20 Huge Horror Movie Hits NOBODY Expected

John Carpenter's Halloween was in no way expected to be a hit when it released in 1978.

Being an independent film produced for just $325,000 with an unknown cast and crew, not to mention a minimal marketing campaign, there just wasn't much hope for it. But Halloween's unique atmosphere and expertly executed suspense made it a word-of-mouth hit, allowing it to "leg out" in the weeks following release as horror fans flocked to see it.

Ultimately, Halloween grossed a superb $70 million worldwide, making it one of the most successful independent films of all time and helping popularise the burgeoning slasher genre that became horror's bread and butter throughout the 1980s. And this, of course, includes Halloween itself, which has to date released 13 films with a collective box office haul of $885 million, against a total budget of $143.3 million.

While the original Jamie Lee Curtis-led era of Halloween finally concluded in 2022 with Halloween Ends, by 2023, Miramax had secured the rights to a TV series, so we clearly won't be going too long without seeing Michael Myers again.