Halloween is just around the corner, and the latest “Halloween” movie is set to be a box-office smash this weekend. It’s just the latest movie to rake in big bucks for the horror genre, following the success of last year’s “Get Out” and “It,” and this year’s “A Quiet Place” and “The Nun.”
The genre seems to be the only one that is consistently reliable at the box office (besides superhero blockbusters, of course). The biggest horror movies even stretch back to the 1970s.
We rounded up the highest-grossing horror movies of all time, and ranked them by how much they made in the US after being adjusted for inflation (based on figures from Box Office Mojo). We also included the original domestic and worldwide grosses when available.
For movies such as “Alien” and “The Exorcist,” we based their rankings on the original theatrical release, as opposed to total gross from re-releases.
Below are 19 of the highest-grossing horror movies of all time, ranked by domestic box office:
19. "Get Out" (2017)
Adjusted domestic total: $181,689,400
Original domestic total: $176,040,665
Worldwide total: $255,457,364
18. "Bram Stoker's Dracula" (1992)
Adjusted domestic total: $181,749,000
Original domestic total: $82,522,790
Worldwide total: $215,862,692
17. "A Quiet Place" (2018)
Adjusted domestic total: $183,213,500
Original domestic total: $188,024,361
Worldwide total: $338,563,752
16. "Halloween" (1978)
Adjusted domestic total: $183,581,200
Original domestic total: $47,000,000
Worldwide total: N/A
15. "Scream 2"
Adjusted domestic total: $200,172,600
Original domestic total: $101,363,301
Worldwide total: $172,363,301
14. "The Ring" (2002)
Adjusted domestic total: $202,984,900
Original domestic total: $129,128,133
Worldwide total: $249,348,933
13. "Scream" (1996)
Adjusted domestic total: $206,128,000
Original domestic total: $103,046,663
Worldwide total: $173,046,663
12. "Aliens" (1986)
Adjusted domestic total: $209,801,800
Original domestic total: $85,160,248
Worldwide total: $131,060,248
11. "Interview with the Vampire" (1994)
Adjusted domestic total: $229,666,500
Original domestic total: $105,264,608
Worldwide total: $223,664,608
10. "Poltergeist" (1982)
Adjusted domestic total: $238,156,900
Original domestic total: $76,606,280
Worldwide total: N/A
9. "The Blair Witch Project" (1999)
Adjusted domestic total: $252,859,700
Original domestic total: $140,539,099
Worldwide total: $248,639,099
8. "The Omen" (1976)
Adjusted domestic total: $261,425,400
Original domestic total: $60,922,980
Worldwide total: N/A
7. "What Lies Beneath" (2000)
Adjusted domestic total: $263,614,800
Original domestic total: $155,464,351
Worldwide total: $291,420,351
6. "Alien" (1979)
Adjusted domestic total: $287,472,600
Original domestic total: $80,931,801
Worldwide total: $104,931,801
5. "The Amityville Horror" (1979)
Adjusted domestic total: $314,736,400
Original domestic total: $86,432,000
Worldwide total: N/A
4. "It" (2017)
Adjusted domestic total: $333,688,600
Original domestic total: $327,481,748
Worldwide total: $700,381,748
3. "The Sixth Sense" (1999)
Adjusted domestic total: $526,273,200
Original domestic total: $293,506,292
Worldwide total: $672,806,292
2. "The Exorcist" (1973)
Adjusted domestic total: $943,326,200
Original domestic total: $232,906,145
Worldwide total: $441,306,145
1. "Jaws" (1975)
Adjusted domestic total: $1,170,640,400
Original domestic total: $260,000,000
Worldwide total: $470,653,000