Halloween (1978)
91%RT Audience Score: 89%
Awards & Nominations: 7 wins & 3 nominations
Scary, suspenseful, and viscerally thrilling, Halloween set the standard for modern horror films.
Halloween is the ultimate horror movie that will make you scream, jump, and maybe even pee your pants a little. With its iconic score and terrifying villain, Michael Myers, this movie will have you on the edge of your seat from start to finish. And let’s not forget about the final girl, Laurie Strode, who proves that you don’t need to be a virgin to survive a horror movie (but it definitely helps). Whether you’re a horror fanatic or just looking for a good scare, Halloween is a must-watch classic that will haunt you long after the credits roll.
Production Company(ies)
Universal Pictures, Wing Nut Films, Big Primate Pictures,
Distributor
Compass International Pictures
Release Type
Theatrical, Theatrical (Limited)
Filming Location(s)
1537 Orange Grove Avenue, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA
MPAA / Certificate
R
Year of Release
1978
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Color:Color
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Sound mix:Mono Dolby Surround 7.1 Dolby Atmos
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Aspect ratio:2.39 : 1
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Runtime:1h 31m
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Language(s):English
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Country of origin:United States
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Release date:Release Date (Theaters): Oct 25, 1978 Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Sep 28, 1999
Genre(s)
Holiday/Horror
Keyword(s)
Worldwide gross: $47,160,000
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $231,014,798
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 616
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 25,192,453
US/Canada gross: $47,000,000
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): NA
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): NA
US/Canada opening weekend:
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): NA
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): NA
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): $325,000
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): $1,592,023
Production budget ranking: 2,051
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): $857,304
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): $228,565,471
ROI to date (est.): 9,332%
ROI ranking: 9
Jamie Lee Curtis – Laurie Strode
Nancy Kyes – Annie Brackett
P.J. Soles – Lynda
Charles Cyphers – Sheriff Leigh Brackett
Kyle Richards – Lindsey Wallace
Director(s)
John Carpenter
Writer(s)
Debra Hill, John Carpenter
Producer(s)
Debra Hill, John Carpenter
Film Festivals
Awards & Nominations
7 wins & 3 nominations
Academy Awards
All Critics (80) | Top Critics (15) | Fresh (77) | Rotten (3)
Carpenter’s 1978 slasher classic has inspired a million imitations as well as sequels, but few that demonstrate so clearly that a disreputable genre movie can also be a pure, rigorous work of art.
October 26, 2018
Jake Wilson
The Age (Australia)
TOP CRITIC
In horror, the jack-in-the-box scare… is the quickest way to get a scream, but the still shocks… are the ones that linger with you. “Halloween” has them both, but it specializes in the second.
October 24, 2018
Jason Zinoman
New York Times
TOP CRITIC
What’s crucial isn’t that Laurie survives because she’s the only virgin; it’s that she’s the only virgin and still almost doesn’t survive.
October 20, 2018 | Rating: 4/5
Adam Kempenaar
Filmspotting
TOP CRITIC
Still creepy as hell.
October 19, 2018
Aja Romano
Vox
TOP CRITIC
Carpenter obviously knows the genre well and he builds a properly terrifying atmosphere through his well-paced direction. It’s an effective entry for its intended market.
November 2, 2014
Ron Pennington
Hollywood Reporter
TOP CRITIC
Well worth another look on the big screen.
October 25, 2012 | Rating: 5/5
Peter Bradshaw
Guardian
TOP CRITIC
The film set the standard for horror and the slasher film genre and is one of the most influential, imitated, and commercially successful independent films in history.
February 14, 2022 | Rating: 4/4
David Gonzalez
Reel Talk Inc.
Halloween is a cipher that moviegoers, critics, and film scholars have filled in with countless readings.
February 14, 2022 | Rating: 4/4
Brian Eggert
Deep Focus Review
This is meticulously made, with every decision working to craft the stylistic, iconic film many of us hold so dear.
November 12, 2021
Kristy Strouse
Wonderfully Weird and Horrifying
The best moments of Halloween take their lead from its exemplary opening: that iconically spare musical score-cum-leitmotif, and the film’s slippery command of perspective.
November 10, 2021 | Rating: 4/5
PJ Nabarro
Patrick Nabarro
After 15 years under this doctor’s supervision, it’s unsurprising that Myers’ boyhood psychopathy has ripened.
October 21, 2021
Anton Bitel
BFI
Carpenter’s meticulously crafted film doesn’t waste a single second, the gold standard of the slasher genre with its most effective score.
October 21, 2021
Ian Thomas Malone
Ian Thomas Malone…
Plot
The year is 1963, the night: Halloween. Police are called to 43 Lampkin Ln. only to discover that 15 year old Judith Myers has been stabbed to death, by her 6 year-old brother, Michael. After being institutionalized for 15 years, Myers breaks out on the night before Halloween. No one knows, nor wants to find out, what will happen on October 31st 1978 besides Myers’ psychiatrist, Dr. Loomis. He knows Michael is coming back to Haddonfield, but by the time the town realizes it, it’ll be too late for many people.
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
NA
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