20 Huge Horror Movie Hits NOBODY Expected

It's easy for modern audiences to gloss over the surprise success of Wes Craven's Scream, as the slasher subgenre was well and truly on life support by the mid-'90s, and releasing the film just five days before Christmas - when audiences typically flock to frothy comedy fare - seemed like a total own goal.

But Scream is ultimately a testament to the potential power of counter-programming, as it offered a different option for moviegoers and, aided by strong word-of-mouth, ended up grossing $173 million against a low $15 million budget.

Its success both revitalised the slasher genre and led to a wider horror franchise with more than $900 million in box office receipts - and the impending Scream 7 will inevitably push it well over the $1 billion mark.

Still, the original Scream remains the highest-grossing entry in the franchise so far, even though Scream 2 and Scream VI both came within a mouse-hair of dethroning it. That's quite the testament to just how much of a volcanic hit Craven's 1996 film was at the time.