NEW YORK聽鈥 The dog days of summer have traditionally been prime time for retailers to stock shelves with folders, lunch boxes and backpacks. But suddenly those items are sharing real estate with skeletons, witches and ghosts.
Coming right on the heels of last year鈥檚 , welcome to Summerween.
Many big-box retailers are getting into spooky season earlier than ever before, and consumers can鈥檛 get enough of it.
A Halloween decoration made by Disney sits on display for shoppers in a Costco warehouse Sunday, July 28, in Sheridan, Colorado.
David Zalubowski/AP via CNN Newsource
Popularized by the animated mystery Disney TV show 鈥淕ravity Falls,鈥 TikTok users are showcasing their Summerween parties with watermelon-carved jack-o鈥-lanterns, coffin-shaped ice cream sandwiches and skeletons propped up on pool floats.
But all the excitement to get a jump start on Halloween comes as consumers are showing more . They鈥檙e running through their savings and taking on record levels of as they contend with high prices and a cooling labor market. As a result, consumers are pulling back on purchases from burgers at McDonald鈥檚 to .
And yet, the tap just keeps flowing and flowing for Halloween, experts say, suggesting consumers have more gas in the tank, at least for some purchases.
鈥淚f retailers were worried that, 鈥極h my goodness, this consumer is drying up,鈥 the last thing they would buy is a bunch of huge pumpkins,鈥 said Laura Champine, senior consumer analyst at Loop Capital Markets. If that were the case, you鈥檇 see more retailers pushing consumer staples like trash bags, cleaning supplies and light bulbs, she said.
At the same time, the early Halloween push could be part of a strategy to try to attract more shoppers with the line of thinking that 鈥渋f they鈥檙e not spending in one area, maybe they鈥檒l spend on this,鈥 said Joe Feldman, a senior retail analyst at Telsey Advisory Group.
And throughout the year so far 鈥 be it Valentine鈥檚 Day, Mother鈥檚 Day or July 4th 鈥 seasonal goods 鈥渉ave been the one area where people have let themselves splurge a little bit on some discretionary goods,鈥 he told CNN.
Tricking consumers into treating themselves more 鈥淚t鈥檚 clear that consumers have been interested in buying Halloween products earlier and earlier,鈥 said Champine. A Costco store she visited in Los Angeles started testing out some Halloween merchandise around March. In April, she visited a Costco in New York and saw the same products. 鈥淭hey only rolled it out because it was selling well.鈥 (Costco didn鈥檛 respond to CNN鈥檚 inquiry.)
Michaels said it started selling Halloween goods in June, the earliest the retailer has ever done so.
鈥淐onsumer demand drives the launch of our seasonal collections, and it came earlier than ever this year for Halloween,鈥 John Gehre, chief merchandising officer at Michaels, said in a statement provided to CNN. The initial launch of Halloween goods at Michaels 鈥渉as been consistently beating our internal expectations,鈥 he added.
It underscores how even though consumers may want to cut back on spending, 鈥渋n the actual moment, such as when Halloween products are marketing early, they may actually splurge instead,鈥 Kelsey Robinson, a senior partner at McKinsey, said.
Meanwhile, Home Depot鈥檚 senior merchant overseeing holiday decor, Lance Allen, said over the last two years the retailer started selling Halloween goods online beginning in April 鈥渇ueled by high demand.鈥 But in stores, it won鈥檛 start stocking Halloween merchandise until around Labor Day 鈥渢o ensure consistency year after year,鈥 Allen said.
The spooky holiday, a bright spot for home improvement stores like Home Depot and Lowe鈥檚, comes as they鈥檝e been over the past few years following the COVID renovation boom as more people bought homes. Now with elevated mortgage rates and home prices, fewer people are moving. That鈥檚 translating into fewer sales.
As a result, these retailers are even more worried about having unsold Halloween items come November that they鈥檒l be forced to mark down, Champine told CNN. By selling Halloween goods earlier, they鈥檙e likely hoping it鈥檒l decrease the likelihood of having to discount, she added. Home Depot said its Halloween strategy 鈥渉as remained the same for the last few years.鈥 Lowe鈥檚 declined to comment beyond sharing Google search data for 鈥淗alloween.鈥
Still, just because consumers have increasingly jumped at the opportunity to get an earlier start at Halloween shopping doesn鈥檛 mean it鈥檒l stay this way forever, said Feldman.
鈥淎t some point, it could snap back.鈥
Highest-grossing movies released on Halloween weekend
Highest-grossing movies released on Halloween weekend
Halloween weekend might seem like the perfect time to catch a flick that will keep you on the edge of your seat and make you grip the person next to you. And it's true, there have been lots of horror films that have dominated the box office around those final days of October when the appetite for "fright nights" is at an all-time high.
But Halloween also offers an interesting time for studios to release other types of movies that don't fit into the "summer blockbuster" mold or the feel-good, family-friendly films that start rolling out during the holiday season in November and December.
The most successful box office hits around that period haven't necessarily offered the biggest chills and thrills. compiled a ranking of the highest-grossing movies in the U.S. on Halloween weekend from the last 40 years, using聽. Box office gross figures are adjusted for inflation. All films in theaters during the years when Halloween landed between Friday and Sunday were considered.
Whether you're a certified screamfest streamer, a creature feature newbie, or a genre-inclusive cinephile, you may be surprised by the movies that dominated Halloween box office weekends from the early 1980s until 2022. Read on to see the top 20, and be warned, some spoilers are ahead.
Touchstone Pictures/Sunset Boulevard/Corbis via Getty Images
#20. Devil's Advocate
- Halloween weekend domestic gross: $17,979,416
- Total domestic gross: $121,800,332
- Genre: Horror
- Run time: 144 minutes
- Release date: Oct. 17, 1997
- Cast: Keanu Reeves, Al Pacino, Charlize Theron
While more of a supernatural thriller than a horror movie per se, "Devil's Advocate" has one element that makes for a spine-chilling moviegoing experience during the Halloween season: the demon from down below, Satan himself.
Demonic apparitions, boiling holy water, and hallucinations helped make this R-rated release a hit beyond its opening weekend earlier in October. Audiences were clamoring to see Al Pacino as the Prince of Darkness in the lead role, surrounded by a stellar cast including Keanu Reeves (in between "Speed" and "The Matrix") and Charlize Theron, in one of her earliest roles.
Galella/Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images
#19. Red Corner
- Halloween weekend domestic gross: $18,064,850
- Total domestic gross: $44,830,232
- Genre: Thriller/Suspense
- Run time: 122 minutes
- Release date: Oct. 31, 1997
- Cast: Richard Gere, Bai Ling, Bradley Whitford
The 1997 spooky season contributed three entries to this top-grossing Halloween weekend movies list鈥攊ncluding "Red Corner," a whodunit film released on All Hallows' Eve. This Richard Gere-led thriller was a pivot for director Jon Avnet, who'd been at the helm of the 1991 dramedy "Fried Green Tomatoes."
While ghosts and goblins are notably absent from this Halloween release, "Red Corner" does revolve around a murder鈥攁nd a blood-curdling scream that implicates the main character. The plot thickens as he partners up with his lawyer (portrayed by Bai Ling) to unravel the mystery of how he was framed鈥攁nd who actually did it.
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer/Getty Images
#18. Fatal Attraction
- Halloween weekend domestic gross: $18,354,470
- Total domestic gross: $365,196,992
- Genre: Thriller/Suspense
- Run time: 120 minutes
- Release date: Sept. 18, 1987
- Cast: Michael Douglas, Glenn Close, Anne Archer
"Fatal Attraction" had already been in theaters for more than a month by the time Halloween rolled around in 1987鈥攁nd its box-office longevity helped the erotic thriller spend eight weeks at #1. The film terrified audiences with its story of a woman (portrayed by Glenn Close) who relentlessly pursued a married man (portrayed by Michael Douglas) she had a weekend affair with.
In what one Hollywood Reporter critic called a "" movie, the spurned lover takes her pursuit further than audiences expected鈥攂y (now infamously) boiling a pet rabbit in a pot in just one of the film's horrifying moments. According to The Washington Post, the , who jumped from their seats in terror.
Sunset Boulevard/Corbis via Getty Images
#17. Dune
- Halloween weekend domestic gross: $18,423,810
- Total domestic gross: $109,676,342
- Genre: Action
- Run time: 156 minutes
- Release date: Oct. 22, 2021
- Cast: Timoth茅e Chalamet, Zendaya, Rebecca Ferguson
In 2021, director Denis Villeneuve treated sci-fi fans to an adaptation of the 1965 Frank Herbert novel "Dune." It was the third such retelling of the book, after a 1984 David Lynch feature and 2000 TV miniseries.
The 2021 iteration starred Oscar-nominated heartthrob Timoth茅e Chalamet and two-time Emmy-winner Zendaya, among others. The movie's box office success was particularly impressive since the COVID-19 pandemic bumped its planned debut from late 2020, and it was released in theaters and on HBO Max at the same time.
It ended up being a win for the studio behind the film, Warner Brothers, which got its most significant release since 2019 with "Dune"鈥攖hanks, in part, to an aggressive campaign that encouraged audiences to see it in IMAX (or the biggest screen they could find).
Alessandra Benedetti - Corbis/Corbis // Getty Images
#16. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre
- Halloween weekend domestic gross: $20,093,875
- Total domestic gross: $122,523,204
- Genre: Horror
- Run time: 98 minutes
- Release date: Oct. 17, 2003
- Cast: Andrew Bryniarski, Jessica Biel, Jonathan Tucker
The version of "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre" that hit the big screen in 2003 was a remake of the Tobe Hooper-directed original from 1974鈥攚hich, according to Time, "."
Over the nearly three decades after the original film's release, its villain, Leatherface, had become part of what one Entertainment Weekly critic called "." Given the remake's box office success, it's clear that audiences hadn't had enough of the killer-on-the-loose subgenre of scary movies鈥攐r of "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre" franchise, considering this was the fifth installment.
Kevin Winter // Getty Images
#15. Vampires
- Halloween weekend domestic gross: $21,746,861
- Total domestic gross: $39,581,095
- Genre: Horror
- Run time: 108 minutes
- Release date: Oct. 30, 1998
- Cast: Sheryl Lee, James Woods, Daniel Baldwin
Director John Carpenter was a seasoned horror director by the time "Vampires" hit theaters in 1998; he was previously at the helm of the Stephen King adaptation "Christine," the classic "The Thing," and, perhaps most notably, "Halloween."
"Vampires," based on a novel by John Steakley, involves a team of vampire hunters coming upon a nest of blood-suckers and embarking on a journey to chase down and destroy their master鈥攁s well as the victims who get "turned" along the way. The movie鈥攃onsidered a horror Western鈥攃hallenged audiences' expectations of charming, seductive vampires with a harsher, more grotesque take.
Columbia Pictures // Getty Images
#14. The Nightmare Before Christmas
- Halloween weekend domestic gross: $22,217,328
- Total domestic gross: $144,665,342
- Genre: Musical
- Run time: 76 minutes
- Release date: Oct. 13, 1993
- Cast: Chris Sarandon, Catherine O'Hara, Paul Reubens
The stop-motion animation feature film by Tim Burton leveraged its spookiness rather than its Christmas charm to bring moviegoers into theaters during the Halloween season of 1993.
The protagonist of "The Nightmare Before Christmas" is a singing skeleton named Jack Skellington who dreams of giving up his macabre existence and transforming Halloween Town鈥攔eplete with bats, pumpkin heads, a mummy boy, and a ghost dog named Zero鈥攊nto a land of seasonal cheer. He goes so far as to kidnap Santa Claus from Christmas Town and transform himself into "Sandy Claws"鈥攂ut it doesn't go as planned when Jack fails to heed the warnings of clairvoyant rag doll Sally (voiced by Catherine O'Hara).
Touchstone Pictures/Sunset Boulevard/Corbis via Getty Images
#13. I Know What You Did Last Summer
- Halloween weekend domestic gross: $22,952,182
- Total domestic gross: $144,265,108
- Genre: Horror
- Release date: Oct. 17, 1997
- Cast: Jennifer Love Hewitt, Ryan Phillippe, Sarah Michelle Gellar
By the time "I Know What You Did Last Summer" was released in theaters in 1997, co-writer Kevin Williamson had already made a name for himself in the horror genre鈥攈aving penned the wildly successful "Scream" franchise in 1996. Like "Scream," "I Know What You Did Last Summer" fell into the teen slasher movie genre鈥攚ith career-launching performances from Ryan Phillippe, Freddie Prinze, Jr., Sarah Michelle Gellar (who also began starring on the TV series "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" that same year), and Jennifer Love Hewitt (who was starring on the teen TV drama "Party of Five" at the time).
The plot device鈥攁 group of teenagers covering up an accidental killing and then a serial killer hunting them鈥攕pawned not only a franchise with two sequels ("I Still Know What You Did Last Summer" in 1998 and "I'll Always Know What You Did Last Summer" in 2006) but also a parody film with the 2000 release of "Scary Movie."
Columbia Pictures/Getty Images
#12. Paranormal Activity 2
- Halloween weekend domestic gross: $23,433,558
- Total domestic gross: $113,110,670
- Genre: Horror
- Run time: 91 minutes
- Release date: Oct. 20, 2010
- Cast: Katie Featherston, Micah Sloat, Brian Boland
"Paranormal Activity 2" was the sequel to the extremely successful, low-budget 2007 film "Paranormal Activity"鈥攂ut it couldn't quite outdo the original's performance at the box office. Both films used the same found-footage convention that transformed the horror genre when it was used to great effect in "The Blair Witch Project" in 1999.
While the "Paranormal Activity" franchise kept audiences leaping out of their seats with plenty of traditional means, like jump scares (thanks to objects launching across the room seemingly on their own), it also set in motion the groundbreaking use of security cam footage and night vision. The storyline of the second volume overlaps with that of the first, although the whole connection between the two isn't revealed until the film approaches its scream-inducing finale.
Frazer Harrison/Getty Images For Paramount
#11. High School Musical 3: Senior Year
- Halloween weekend domestic gross: $23,891,370
- Total domestic gross: $115,640,486
- Genre: Musical
- Run time: 112 minutes
- Release date: Oct. 24, 2008
- Cast: Zac Efron, Vanessa Hudgens, Ashley Tisdale
Disney's "High School Musical 3: Senior Year" offered a healthy dose of counterprogramming during the Halloween season of 2008, when it was up against the horror sequel "Saw V" and the action thriller "Max Payne." The timing of the release was perhaps a relic of the original plan for the third film in the franchise鈥"Haunted High School Musical"鈥攚hich never came to fruition.
Instead, "HSM3," as fans would call it, centered on the high school student characters graduating and going off to college. But it had something else going for it, too: It was the first film in the wildly successful Disney Channel franchise to receive a theatrical release. And given that fans were promised it would be the final installment in the series, it was the first, last, and only chance to see the East High students on the big screen.
Antony Jones/UK Press via Getty Images
#10. Paranormal Activity
- Halloween weekend domestic gross: $24,471,742
- Total domestic gross: $151,513,559
- Genre: Horror
- Run time: 96 minutes
- Release date: Sept. 25, 2009
- Cast: Micah Sloat, Katie Featherston, Mark Fredrichs
"Paranormal Activity" tells the chilling story of a possible demonic presence in an everyday suburban home through surveillance footage. The movie puts audiences in the position of flies on the wall when things start to turn supernatural with the two lead characters, Katie and Micah (portrayed by relatively unknown actors Katie Featherston and Micah Sloat, using their real first names).
Katie claims to have been haunted by something since childhood鈥攁nd the more she and Micah try to figure out what's causing all the disturbances in their home, the worse they get. Midnight screenings helped propel this horror film through the spooky season, though it was first released in theaters more than a month before Halloween.
Lawrence K. Ho/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images
#9. Halloween II
- Halloween weekend domestic gross: $30,928,262
- Total domestic gross: $84,224,854
- Genre: Horror
- Run time: 92 minutes
- Release date: Oct. 30, 1981
- Cast: Jamie Lee Curtis, Donald Pleasance, Charles Cyphers
"Halloween II" picks up right where the 1978 "Halloween" film left off鈥攚ith serial killer Michael Myers again pursuing local teenager Laurie Strode (portrayed by Jamie Lee Curtis). When the sequel begins, she's in the hospital because of the injuries she sustained from surviving Myers' last attack in the first film. It's a continuation of the "final girl" trope established in the first "Halloween." While the antagonist continues to stalk Laurie, he kills several people who hinder him along the way.
In another classic element of horror movies, Myers can't seem to die鈥攎aking "Halloween II" the second in a long series of 13 films, most recently including 2022's "Halloween Ends."
Compass International Pictures/Getty Images
#8. Saw
- Halloween weekend domestic gross: $32,962,395
- Total domestic gross: $82,357,411
- Genre: Horror
- Run time: 103 minutes
- Release date: Oct. 29, 2004
- Cast: Cary Elwes, Danny Glover, Monica Potter
Costing just $1.2 million to make, "Saw" became a massive hit and went on to be one of the most successful horror franchises ever, with nine sequels as of 2023. The first film was shot primarily on the set of a locked bathroom over just 18 days, helping to stick to the tight budget.
The result is a psychological thriller combined with the gore of a slasher film鈥攁nd with the twist that the antagonist, the Jigsaw Killer (also known simply as "Jigsaw"), gives each character an impossible choice during the games he plays with his victims.
L. Busacca/WireImage
#7. Saw 3D
- Halloween weekend domestic gross: $34,395,110
- Total domestic gross: $61,004,828
- Genre: Horror
- Run time: 91 minutes
- Release date: Oct. 29, 2010
- Cast: Tobin Bell, Costas Mandylor, Betsy Russell
"Saw 3D" isn't the third installment in the "Saw" franchise, but rather the seventh, a sequel to "Saw VI." The movie earned its name because it employed RealD 3D technology, pushing its $17 million production budget鈥攁 stratospheric rise from the $1.2 million spent on "Saw."
The plot follows the main character from the first installment in the series, Dr. Lawrence Gordon (portrayed by Cary Elwes), who previously hacked off his foot to escape death at the hands of Jigsaw.
Kevin Winter/Getty Images
#6. Michael Jackson's This Is It
- Halloween weekend domestic gross: $34,696,693
- Total domestic gross: $101,215,782
- Genre: Documentary
- Run time: 111 minutes
- Release date: Oct. 28, 2009
- Cast: Michael Jackson, Kenny Ortega, Michael Bearden
A concert documentary is not necessarily what you might consider Halloween weekend movie fare, but Michael Jackson's death in June 2009 certainly gave an eeriness to this film. Released right before Halloween 2009, "Michael Jackson's This Is It" looks behind the scenes at the King of Pop's planned concert residency at London's O2 Arena, originally scheduled to kick off 18 days before his unexpected death.
The movie became the second-highest-grossing concert film of all time. It also served as a swan song for the pop star who had become a bona fide Halloween icon, thanks to the 1983 release of his zombie-themed "Thriller" music video.
Dominique Charriau/WireImage
#5. House on Haunted Hill
- Halloween weekend domestic gross: $35,156,610
- Total domestic gross: $73,695,008
- Genre: Horror
- Run time: 92 minutes
- Release date: Oct. 29, 1999
- Cast: Geoffrey Rush, Taye Diggs, Ali Larter
Based on the 1959 version of "House on Haunted Hill" directed by William Castle and starring Vincent Price, the 1999 iteration also involves a group of guests invited to try to survive the night in a former psychiatric institute burned down by patients in protest nearly 70 years prior.
In the original, the guests vie to win $10,000鈥攚hile in the remake, the stakes are $1 million. As you might expect, the partygoers are dying to get rich鈥攆iguratively and literally.
Djamilla Rosa Cochran/Getty Images
#4. Brother Bear
- Halloween weekend domestic gross: $36,041,510
- Total domestic gross: $129,683,525
- Genre: Adventure
- Release date: Oct. 24, 2003
- Cast: Joaquin Phoenix, Jeremy Suarez, Rick Moranis
Another unexpected entry on this list is Walt Disney Pictures' animated family feature "Brother Bear," a G-rated alternative to the more adult-oriented movies released in theaters at the same time.
It's now notable as one of the last of its kind in the Disney animation world as a final entry in the 2D, hand-drawn style that the studio moved away from in favor of the 3D, computer-generated look and feel of Pixar (whose "Finding Nemo" was also released in 2003).
Jim Spellman/WireImage for Miramax // Getty
#3. Ray
- Halloween weekend domestic gross: $36,142,512
- Total domestic gross: $111,030,397
- Genre: Drama
- Run time: 152 minutes
- Release date: Oct. 29, 2004
- Cast: Jamie Foxx, Kerry Washington, Regina King
"Ray" is a music biopic about singer/musician Ray Charles, who died in June 2004, just months before the film's debut.
The film's critical acclaim helped it achieve incredible commercial success upon its Halloween weekend release鈥攚ith accolades coming from many major media outlets. The praise was exceptionally high for actor Jamie Foxx's portrayal of the film's subject, which earned him the Academy Award for Best Actor in 2005.
J. Vespa/WireImage
#2. Scary Movie 3
- Halloween weekend domestic gross: $37,180,035
- Total domestic gross: $167,261,130
- Genre: Comedy
- Run time: 85 minutes
- Release date: Oct. 24, 2003
- Cast: Anna Faris, Charlie Sheen, Regina Hall
The only film in the "Scary Movie" horror spoof franchise to make this list is "Scary Movie 3," which shifted its attention to poking fun at "The Ring," "Signs," and even some nonhorror subjects like "8 Mile" and "The Matrix" franchise.
Shawn, Marlon, and Keenan Ivory Wayans created the series, but the brothers were not part of the third installment, reportedly getting fired by Harvey and Bob Weinstein. "Scary Movie 3" introduced some new faces to the franchise, including Pamela Anderson, Charlie Sheen, Kevin Hart, and Jenny McCarthy.
Dave Hogan/Getty Images
#1. The Grudge
- Halloween weekend domestic gross: $39,348,971
- Total domestic gross: $162,962,207
- Genre: Horror
- Run time: 92 minutes
- Release date: Oct. 22, 2004
- Cast: Sarah Michelle Gellar, Jason Behr, Bill Pullman
By May 2004, actor Sarah Michelle Gellar had wrapped up her seven-season run on "Buffy the Vampire Slayer"鈥攁nd with the release of "The Grudge" five months later, she traded immortal blood drinkers for supernatural curses.
The film is a remake of a Japanese horror original鈥攆ollowing in the tradition of "The Ring" in 2002, the American version of Japan's 1998 movie "Ringu." One of the producers who helped bring it to U.S. audiences was none other than Sam Raimi, the director of the 1981 cult horror classic "The Evil Dead."
Data reporting by Karim Noorani. Story editing by Jaimie Etkin. Copy editing by Kristen Wegrzyn.
This story originally appeared on Casino Bonus Canada and was produced and distributed in partnership with Stacker Studio.
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