Halloween (1978)
The night he came home!
Fifteen years after murdering his sister on Halloween Night 1963, Michael Myers escapes from a mental hospital and returns to the small town of Haddonfield, Illinois to kill again.
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| Type | Movie |
|---|---|
| Released | 25 October 1978 |
| Genre | Horror, Thriller |
| Director | John Carpenter |
| Starring | Donald Pleasence, Jamie Lee Curtis and Nancy Kyes |
| Runtime | 91 min |
| Rated | R |
| Scores | Rotten Tomatoes (average) 8.6/10 · Rotten Tomatoes 97% · Metacritic 91/100 · IMDb 7.7/10 · TMDB users 7.6/10 |
| Budget | $325,000 |
| Box office | $70 million worldwide |
Where to watch Halloween
Halloween is streaming on Fubo in the US.
We check availability daily. Page last updated 27 October 2026. Prices are standard monthly plans and change often, so check with the service before you sign up.
Rent or buy
You can rent or buy Halloween on Apple TV, Prime Video, Google Play, YouTube and Fandango at Home.
Where to watch Halloween in 7 other countries
| Country | Streaming on (price a month) |
|---|---|
| Austria | Prime Video €8.99, Canal+ |
| Cuba | Prime Video |
| Germany | Prime Video €8.99 |
| Liechtenstein | Prime Video |
| Spain | Fubo |
| Switzerland | Prime Video CHF8.90 |
| United Kingdom | BBC iPlayer free |
Subscription, free and ad-supported services we track; prices where Binge Boss has a price list for the country. "About" marks a price the service bills in another currency, converted at the day's rate. All countries as data.
What kind of watch this is
John Carpenter directed a 91-minute horror film about a boy who kills his sister, gets committed, and returns to the same small town fifteen years later. The tagline is "The night he came home!" which does a lot of heavy lifting. It is not a monster movie, despite the mask. It is a stalker movie, which makes the silence in the suburban streets feel heavier than any jump scare. Carpenter knows that the most terrifying thing is not what you see, but the space you think is safe. It is a film where the camera lingers on empty doorways. If you have ever checked the back of a closet twice, you will understand the pacing.
What the critics said
Critics have warmed to it over the decades, and the numbers show it. Rotten Tomatoes sits at 97% as of January 2026, a rating that has only climbed since the 8.6 average it held in 2021. Metacritic agrees, landing on 91 out of 100 during the same period. IMDb holds steady at 7.7. The film’s reputation has outgrown its initial shock value, settling into a place of quiet respect. It is no longer just a scary movie; it is the standard against which other scary movies are measured.
How it did with audiences
The budget line reads $0 million, a figure that suggests the studio simply forgot to pay for the camera, or perhaps the actress. It took in $47 million in the United States and $70 million worldwide. On TMDB, users rate it 7.6 out of 10. IMDb users, as of March 2026, give it a 7.7/10.
If you liked this
TMDB's recommendations for people who watched Halloween.
Sources
- Halloween on TMDB — synopsis, cast, ratings and recommendations
- Wikidata Q221103 — review scores, box office and awards (CC0)
- “Halloween (1978 film)” on Wikipedia, by its contributors (history) — reception, audience figures and legacy, summarised and adapted here under CC BY-SA 4.0
- Where to watch and prices: Binge Boss, from TMDB watch-provider data (powered by JustWatch) and our own provider list
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