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James Wan

James Wan

Producer, writer and director, also actor and editor · Born February 26, 1977 (49) · Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia

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. Wan is also the founder of the film and television production company Atomic Monster. 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. Following a period of setbacks, 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. He is the 16th highest-grossing director of all time as of 2021, with his films having grossed over $3.7 billion worldwide. Description above from the Wikipedia article James Wan, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.

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Biography from TMDB.

Born
February 26, 1977 (49)
From
Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia
Works as
Producer, writer and director, also actor and editor
Titles
57 on MovieCove · 104 credits in all
Links
IMDb (opens in a new tab)TMDB (opens in a new tab)Wikidata (opens in a new tab)

Known for

TMDB popularity, last 155 days to Oct 26Down 4% in 30 days

What are James Wan's films like?

Across their 53 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Survival and Morality.

Genres

Horror35 titlesTypical Midcredits score: 38th percentile
: browse their Horror movies
Action7 titlesTypical Midcredits score: 57th percentile, at or above their average across these genres
: browse their Action movies
Crime3 titlesTypical Midcredits score: 55th percentile, at or above their average across these genres
: browse their Crime movies

Their MovieCove films by primary genre. The badge is the typical Midcredits score of the genre's films, the median percentile; an up arrow marks a genre at or above their average across these genres.

Themes

share of theme weight
Survival
28%
Morality
23%
Bonds
22%
Self
11%
Society
8%
Power
4%
Ideas
3%
Family bonds25 titles, browse their movies with this themeSurvival17 titles, browse their movies with this themeTrauma14 titles, browse their movies with this themeJustice10 titles, browse their movies with this themeIdentity7 titles, browse their movies with this themeGrief7 titles, browse their movies with this themeFaith6 titles, browse their movies with this themeSacrifice6 titles, browse their movies with this theme

What they feel like to watch

their average across 46 films
ToneFeelDemandtheir average · filled zone: the category
Dark: How heavy the subject matter and outlook get. Browse their dark movies.
Tone · Weight
lightdark

Light 6 · Serious 7 · Dark 33

Stylized: How far its world departs from everyday reality. Browse their stylized movies.
Tone · Style
naturalisticheightened

Grounded 9 · Stylized 23 · Heightened 14

Intense: How hard the emotional peaks hit while you watch. Browse their intense movies.
Feel · Intensity
gentleintense

Gentle 1 · Charged 4 · Intense 41

Shifting: How much it swings between very different feelings. Browse their shifting movies.
Feel · Swings
steadyswings

Steady 7 · Shifting 31 · Whiplash 8

Straight-faced: How much of the runtime is played for laughs. Browse their straight-faced movies.
Feel · Humor
noneconstant

Straight-faced 34 · Some laughs 9 · Funny 3

Even-paced: How fast it moves from scene to scene. Browse their even-paced movies.
Demand · Pace
slowrelentless

Slow burn 2 · Even-paced 30 · Relentless 14

Engaged: How much focus it asks of you — look away and lose the thread? Browse their engaged movies.
Demand · Attention
casualfull focus

Casual 8 · Engaged 26 · Full focus 12

Affecting: How much it costs you emotionally; whether you need recovery time. Browse their affecting movies.
Demand · Emotional cost
easyheavy

Easy watch 8 · Affecting 22 · Heavy 16

Resolved: How much is left for you to interpret. Browse their resolved movies.
Demand · Resolution
resolvedambiguous

Resolved 27 · Open-ended 17 · Ambiguous 2

Moods and endings

endings are an aggregate; no title is named

Dominant moods · mentions across their titles

Dread
42
Tense
46
Thrilling
12
Melancholic
13
Absurd
6
Other
25

How their films linger

Unsettling29 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteFun12 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteHaunting14 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteBittersweet11 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteHopeful10 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteCathartic9 titles, browse their movies with this aftertaste

How their films end · 26 with a twist

  • Happy7
  • Bittersweet28
  • Tragic4
  • Ambiguous14

AI-generated from each title's plot synopsis and cast list, with extra plot summaries, reviews and Parents Guide notes for titles the model may not know, and the model's own knowledge of the ones it recognizes. Only analyzed titles count, so this covers part of the filmography; the feel axes count films only for now.

Where can I watch James Wan's films?

As of October 24, 2026, 50 of their 57 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service, most on HBO Max (19).

Also on these channels

Subscription and free streaming for James Wan's titles on MovieCove; rent and buy are not counted. Titles are listed by Midcredits score, highest first, at most 12 per service; a dashed chip is a producer credit or a minor one, such as a thanks. A service opens the browse page, which counts movies only, so its number can differ.

Filmography

104 credits, 57 with a MovieCove page; 10 appearances as themselves are hidden until asked for.

  • Untitled Blair Witch Film (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2027)

    Producer

  • Paranormal Activity 8 (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2027)

    Producer

  • The Revenge of La Llorona (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2027)

    Producer

  • Other Mommy(2026)

    Producer

    Midcredits score: 21st percentile of all films

  • Insidious: Out of the Further(2026)

    Producer

    Midcredits score: 45th percentile of all films

  • Soulm8te(2026)

    Producer · Story

    Midcredits score: 33rd percentile of all films

  • Backrooms(2026)

    Producer

    Midcredits score: 72nd percentile of all films

  • Mortal Kombat II(2026)

    Producer

    Midcredits score: 57th percentile of all films

  • Lee Cronin's The Mummy(2026)

    Producer

    Midcredits score: 48th percentile of all films

  • 56 Days(2026)

    Show 8 episodes · Executive Producer

    Midcredits score: 38th percentile of all shows

  • The Copenhagen Test(2025)

    Show 8 episodes · Executive Producer

    Midcredits score: 49th percentile of all shows

  • True Haunting(2025)

    Show 5 episodes · Executive Producer

    Midcredits score: 17th percentile of all shows

  • The Conjuring: Last Rites(2025)

    Producer · Story · as Wedding Guest

    Midcredits score: 48th percentile of all films

  • M3GAN 2.0(2025)

    Characters · Producer

    Midcredits score: 45th percentile of all films

  • The Monkey(2025)

    Producer

    Midcredits score: 37th percentile of all films

  • Teacup(2024)

    Show 8 episodes · Executive Producer

    Midcredits score: 24th percentile of all shows

  • Salem's Lot(2024)

    Producer

    Midcredits score: 21st percentile of all films

  • Night Swim(2024)

    Producer

    Midcredits score: 9th percentile of all films

  • Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom(2023)

    Director · Producer · Story

    Midcredits score: 25th percentile of all films

  • Saw X(2023)

    Characters · Executive Producer

    Midcredits score: 71st percentile of all films

  • The Nun II(2023)

    Characters · Producer

    Midcredits score: 29th percentile of all films

  • Insidious: The Red Door(2023)

    Producer

    Midcredits score: 24th percentile of all films

  • M3GAN(2022)

    Producer · Story

    Midcredits score: 59th percentile of all films

  • Samurai Rabbit: The Usagi Chronicles(2022)

    Show 20 episodes · Executive Producer

    Midcredits score: 27th percentile of all shows

  • Archive 81(2022)

    Show 8 episodes · Executive Producer

    Midcredits score: 67th percentile of all shows

  • Aquaman: King of Atlantis(2021)

    Show 3 episodes · Executive Producer

    Midcredits score: 18th percentile of all shows

  • I Know What You Did Last Summer(2021)

    Show 8 episodes · Executive Producer

    Midcredits score: 8th percentile of all shows

  • There's Someone Inside Your House(2021)

    Producer

    Midcredits score: 9th percentile of all films

  • Malignant(2021)

    Director · Producer · Story

    Midcredits score: 55th percentile of all films

  • The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It(2021)

    Producer · Story

    Midcredits score: 53rd percentile of all films

  • Spiral(2021)

    Characters · Executive Producer

    Midcredits score: 13th percentile of all films

  • Mortal Kombat(2021)

    Producer

    Midcredits score: 44th percentile of all films

  • Annabelle Comes Home(2019)

    Producer · Story

    Midcredits score: 38th percentile of all films

  • Swamp Thing(2019)

    Show 10 episodes · Executive Producer

    Midcredits score: 67th percentile of all shows

  • The Curse of La Llorona(2019)

    Producer

    Midcredits score: 13th percentile of all films

  • Aquaman(2018)

    Director · Story

    Midcredits score: 67th percentile of all films

  • The Nun(2018)

    Producer · Second Unit Director · Story

    Midcredits score: 23rd percentile of all films

  • Insidious: The Last Key(2018)

    Producer

    Midcredits score: 31st percentile of all films

  • Jigsaw(2017)

    Characters · Executive Producer

    Midcredits score: 31st percentile of all films

  • Annabelle: Creation(2017)

    Producer

    Midcredits score: 64th percentile of all films

  • MacGyver(2016)

    Show 94 episodes · Director · Executive Producer

    Midcredits score: 21st percentile of all shows

  • Lights Out(2016)

    Producer

    Midcredits score: 53rd percentile of all films

  • The Conjuring 2(2016)

    Director · Producer · Screenplay · Story

    Midcredits score: 89th percentile of all films

  • Game Changer: The Legacy of Saw (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2015)

    Thanks · as Self

  • Lavalantula(2015)

    as Tour Bus Passenger

    Midcredits score: 11th percentile of all films

  • Insidious: Chapter 3(2015)

    Producer · as Theater Director

    Midcredits score: 44th percentile of all films

  • Furious 7(2015)

    Director

    Midcredits score: 82nd percentile of all films

  • Demonic(2015)

    Producer

    Midcredits score: 17th percentile of all films

  • Annabelle(2014)

    Producer

    Midcredits score: 23rd percentile of all films

  • Insidious: Chapter 2(2013)

    Director · Story

    Midcredits score: 64th percentile of all films

  • The Conjuring(2013)

    Director

    Midcredits score: 94th percentile of all films

  • Insidious(2010)

    Director · Editor

    Midcredits score: 75th percentile of all films

  • Saw 3D(2010)

    Characters · Executive Producer

    Midcredits score: 26th percentile of all films

  • Saw VI(2009)

    Characters · Executive Producer

    Midcredits score: 45th percentile of all films

  • Doggie Heaven (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2008)

    Director · Editor · Story

  • Saw V(2008)

    Characters · Executive Producer

    Midcredits score: 33rd percentile of all films

  • Saw IV(2007)

    Characters · Executive Producer

    Midcredits score: 38th percentile of all films

  • Death Sentence(2007)

    Director

    Midcredits score: 67th percentile of all films

  • Dead Silence(2007)

    Director · Story

    Midcredits score: 48th percentile of all films

  • Saw III(2006)

    Characters · Executive Producer · Story

    Midcredits score: 53rd percentile of all films

  • The Scott Tibbs Documentary (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2006)

    Characters

  • Saw II(2005)

    Characters · Executive Producer

    Midcredits score: 67th percentile of all films

  • Saw: Rebirth (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2005)

    Characters

  • Saw(2004)

    Director · Story

    Midcredits score: 92nd percentile of all films

  • Saw (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2003)

    Director · Editor

  • Daylight Robbery (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1999)

    Show 1 episode · as Pilot

  • Stygian (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1998)

    Director · Writer

  • Area 51 (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)

    Show 1 episode · Executive Producer

  • Border Patrol (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)

    Producer

  • Concrete Jungle (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)

    Show 1 episode · Creator · Executive Producer

  • Cosmetic (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)

    Idea · Producer

  • Dead by Daylight (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)

    Producer

  • Doomtown (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)

    Producer

  • Five Nights at Freddy's 3 (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)

    Producer

  • Foliage (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)

    Producer

  • GMO (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)

    Producer

  • Hunting Season (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)

    Producer

  • Lights Out 2 (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)

    Producer

  • Mass Extinction (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)

    Producer

  • Milk (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)

    Producer

  • Mortal Kombat III (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)

    Producer

  • Phasmophobia (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)

    Producer

  • Rabbit Rabbit Rabbit (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)

    Producer

  • Robocop (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)

    Show 1 episode · Executive Producer

  • Seasons (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)

    Producer

  • Shelter (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)

    Producer

  • Smart House (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)

    Idea · Producer

  • Sweet Tooth (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)

    Producer

  • The Boy Who Drew Monsters (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)

    Producer

  • The Burden (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)

    Producer

  • The Call of Cthulhu (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)

    Director · Producer

  • The Creature from the Black Lagoon (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)

    Director · Producer · Story

  • The Entity (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)

    Producer

  • The Gangster, the Cop, the Devil (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)

    Director · Producer

  • The Invocation (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)

    Producer

  • The Last Train to New York (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)

    Producer

  • The Magic Order (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)

    Show 1 episode · Executive Producer

  • The Root of All Evil (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)

    Producer

  • Thread: An Insidious Tale (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)

    Producer

  • Untitled Curry Barker Film (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)

    Producer

  • Untitled James Wan Universal Monster Project (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)

    Producer

  • Untitled Leah McKendrick Monster Film (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)

    Producer

  • Untitled Saw Film (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)

    Characters · Producer

  • You Take Care Now (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)

    Producer

Career shape

A full career of 104 titles, 64 of them dated from 1998 to 2026.

Biggest box office

Furious 7 (2015)

$1.5B worldwide

Highest rated

The Conjuring (2013)

Midcredits 94th

Most popular right now

Other Mommy (2026)

Film career

By role

only this rolewith another role
Acting4 of 104: 2 only acting, 2 with another roleDirecting18 of 104: 3 only directing, 15 with another role · typical Midcredits score67thWriting32 of 104: 2 only writing, 30 with another role · typical Midcredits score47thProducing88 of 104: 59 only producing, 29 with another role · typical Midcredits score38thEditing3 of 104: 0 only editing, 3 with another roleOther crew3 of 104: 1 only other crew, 2 with another role

104 titles, 37 with more than one role — producing and writing overlap on 24 of them.

By decade

1990s2 · 1 acting · 1 crew2000s12 · crew2010s21 · 2 acting · 20 crew2020s29 · 1 acting · 29 crew

Counts from TMDB across their full career, self appearances out; a title counts in every role they held on it. The ring is the typical Midcredits score (the median percentile) of the role's titles that are on MovieCove, shown from 5 scored.

How do James Wan's films land?

Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 45th percentile, the median of all 47; across their 46 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 45th percentile for acclaim.

Acclaim · how much people like their films

45thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 46

Approval · how many liked their films

43rdpercentile
Typical film, the median of 46

Reach · how many have seen their films

97thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 46

Midcredits score across 57 titles, by percentile

  • 75th and up5
  • 50th to 74th15
  • 25th to 49th21
  • Below 25th16

Shape of the crowd

23 of their 57 titles are Mixed.

  • Universally Loved2
  • Cult Classic2
  • Crowd Pleaser19
  • Broadly Agreed11
  • Mixed23

Most divisive · director, producer

MacGyver (2016)

82nd percentile spread · 27% rated it 4 or lower

Most loved · director

The Conjuring (2013)

Midcredits 94th · 83% liked

Reviewers score the dialogue 39/100 and the plot and story 39/100 in their films, across 45 reviewed titles. The element that speaks to their work as a writer.

Percentiles are each film's standing among all films on MovieCove; the typical film is the median, so one outlier cannot drag it. Percentiles and reviewer scores count the films IMDb credits them on, for now; the Midcredits score bands, the shape of the crowd and the two cards count their MovieCove titles, shows included (a show ranked among shows), appearances as themselves left out. A descriptor is the shape of a title's IMDb rating distribution against the catalog; "most divisive" needs a spread wider than half of all titles, and a card names only a principal credit: a craft role, and on a show a crew role or a run of episodes, never a courtesy credit or a one-off guest spot.

Is James Wan's work okay for kids?

Across up to 49 MovieCove titles with content scores, violence & gore, profanity and frightening / intense run heavier than most films and sex & nudity lighter.

Their medianMedian of all filmsMiddle 80% of their titles
Violence & Gore48 titles59–95 · median 79 · intenseheavier than most filmsMedian of all films: 44
Sex & Nudity49 titles9–42 · median 15 · minimallighter than most filmsMedian of all films: 32
Profanity49 titles29–89 · median 59 · moderateheavier than most filmsMedian of all films: 36
Alcohol & Drugs48 titles7–43 · median 31 · mildnear the median of all filmsMedian of all films: 33
Frightening / Intense48 titles63–94 · median 86 · severeheavier than most filmsMedian of all films: 39

Severity 0–100 from the Content Guide. Categories with under 10 votes on a title are not counted. The band's colour is the severity of their median, named beside it.

Who does James Wan work with?

People who share at least 2 of James Wan's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Michael Clear shares the most, 28.

Directors

Writers

Actors

Composers, cinematographers and editors

Producers

  • Michael Clear28 titles    See newest 12 of 28 shared titles with Michael Clear
  • Judson Scott17 titles    See newest 12 of 17 shared titles with Judson Scott
  • Peter Safran12 titles    See all 12 shared titles with Peter Safran
  • Dave Neustadter12 titles    See all 12 shared titles with Dave Neustadter