Nightmare on Elm Street Movies Ranked by Box Office Success

After accounting for inflation, the initial “Friday the 13th” film holds the record as the highest-earning “Friday the 13th” movie. In contrast, while the original “A Nightmare on Elm Street” movie was successful compared to other slasher films of its time, it took several sequels before Freddy Krueger could be compared to iconic villains like Darth Vader in discussions about cinema’s best antagonists. Ultimately, both Freddy Krueger and his movies were popular, although not all installments achieved the same level of success. Just as every major horror franchise experiences ups and downs, “Friday the 13th” was no exception, sharing this trend with franchises like “Halloween” and “Saw.

As a true film enthusiast, I can’t help but wonder about the box office success of the “A Nightmare on Elm Street” series. Let me share with you the ranking based on their adjusted gross earnings:

9) Wes Craven’s New Nightmare — $39.2 Million

Despite a rapid decline in Freddy’s box office popularity following its peak, the movie that showcased this descent, “A Nightmare on Elm Street 5: The Dream Child,” stood out as the top-earning slasher film of that particular year. Excluding “Pet Sematary,” it was the highest-grossing horror film of the year, regardless of its specific subgenre.

In a different way of saying, Wes Craven’s New Nightmare, despite having Craven back as director, Heather Langenkamp reprising her role as Nancy, and an innovative concept that blends reality and fiction, unfortunately didn’t succeed. Contrary to belief, it might have been the movie’s unique concept that led to its downfall. Interestingly enough, two years later, Craven himself scored a major success with the self-aware horror masterpiece Scream. Essentially, New Nightmare was a bit too avant-garde for its time by approximately 2 years. However, it didn’t fare well at all, and 1994 wasn’t an exceptionally busy year for horror films. Audiences simply weren’t keen on more Freddy Krueger in the ’90s, much like their disinterest in Jason Voorhees. The exception being when they appeared together on screen.

8) A Nightmare on Elm Street 5: The Dream Child — $57.4 Million

Two months following the box office success of “A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master,” the television series “Freddy’s Nightmares” commenced broadcasting (in syndication, rather than on a particular network). This was merely one instance demonstrating how Freddy Krueger had swiftly transformed into an independent franchise. However, there was inevitably a saturation point, driven by excessive exposure.

The movie that came after “The Dream Master” was actually “A Nightmare on Elm Street 5: The Dream Child”. Unfortunately, this film didn’t have the same level of energy or scope as the one before it, which led to a rather negative reaction from both critics and fans. As a result, it earned significantly less than its predecessor, suggesting that the “Nightmare” series might be losing momentum quite rapidly.

7) A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984) — $79.1 Million

Although some consider it Wes Craven’s finest work, “A Nightmare on Elm Street” fell short of becoming a full-fledged blockbuster in the 1980s. It did garner an audience, but it didn’t quite reach the success level of horror hits like “Friday the 13th,” which earned approximately $40 million in 1980’s currency contrasted to “Nightmare”‘s $25.6 million in 1984’s dollars. Nevertheless, it was enough to set the stage for a potential franchise, given New Line Cinema could pinpoint its main appeal. Of course, that charm lay primarily with Robert Englund’s portrayal of Freddy Krueger.

6) Freddy’s Dead: The Final Nightmare — $82.1 Million

Generally, when a film series’ latest release is advertised as its final part, there tends to be an increase in audience interest. Those who may have missed the previous installment might return to catch the conclusion of a story they’ve been following for some time. This pattern was observed with “Freddy’s Dead: The Final Nightmare,” which saw improved performance compared to “The Dream Child,” but still fell significantly short of the success enjoyed by “Dream Warriors” and “The Dream Master.

It’s worth noting that the film, not surprisingly, garnered the poorest reviews in the entire Elm Street franchise up until then. Previously, each installment of A Nightmare on Elm Street had generally received more positive criticism from critics compared to other major slasher series. For the majority of viewers, Freddy’s Dead didn’t fare well due to its overly comedic 3D presentation, and it didn’t perform as well financially as The Dream Child. However, it did manage to triple its production cost, which was an achievement that its predecessor couldn’t claim.

5) A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy’s Revenge — $89.4 Million

The film “A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy’s Revenge” stands out as something quite unusual within the series. It departs significantly from the rest of the franchise in terms of tone and storyline. At that time, New Line Cinema was still grappling with the concept of a movie where the protagonist rejects the antagonist, draining his power, transforming into a successful multi-part series. This is evident throughout the film, even in the climax where Freddy directly invades the real world and brutally murders a group of teenagers at a pool party.

As a movie critic, I must admit that Freddy’s Revenge certainly unearthed a profitable vein in the character of Freddy Krueger as the franchise’s chief antagonist. However, this sequel didn’t quite strike the right chord for me. Despite outperforming the original film at the box office, it’s important to note that the original movie grossed more than 30 times its production budget, whereas Freddy’s Revenge “only” managed to earn 10 times its initial investment.

4) A Nightmare on Elm Street (2010) — $92.8 Million

From one perspective, the 2010 version of “A Nightmare on Elm Street” was quite successful in its own right. However, it also demonstrated that Freddy Krueger just isn’t the same without Robert Englund. That might be why there hasn’t been another film in the series since then.

Compared to the time gap between traditional Freddy movies, it’s more appropriate to compare “A Nightmare on Elm Street” (2010) not to “Freddy’s Dead”, but to other remakes of popular horror franchises produced by Platinum Dunes. For instance, the 2003 version of “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre” was a massive success with earnings of $80.5 million (unadjusted for inflation). In comparison, both the 2009 “Friday the 13th” and the 2010 “A Nightmare on Elm Street” didn’t quite reach that level, earning approximately $65 million (in 2009 dollars) and $63 million (in 2010 dollars) respectively. While these numbers aren’t far off, they are still lower than the success of “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre”.

3) A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors — $126.5 Million

Unquestionably, one of the top-tier slasher sequels ever made, maybe even the greatest, “A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors” was exactly what the franchise required to get back on track, and it resonated with viewers. Similar to its precursor, “Dream Warriors” earned a staggering 10 times its (again boosted) production cost.

Due to positive feedback from critics, the film “Dream Warriors” proved to have a lasting appeal at the box office. This enduring success can be attributed to both a strategic release approach and strong audience recommendations (which in turn influenced the gradual release strategy). Unlike contemporary horror films like “Paranormal Activity” or “The Blair Witch Project,” word of mouth was less of a driving factor for the third installment of “Dream Warriors.” By this point, the viewer base had already been established and tended to remain consistent from the second film. However, “Dream Warriors” demonstrated that Freddy Krueger’s popularity was still on the rise. This upward trend was far from over.

2) A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master — $133.9 Million

In August, the movie “A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master” not only stood out as a significant horror film but also as a summer blockbuster. Its success was so remarkable that it ended up being the 19th highest-grossing movie of the year. It even outperformed films like “Young Guns”, “Dirty Rotten Scoundrels”, and “The Dead Pool” featuring Dirty Harry.

If you don’t include Beetlejuice in the horror genre, The Dream Master stood out as the top-earning horror movie of that year. It made a significant impact and suggested that the style and tempo from A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors were successful. However, it wasn’t quite as strong as Dream Warriors, and it marked the last major victory for Krueger before he faced off against Jason.

1) Freddy vs. Jason — $144 Million

The film titled “Freddy vs. Jason” wasn’t just another “Friday the 13th” movie or an “A Nightmare on Elm Street” movie. Instead, it served as a significant event in the horror genre, eagerly anticipated by fans of either franchise, or both. Essentially, it was the “Avengers” of horror films.

A film isn’t just an event film due to fanatic enthusiasm for the intellectual property (IP) alone. For instance, “Freddy vs. Jason” transcended the bounds of its IP fans and attracted viewers from other films like “Scream”, not forgetting those who were 17 in 2003. It’s intriguing that “Freddy vs. Jason” didn’t capitalize on its initial success with a sequel, as it could have been a wise investment despite the diminished novelty factor of a subsequent film. Regrettably, it seems too late for such a sequel now.

2025-06-05 02:11