Ireland has a new highest ever box office grossing writer/director

Stephen Porzio

An amazing achievement.

Horror reboot Evil Dead Rise has reached $100 million at the global box office, making it the highest-grossing movie to be written and directed by an Irish-born filmmaker.

Dubliner Lee Cronin, also known for making Irish horror The Hole in the Ground, helmed the fifth entry in the legendary Evil Dead franchise which is currently in cinemas. It follows two estranged sisters (Lily Sullivan and Alyssa Sutherland) trying to survive and save their family from murderous demons known as Deadites.

Congratulations from the entire WAP team to @curleecronin on becoming the highest grossing Irish Writer/Director of all time for #EvilDeadRise ☘️ 🇮🇪

— Wild Atlantic Pictures (@WAPictures) May 6, 2023

Made on a reported budget of between $15 – 19 million, the film has been a hit finance-wise, on top of receiving tons of acclaim from critics with reviewers praising the movie’s relentless pace, stylish direction and gorily thrilling set-pieces. Given Evil Dead Rise’s success, Cronin has even begun teasing fans with his ideas for a sequel.

Following the news of the film surpassing $100 million at the box office, the Irish writer-director wrote:

“So much love for the cast, crew, and all of you amazing movie-goers for taking Evil Dead Rise to this place today. Thank you for your support in helping the Deadites RISE all around the world!”

So much love for the cast, crew, and all of you amazing movie-goers for taking #EvilDeadRise to this place today. Thank you for your support in helping the Deadites RISE all around the world! 🩸🩸🩸🩸🩸 https://t.co/cnZTQK9mRi

— Lee Cronin (@curleecronin) May 5, 2023

While there have been higher-grossing movies directed by Irish filmmakers – including A Good Day to Die Hard ($304.7 million), Interview with a Vampire ($223.7 million) and 2006’s The Omen remake ($120 million) – these box office hits were not written by their directors as well.

It is worth noting too that the Oscar-winning dark comedy crime drama Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri grossed $162.9 million and was written and directed by Martin McDonagh, who is an Irish citizen but was born in London.

You can check out JOE’s interview with Cronin for Evil Dead Rise on our YouTube channel, in which he discusses the difficulties of shooting the reboot’s crazy finale and how some of the marketing materials for the horror faced some pushback in Ireland.