The 13 greatest horror movie franchises, ranked by global box office success

A scary and original horror movie may come with what feels like an endless number of sequels, but many installments in a horror franchise can lead to a collectively huge box office draw. Hence, movie studios are known for sucking dry a franchise until it finally dies and is reborn through a reboot or revival. HA!

Since the ’80s, there have been plenty of sci-fi/horror, supernatural horror, psychological horror/thrillers, creature features and slashers that have reinvented the horror genre, creating some of the best and most profitable franchises.

So while 13 is the number for Friday the 13th, here are the 13 top grossing (and hence, greatest) horror franchises, RANKED, using numbers from The Numbers.

Actually let’s start with a few honorable mentions. Some of these might come to you as a shock for not making it on the list. “A Nightmare on Elm Street” reinvented horror by blending supernatural with slasher, while having birth one of the greatest horror icons—Freddy Krueger. “Friday the 13th” served as a catalyst for ’80s slasher tropes, giving us another horror titan—Jason Voorhees. New franchises like “The Ring” and “The Purge” also birthed new life into horror in the ’00s and ’10s. None of these franchises made onto the list, but they came close.