Ranking: 20 Highest Grossing Horror Movies Of All Time

2. Jaws

Jaws Vertigo Zoom
Universal

Box Office: $470.7 million (#3)

Steven Spielberg's peerless horror-thriller has an inestimable legacy, not only kick-starting the blockbuster filmmaking model which still thrives today, but serving as a two-hour masterclass in how to exploit minimalism for maximum visceral effect.

While Spielberg's choice to show little of the shark antagonist may have been more down to technical limitations than anything, it was ultimately a happy accident that keeps the viewer in a state of high anxiety throughout, while Roy Scheider, Richard Dreyfuss and especially Robert Shaw's performances lend plenty of personality to the insanity, and John Williams' unforgettable musical score speak for itself.

Though the "shark movie" is mostly a laughing stock these days with very few exceptions, the original laid a perfect template for taut blockbuster filmmaking, and remains an unassailable classic today regardless of genre.

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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.