Ranking: 20 Highest Grossing Horror Movies Of All Time

3. The Silence Of The Lambs

Silence Of The Lambs
Orion Pictures

Box Office: $272.7 million (#14)

Speaking of horror movies and the Oscars, Jonathan Demme's genre masterpiece remains the only horror film to win the Best Picture Oscar, and is one of just three films in history to win the Big Five awards at the Oscars (Best Picture, Director, Screenplay, Actor and Actress).

About as unsettling as mainstream horror movies get, The Silence of the Lambs makes good on Anthony Hopkins' unforgettable performance as Hannibal Lecter and Jodie Foster's gutsy work as Clarice Starling to make this an uncommonly character-driven entry into the genre.

Dripping with tension in every frame, Demme's film manages to juggle its psychological terror with more literal horror to deeply chilling effect, and rightly remains one of the genre's best-executed efforts to date.

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Stay at home dad who spends as much time teaching his kids the merits of Martin Scorsese as possible (against the missus' wishes). General video game, TV and film nut. Occasional sports fan. Full time loon.