Arts & Entertainmenthalloween

These are Hollywood’s most bankable horror franchises

By Christina Austin
Caption:American actor Richard Dreyfuss (left) (as marine biologist Hooper) and British author and actor Robert Shaw (as shark fisherman Quint) look off the stern of Quint's fishing boat the 'Orca' at the terrifying approach of the mechanical giant shark dubbed 'Bruce' in a scene from the film 'Jaws' directed by Steven Spielberg, 1975. The movie, also starring Roy Scheider and Lorraine Gary, was one of the first 'Summer Blockbuster' films. (Photo by Universal Pictures courtesy of Getty Images)
Caption:American actor Richard Dreyfuss (left) (as marine biologist Hooper) and British author and actor Robert Shaw (as shark fisherman Quint) look off the stern of Quint's fishing boat the 'Orca' at the terrifying approach of the mechanical giant shark dubbed 'Bruce' in a scene from the film 'Jaws' directed by Steven Spielberg, 1975. The movie, also starring Roy Scheider and Lorraine Gary, was one of the first 'Summer Blockbuster' films. (Photo by Universal Pictures courtesy of Getty Images)
Photograph by Universal Pictures/Getty Images

With Fright Night just around the corner, now is the time to curl up (with a pillow to cover your eyes) and watch blood and guts explode on your screen.

To help you do that, here are the top-grossing horror franchises of all time, according to CNBC. Jaws is the best selling franchise (adjusted for inflation). Here are the others:

  1. Jaws (4 films): $1.52 billion
  2. The Exorcist (5 films): $1.09 billion
  3. Alien (7 films): $945.4 million
  4. Friday the 13th (12 films): $778.1 million
  5. Nightmare on Elm Street (9 films): $660.8 million
  6. Halloween (10 films): $627.6 million
  7. Scream (4): $551.5 million
  8. Saw (7 films): $513.5 million
  9. Paranormal Activity (5 films): $409.6 million
  10. Resident Evil (5): $298 million

 

The National Retail Federation reports that the average adult expects to spend $74 this Halloween. That amount is slighter lower than the average for 2014.

Total spending in 2015 will top $6.9 billion, the NRF says, and we’ll shell out $1.2 billion this year on adult costumes—and yes, that includes the sexy ones.