The 1980s was one of the best decades ever for horror movies. But you might be surprised which films make this list of the 10 ’80s horror movies, ranked by box office.
10. The Shining (1980)
Total Gross Worldwide: $47,548,413 (The source for all box office numbers in this story is BoxOfficeMojo.com.)
This horror classic is based on the novel of the same name by Stephen King.
Directed by Stanley Kubrick, it stars Jack Nicholson as Jack Torrance and Shelley Duvall as his wife, Wendy Torrance. When Jack accepts a position as a winter caretaker for the Overlook Hotel, things seem okay — until they get snowed in and meet the hotel’s many ghosts.
Beware of REDRUM spelled backwards!
9. A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master (1988)
Total Gross Worldwide: $49,369,899
Interestingly, the fourth installment in the A Nightmare on Elm Street franchise — which yielded several great ’80s horror movies — grossed higher than all of its predecessors.
Following Freddy Krueger who is once again trying to prey on the neighborhood kids through their dreams, A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master. It has the second-lowest rating of the first four films on Rotten Tomatoes at 57%, down quite a bit from the original’s stellar 95% score. But hey, sequels sell!
8. Pet Sematary (1989)
Total Gross Worldwide: $57,470,138
Another Stephen King adaptation is the original Pet Sematary, based on the 1983 novel of the same name.
The story follows a family who move into a new house, not realizing that there’s an ancient burial ground in the woods just beyond that possesses a powerful curse: any animals or people buried there come back to life, but not the way they were before.
7. The Fly (1986)
Total Gross Worldwide: $60,629,159
Jeff Goldblum stars as scientist Seth Brundle opposite Geena Davis as his girlfriend Veronica Quaife. When Seth tests out a new teleportation device, he accidentally lets a fly into the chamber, merging him with the insect.
At first, it seems fine — but then he begins to start morphing into a fly. Bzzzzz.
6. Beetlejuice (1988)
Total Gross Worldwide: $74,849,333
This horror classic stars Michael Keaton as Beetlejuice, a trickster spirit who haunts the home of the Deetz family and is hell-bent on marrying teenage Lydia.
Directed by Tim Burton, it’s an absolutely beloved film that is so iconic, it just got a sequel called Beetlejuice Beetlejuice over 35 years later.
Don’t say “Beetlejuice” three times or he’ll appear. If a third movie is made, will it be called Beetlejuice Beetlejuice Beetlejuice?
5. Poltergeist (1982)
Total Gross Worldwide: $77,231,990
“They’re here!”
This classic horror movie stars young Heather O’Rourke as five-year-old Carol Ann, who gets kidnapped by a group of ghosts who are haunting her family’s cursed California home. They communicate with her through the television, which at first seems innocent — until it’s not.
Directed by Tobe Hooper, it’s an unforgettably creepy horror film that’s always worth a rewatch.
4. Jaws 3-D (1983)
Total Gross Worldwide: $87,987,055
After the runaway success of the original Jaws movie in 1975, it was followed by a sequel, Jaws 2, in 1978. Then came the third Jaws, which used 3D glasses in theaters to give the effect of the shark popping out of the screen. You probably don’t think of this one when you think of ’80s horror movies.
For viewers who watched the movie on VHS at home prior to the advent of 3D televisions in the 2000s, however, it was just called Jaws III.
Unfortunately, despite its box office success, this one only has a pitiful 11% on the Tomatometer.
3. Predator (1987)
Total Gross Worldwide: $98,268,458
Starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, this classic sci-fi action horror film follows a paramilitary rescue team who go on a mission in the Central American rainforest. But they end up being stalked by an extraterrestrial, you guessed it, predator who hunts them down and tries to kill them.
Directed by John McTiernan, it was so successful that it became a franchise with four other sequels: Predator 2 (1990), Predators (2010), The Predator (2018), and Prey (2022).
2. Aliens (1986)
Total Gross Worldwide: $131,060,248
Following the success of Ridley Scott’s Alien in 1979, 1986’s sequel Aliens was directed by James Cameron. It follows Sigourney Weaver once again as protagonist Ellen Ripley, who has been in space held in stasis for 57, immune to the passage of time.
She had to destroy her ship, the Nostromo, to escape the evil alien creature on board in the first movie. But now, of course, the aliens are back. This is one of the best ’80s horror movies and ’80s sci-fi movies.
1. Gremlins (1984)
Total Gross Worldwide: $153,908,485
Directed by Joe Dante and written by Christopher Columbus, Gremlins is as adorable as it is scary.
Though they look cute during the day, the mischievous little “mogwai” — “devil” in Cantonese — turn into terrifying gremlin creatures under certain circumstances.
Not knowing this, a man buys one for his son from a store in Chinatown, but he doesn’t heed the rules: don’t expose it to the sun, don’t get it wet, and most importantly, don’t feed it after midnight.
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Main image: A promotional image from Nightmare on Elm Street 4. New Line Cinema.