker James Wan is best known for his work in horror movies.
James Wan didn't direct the third Conjuring movie due to scheduling conflicts.
Yes, a fourth Conjuring movie is under production since 2022.
