In this article, you will learn what horror films topped the U.S. box office from 1922-present day, essentially documenting every commercially available, chart-topping horror movie in North America recorded since Variety began keeping records in the early 1920s.
The sources for these are from Box Office Mojo, as well as from the chart archives published by the Greek movies enthusiast, Leonidas Fragias, that faithfully use the same data Variety gathered up all those years ago. 'Lost films' that were considered to be box office number one films due to their estimated gross, such as The Hypnotist - are also mentioned here.
Films listed here that were released prior to 1982, are taken from Variety magazine's weekly top 50 grossing films chart that began in 1969, and also the earlier box office records. Around 1982, studios began to report on the weekend grosses. That tradition has essentially carried on up to the present day, hereby offering a more accurate summary of box office record keeping than in way older decades.
Unfortunately, the COVID-19 ordeal of 2020 had put a sad halt on box office recording, for a while. A note to the gaming fanboys this is not for games. Do not add games.
See also: https://horror.fandom.com/wiki/List_of_box_office_top_ten_horror_films_in_the_United_States
1920s
- The Monster (inaugural)
- The Phantom of the Opera
Note: The beginning of the U.S. box office is considered to have began in February of 1922. Variety started tracking film grosses from certain theaters and cities during that year.
"London After Midnight" is a much sought after lost film, and "The Terror" is considered to be a lost film as well.
The last known copy of "London After Midnight" (starring Lon Chaney) perished in a fire at MGM, in 1965.
A print of "The Terror" does exist, as does the soundtrack tapes. However, it hasn't been released commercially.
1930s
1940s
- Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
- Hold That Ghost
1950s
- It Came From Outer Space
- House of Wax
1960s
- The Mad Room
- Rosemary's Baby
Note: The top 50 grossing films chart started being published in Variety, during April of 1969. Only one motion picture ("The Mad Room") reached #1 in the 1960s on that chart, while the other two films listed here on this article, peaked on other Variety based charts, that were published prior to the creation of the top 50 grossing films chart.
According to Wikipedia, Variety ceased publication of that chart in 1990. However, the much more widely favoured weekend box office began in 1982.
1970s
- Dracula
- Magic
- The Fury
- The Omen
- The Amityville Horror
- The Silent Scream
- Willard
- King Kong
- Carrie
- Trog / Taste the Blood of Dracula
- When a Stranger Calls
- It's Alive
Note: There was no weekend box office published prior to 1982, so the sources here are taken from Variety's weekly top 50 grossing films charts.
For motion pictures released prior to 1982, websites such as Box Office Mojo and The Numbers have very limited data available, which is why searching on the sites typically brings up little results.
1980s
- Scanners
- An American Werewolf in London
- Friday the 13th
- Friday the 13th Part II
- The Fog
- Halloween II
- The Final Conflict
- The Howling
Note: In 1982, the weekend box office began. Prior to that year, the sources above are from Variety's top 50 grossing (weekly) films charts...
- Jaws 3-D
- Amityville II: The Possession
- Amityville 3-D
- They Live
- Child's Play
- A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master
- Friday the 13th Part III
- Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter
- Friday the 13th: A New Beginning
- Friday the 13th Part VII: Jason Lives
- Creepshow
- The Witches of Eastwick
- The Fly
- The Fly II
- Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers
- Pet Semetary
Note: Some films prior to 1982 listed here, are taken from Variety's top 50 weekly films charts.
1990s
- I Know What You Did Last Summer
- Interview with the Vampire
- Anaconda
- Blade
- Wolf
- From Dusk Till Dawn
- Jacob's Ladder
- The Exorcist III
- The People Under the Stairs
- Bram Stoker's Dracula
- Freddy's Dead: The Final Nightmare
- Vampires
- Death Becomes Her
- Flatliners
- Stigmata
- The Craft
- Sleepwalkers
- The Island of Dr. Moreau
- The Relic
- House on Haunted Hill
- Graveyard Shift
2000s
- Saw II
- Saw III
- Saw IV
- The Ring
- The Grudge
- The Grudge 2
- Hostel
- Jeepers Creepers
- Jeepers Creepers 2
- The Texas Chainsaw Massacre
- Dawn of the Dead
- When a Stranger Calls
- AVP: Alien vs Predator
- The Cell
- Queen of the Damned
- The Final Destination
- Halloween
- Hellboy
- The Fog
- The Amityville Horror
- Paranormal Activity
- Hide and Seek
- What Lies Beneath
- Hollow Man
- Darkness Falls
- 30 Days of Night
- Cloverfield
- Boogeyman
- Resident Evil: Apocalypse
- Resident Evil: Extinction
- Blade II
- The Messengers
- Doom
- Freddy vs Jason
- Urban Legends: Final Cut
- The Ring 2
- Prom Night
- Friday the 13th
- Silent Hill
- The Covenant
2010s
- Halloween
- A Nightmare on Elm Street
- Paranormal Activity 2
- Paranormal Activity 3
- Paranormal Activity 4
- Underworld: Awakening
- It
- It: Chapter 2
- The Rite
- Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters
- Mama
- Get Out
- Us
- Evil Dead
- Don't Breathe
- Warm Bodies
- Split
- Ouija
- Get Out
- Jigsaw
- Saw 3D
- Piranha 3D
- The Nun
- Happy Death Day
- Texas Chainsaw
- Boo! A Madea Halloween
- Boo 2: A Madea Halloween
- Resident Evil: Afterlife
- Resident Evil: Retribution
- The Conjuring
- The Possession
- The Devil Inside
2020's
- The Invisible Man
- The Rental
- The New Mutants
- Come Play
- Freaky
- Spiral
- The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It
- A Quiet Place Part II
- Candyman
Note: Films shown here in bold reached their peak position during the COVID-19 crisis. Many movies released in cinemas are independently produced, or are reissues of classic films, mostly being featured at drive-in cinemas due to the policy on social distancing. Examples include, "Jurassic Park", or "Beauty and the Beast". Many major films got postponed.
Most box office reporting had been halted since March of 2020, due to the outbreak of COVID-19. Only drive-in cinemas were allowed to operate during this difficult time.
This has caused confusion with some data being sent in for Box Office Mojo and The Numbers supposedly not being correct, as some people claim that "Trolls World Tour" was actually leading the box office for much of the initial stage of the pandemic, ahead of films such as "The Wretched", for example. Although its overall gross wasn't reported. Therefore, these websites are inclined to only report on what is possible, pending updates from companies that share their earnings.