The project began development in May 2008 at Universal Pictures and went through a long and troubled journey, including an early version described as a 'four-quadrant supernatural adventure' likened to The Mummy and Indiana Jones.

Multiple directors were attached at various points before Stiles White, including Sylvain White, Scott Stewart, Pierre Morel, John Moore, McG, and Breck Eisner, while writers like Adam Horowitz, Edward Kitsis, Evan Spiliotopoulos, Simon Kinberg, and Marti Noxon all worked on drafts.

At one point the film had a 'tentpole level' budget, with a draft by Simon Kinberg estimated to cost $125 million to produce, prompting Universal to abandon the project before Hasbro Studios restructured it into a much lower-budget, more intimate film.

Principal photography began in mid-December 2013 in Los Angeles and wrapped in January 2014, but extensive reshoots took place in May 2014 after a poor test screening, which actress Olivia Cooke said resulted in about half the film being re-shot.

During the reshoots, actress Erin Moriarty's character was removed from the film entirely, Lin Shaye was added to play a newly written character, and several plot points were changed or added.

Following the reshoots, the physical appearance of the ghost character Doris Zander was changed from a burnt-looking girl to a rotting, decomposing girl with stitches in her mouth.

Director Mike Flanagan contributed ideas to the film prior to the reshoots but denied ever directing any part of it, and later described the production as having had a 'rough journey to completion' and a 'long post-production phase.'

Despite a very negative critical reception (6% on Rotten Tomatoes and a Metacritic score of 38), Ouija grossed $103.6 million worldwide on a budget of only $5–8 million and debuted at number one at the North American box office ahead of John Wick.