Viewing order · Halloween
Halloween movies in order, and every timeline explained
Thirteen films, one Shape and five different continuities that keep resetting each other. Here is the release order, the timelines and the way we'd watch them. Dates and box office per Wikipedia.
By the Horror Planet editors · Updated November 9, 2026
Every Halloween movie in release order
| Year | Film | Director | Timeline | Worldwide |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1978 | Halloween | John Carpenter | Original | $70.2M |
| 1981 | Halloween II | Rick Rosenthal | Original | $25.5M |
| 1982 | Halloween III: Season of the Witch | Tommy Lee Wallace | Standalone | $14.4M |
| 1988 | Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers | Dwight H. Little | Thorn | $17.8M |
| 1989 | Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers | Dominique Othenin-Girard | Thorn | $11.6M |
| 1995 | Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers | Joe Chappelle | Thorn | $15.1M |
| 1998 | Halloween H20: 20 Years Later | Steve Miner | H20 | $75.0M |
| 2002 | Halloween: Resurrection | Rick Rosenthal | H20 | $37.7M |
| 2007 | Halloween | Rob Zombie | Rob Zombie | $80.5M |
| 2009 | Halloween II | Rob Zombie | Rob Zombie | $39.4M |
| 2018 | Halloween | David Gordon Green | Blumhouse | $259.9M |
| 2021 | Halloween Kills | David Gordon Green | Blumhouse | $133.4M |
| 2022 | Halloween Ends | David Gordon Green | Blumhouse | $105.4M |
The five timelines
Almost every Halloween reboot keeps John Carpenter's 1978 original and throws out some or all of what came after it (Wikipedia). That gives you five ways through the series.
- The original run. Halloween (1978) and Halloween II (1981), which picks up the same night.
- The Thorn timeline. Halloween 4, 5 and The Curse of Michael Myers continue after Halloween II, following Laurie's daughter Jamie and the cult behind Michael.
- The H20 timeline. H20 and Resurrection follow Halloween II but ignore 4 through 6, bringing Jamie Lee Curtis back as Laurie.
- Rob Zombie's remakes. Halloween (2007) and Halloween II (2009) start over with Michael's childhood.
- The Blumhouse trilogy. Halloween (2018), Kills and Ends follow only the 1978 film, forty years later.
Halloween III: Season of the Witch has no Michael Myers at all. It was an attempt to turn the series into a yearly anthology, and it has its own devoted following (Wikipedia).
The order we'd watch them
- First time: Halloween (1978), then the Blumhouse trilogy. Four films, one complete story about Laurie Strode.
- The full classic run: 1978, II, 4, 5 and The Curse of Michael Myers.
- The Laurie Strode alternative: 1978, II and H20. Skip Resurrection unless you are a completist.
- Any October night: Halloween III. It works best on its own.
What's next for Michael Myers
Blumhouse said Halloween Ends would be its last film in the series, with the rights going back to producer Malek Akkad, and Miramax took the television rights in October 2023 (Wikipedia). As of late October 2026, Dread Central reported there is no active Halloween series moving forward and that the next version of Michael will likely be a film (Dread Central). Talk of a 2028 release for the 50th anniversary is still unconfirmed (Dark Horizons). We'll update this page when there is an official announcement.