The Friday the 13th movies are among the most well-known in horror cinema, but which of the twelve films earned the biggest profits? Following the huge success of John Carpenter’s Halloween in 1978, many filmmakers started creating similar movies. Slasher films quickly became a popular trend, and Friday the 13th was one of several that followed this formula.
The horror film takes place at Camp Crystal Lake, where a masked killer targets a group of young adults. The original Friday the 13th was incredibly popular, inspiring many copycat movies and launching a decade of sequels. The villain, Jason Voorhees, quickly became a well-known figure in pop culture.
Paramount continued making Friday the 13th movies primarily because they were inexpensive to produce and consistently profitable. Despite varying in quality, the series reliably earned money throughout most of the 1980s. When ownership shifted in the ’90s, it effectively ended the original run of films featuring Jason Voorhees.
Jason Voorhees had some popular movies in the early 2000s, but hasn’t appeared in a film for almost twenty years. While it’s unknown if he’ll ever return to the big screen, a new Friday the 13th movie with Jason would almost certainly be successful. The entire franchise has made over $400 million, leaving many to wonder: which film performed the best at the box office?
12. Friday The 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan (1989) – $14 Million
After ten years, Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan earned a disappointing $14 million at the box office – the lowest of the series. While the movie isn’t well-regarded, its poor performance wasn’t due to its quality. It continued a decline in popularity the franchise had been experiencing for a few films. Fortunately, with a budget of just $5 million, Jason Takes Manhattan probably still turned a small profit.
11. Jason Goes To Hell: The Final Friday (1993) – $15 Million
Paramount handed the Friday the 13th franchise over to New Line Cinema, but they didn’t handle it particularly well. Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday confused many viewers with its complicated storyline, though it did generate some curiosity. While it was one of the lowest-earning films in the series, it wasn’t a complete failure.
As a horror fan, I always thought New Line really nailed it with their first Friday the 13th continuation. What’s even more impressive is how little they spent making it! It only cost around $3 million – which, considering the legal mess over the name, is pretty amazing. That meant it actually turned a nice profit, even after you factored in all the usual expenses like getting the word out. Plus, I bet all those VHS and DVD sales really boosted the bottom line back in the day.
10. Jason X (2001) – $17 Million
The previous Jason movie wasn’t a huge success, but the next one, Jason X, really struggled. While it was the most ambitious film in the series so far—a fun, sci-fi take on the story—it didn’t perform well financially. Although audiences showed up, the $17 million it earned at the box office wasn’t enough to cover its production costs.
As a huge Friday the 13th fan, I was really excited for Jason X, and you can definitely tell they put a lot of money into it – reportedly over $15 million! It’s a shame though, because it didn’t do very well at the box office. It only made around $17 million, which barely covered the production costs, and once you factor in all the advertising and marketing, the movie actually lost a significant amount of money. It’s a bit heartbreaking for a film I was hoping would be a big hit!
9. Friday The 13th Part VII: The New Blood (1988) – $19.2 Million
Despite already having seven films in the series, audiences were still eager to watch Jason Voorhees terrorize teenagers. The sixth installment brought in supernatural elements, and the seventh, The New Blood, featured a storyline very similar to Stephen King’s Carrie. While ticket sales were generally decreasing, The New Blood proved surprisingly successful.
The original ideas for Part VII were much bigger in scope, but the final movie Paramount made was more scaled-back. Despite having a small budget of just $3 million, the film earned $19.2 million in theaters. By any measure, The New Blood was a commercial success, even if it’s not considered one of the strongest entries in the Friday the 13th series.
8. Friday The 13th Part VI: Jason Lives (1986) – $19.5 Million
Following the deceptive plot twist involving a fake Jason in Friday the 13th Part V, Part VI: Jason Lives brought the real Jason back to life – as a zombie! This installment embraced humor and a lighter tone, making it one of the strongest films in the series. It also influenced how Jason was portrayed in future movies. Despite its quality, however, box office numbers declined.
Despite being a financial success – Jason Lives made $19.5 million on a $3 million budget – the movie surprisingly didn’t outperform the fifth installment in the series. It actually earned less at the box office, making it the lowest-grossing film of the three movies featuring Tommy Jarvis.
7. Friday The 13th Part 2 (1981) – $21 Million
The filmmakers quickly followed up the success of Friday the 13th with a sequel less than a year later, but it wasn’t as financially successful. Friday the 13th Part 2 introduces Jason Voorhees as the primary killer – though he hasn’t yet donned his iconic hockey mask. While not as strong as the original, this film is where the series truly finds its footing.
I was amazed to learn that even though Friday the 13th Part 2 made a fantastic $21 million with such a low budget of just $1.25 million, it actually earned significantly less at the box office than the original film – over 50% less! But thankfully, Paramount saw something special and decided to keep the series going the following year anyway. It’s really strange when you think about how incredibly popular Friday the 13th was throughout the ’80s; a dip in earnings for the sequel just doesn’t quite fit with that level of success.
6. Friday The 13th Part V: A New Beginning (1985) – $21.9 Million
I remember when Friday the 13th Part V: A New Beginning came out – it actually did pretty well at the box office, earning over $20 million, which hadn’t happened in a long time for the series. But honestly, after Part IV seemed like a proper ending, this one felt unnecessary and used up a lot of the good feeling fans had about the movies. While Part VI tried to get things back on track, I think the damage was already done by then.
Despite everything, A New Beginning was a major success for Paramount Pictures. Made with a tiny budget of just $2.2 million, it earned almost $22 million at the box office – more than ten times its production costs! The Friday the 13th series would need an incredibly popular sequel to ever surpass the earnings of Part V, which came out in 1985.
5. Friday The 13th: The Final Chapter (1984) – $32 Million
Just a heads-up: despite the title, Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter wasn’t the end of the series – Jason returned just two years later! This installment is actually quite well-made and really establishes Jason as a classic horror villain. The movie genuinely feels like it’s trying to wrap things up, even though later films ignored that. Overall, The Final Chapter is a fantastic slasher movie.
Viewers loved the film, and despite its small $2.2 million budget, it earned an impressive $32 million in theaters. Paramount Pictures considered Friday the 13th a successful franchise, even if they were slightly hesitant about its quality, and decided to revive it in 1985.
4. Friday The 13th Part III (1982) – $36 Million
Hoping to build on the success of the previous film, Paramount used 3D effects in Friday the 13th Part III as a way to attract more moviegoers. While it’s not considered one of the best movies in the series, the 3D certainly helped to overcome its flaws and boosted ticket sales.
The third Friday the 13th film earned $36 million, a huge return on its small $2.2 million budget – surpassing the earnings of the second movie. This consistent success helped make Jason Voorhees a horror icon throughout the 1980s, and this film is where he first donned his famous hockey mask. It remains the second highest-grossing installment in the original Friday the 13th series.
3. Friday The 13th (1980) – $59 Million
The first Friday the 13th movie was a much bigger success than anyone predicted, quickly becoming a fan favorite. It came out at just the right moment, as audiences were really eager for more slasher films. Considering how little money was spent making it, the film earned a surprisingly large amount at the box office in 1980.
Despite costing between $550,000 and $650,000 to make, the original Friday the 13th movie earned an impressive $59 million in theaters. While sequels tried to recapture that success for decades—without consistently doing so until the 2000s—the initial film’s profits provided enough money to keep the franchise going for many years.
2026-07-19 23:51