The Movie That Didn't Look Like a Hit
The really remarkable thing about Halloween is that it didn't initially look like the movie that would become one of horror's defining franchises.
It was cheap.
It was independent.
It didn't have a major movie star leading the cast.
And it was being released alongside movies featuring people like Jack Nicholson, James Caan, Jane Fonda and Michael Jackson.
Yet the movie caught on.
Fast.
Word of mouth helped turn Halloween into a major box-office success.
A film made for roughly $325,000 would eventually earn around $47 million domestically.
That's an absolutely ridiculous return.
Imagine investing $325,000 into a movie and watching it become one of the most influential horror films ever made.
That's not a successful business decision.
That's a cinematic lottery ticket.
And somehow, Carpenter had the winning numbers.
