Nearly 50 years after its 1978 debut, John Carpenter’s “Halloween” returns to the big screen worldwide this fall.
The seminal slasher that introduced Michael Myers will play in hundreds of U.S. theaters across nearly 2,000 screenings, starting as early as this week, while simultaneously expanding to 12 international markets. More than 180 international screenings are set for this October, with additional dates added regularly across Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Chile, France, Germany, Italy, Mexico, the Netherlands, Norway and the United Kingdom.
“Few films have endured the way Halloween has,” said Malek Akkad, CEO of Trancas International Films. “Nearly fifty years after its release, audiences still want to experience it together in a theatre, and new fans discover it every year. This is a fantastic celebration of an independent film that became a cornerstone of horror and continues to find its audience.”
Written by Carpenter and Debra Hill, the classic begins on Halloween night in 1963, when six-year-old Michael Myers brutally murders his 17-year-old sister, Judith. After 15 years institutionalized at Smith’s Grove Sanitarium, a 21-year-old Michael escapes on Oct. 30, 1978, returning to his quiet hometown of Haddonfield to stalk high school student Laurie Strode. The film marked Jamie Lee Curtis’s movie debut and co-starred Donald Pleasence, P.J. Soles, and Nancy Loomis.
Beyond introducing the world to “The Shape,” Carpenter’s masterpiece established the blueprint for modern slasher cinema. Its minimalist synth score, first-person camera work, and holiday-set dread turned a low-budget independent film into an annual theatrical tradition—and made Michael Myers as synonymous with autumn as trick-or-treating.
Check your local box office listings to find a “Halloween” screening near you.
