On This Day

Halloween released

October 25th 1978

09:47 October 25 2024

John Carpenter's 'Halloween' opened in theaters in the US and Canada on this day in 1978. The film received praise for Carpenter's direction and score and is considered the first in a long line of slasher movies inspired by 'Psycho' (1960) and 'Black Christmas' (1974).

Filmed in 20 days over a four-week period on a budget of just $325,000, Carpenter received $10,000 for directing, writing and composing the music but retained rights to 10% of the films profits. This proved to be a shrewd move with the picture going on to gross $70 million at the box office, making it one of the most profitable independent films of all time.

'Halloween' began a franchise of thirteen films to date that shows no sign of letting up with the recently released 'Halloween Kills' (2021)  and 'Halloween Ends' (2022).