When spooky season rolls around, it brings plenty of scary Halloween movies to entertain older crowds and horror fans. But what about family movie night? Good news: There's also an impressive list of Halloween movies filled with creepy characters, spooky elements and evil forces – but in a family friendly kinda way, making them good for younger kids, older kids and adults alike.
Looking to one day become a go-to for the whole family is the new film Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, the sequel being released 36 years after the original Beetlejuice. A similar amount of time has passed in the movie's world. Winona Ryder’s Lydia now has her own family – complete with a rebellious teenage daughter (Jenna Ortega) who ends up unleashing Beetlejuice, played once again by Michael Keaton. Catherine O’Hara and director Tim Burton have also returned, and are joined by new faces like Justin Theroux, Monica Bellucci and Willem Dafoe.
When it comes to this list of Best Family Halloween Movies, the thousands of Fandango movie fans who voted put together a pretty great collection that spans 40 years of family-friendly Halloween movies, which will help make your haunted Halloween just what the family ordered. So gather up your cuddle crew, and check it out!
Too Long, Didn't Read Summary:
· There are plenty of options when it comes to Halloween movies for the whole family, including entertaining options for little kids and adults alike
· Thousands of Fandango movie fans voted, and the list is loaded
· This list spans 40 years of family Halloween movies, with plenty of classics from the 80s and 90s being represented in the top 7
15. The Haunted Mansion (2003)
13% on the Tomatometer
31% on the Popcornmeter
Eddie Murphy stars in this family-friendly classic as a real estate agent whose family is summoned to – and tries to escape from – a haunted house. To break the centuries-old curse that's causing the haunting, he enlists the help of a psychic played by Jennifer Tilly. The film is loosely based on the Disney theme parks attraction of the same name, the first of which opened at Disneyland in 1969. The Haunted Mansion was directed by Rob Minkoff, who also helmed from movies like The Lion King (1994) and Stuart Little (1999). The 2003 movie was followed by a reboot 20 years called Haunted Mansion (2023), starring Rosario Dawson, Lakeith Stanfield, Owen Wilson, Tiffany Haddish, Jared Leto, Danny DeVito and Jamie Lee Curtis.
14. Scooby-Doo: The Movie (2002)
22% on the Tomatometer
40% on the Popcornmeter
This talking animal movie is based on the long-running animated franchise of the same name, about a group of four young adults and a talking dog who solve mysteries and deal with other strange things. The screenplay was written by James Gunn, and the cast of humans includes Freddie Prinze Jr., Sarah Michelle Gellar, Matthew Lillard, Isla Fisher, Linda Cardellini and Rowan Atkinson. The voice of Scooby-Doo was provided by Neil Fanning, an Australian actor, stuntman and safety supervisor, while Scott Innes reprised his role as the voice of Scrappy-Doo from various projects, and J.P. Manous provided the voice of Scrappy Rex.
13. Coraline (2009)
91% on the Tomatometer
74% on the Popcornmeter
This stop motion animation film was based on Neil Gaiman's 2002 novella of the same name, and was written and directed by Henry Selick of The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993) fame.
Coraline follows an 11-year-girl who finds a secret door to an oddly idealized version of her life that may just be too good to be true. Along with Dakota Fanning as the young girl, the voice cast includes Teri Hatcher, Jennifer Saunders, Dawn French, Keith David, John Hodgman, Robert Bailey Jr. and Ian McShane. The film required the efforts of 450 people, including one crew member who was hired specifically to knit miniature sweaters and other clothing for the puppet characters. Coraline became the third-highest–grossing stop motion film ever at the time, and received an Academy Award nomination for Best Animated Feature, but lost to Pixar’s Up (2009).
12. Casper (1995)
25% on the Tomatometer
50% on the Popcornmeter
This film is based on the Harvey Comics cartoon character Casper the Friendly Ghost, which first appeared in 1945. Casper makes extensive use of computer-generated imagery to create the animated ghosts, and is the first feature film to have a fully CGI character in a lead role, voiced by Malachi Pearson. The film’s other stars include Bill Pullman as an afterlife therapist and his daughter, played by Christina Ricci, who meet the friendly young ghost when they move into the crumbling mansion that he peacefully haunts. Clint Eastwood, Rodney Dangerfield and Mel Gibson also make cameo appearances.
Casper, which had an uncredited script rewrite by J.J. Abrams, would be followed by two made-for-TV sequel films and an animated spinoff series.
11. Little Shop of Horrors (1986)
91% on the Tomatometer
79% on the Popcornmeter
This musical black comedy was directed by Frank Oz, best known as the voice of Yoda, and produced by David Geffen through The Geffen Company. It is an adaptation of the 1982 off-Broadway musical comedy of the same name by composer Alan Menken and writer Howard Ashman, and also a remake of the 1960 film of the same name, directed by Roger Corman.
Little Shop of Horrors follows a nerdy florist (Rick Moranis) who's looking for love with the help of a giant man-eating plant, voiced by Motown legend Levi Stubbs. The film also stars Ellen Greene from the off-Broadway show as Moranis' love interest, and Steve Martin as a sadistic dentist. The movie also features special appearances by Jim Belushi, John Candy, Christopher Guest and Bill Murray.
10. Hotel Transylvania (2012)
44% on the Tomatometer
72% on the Popcornmeter
Hotel Transylvania takes place at a fancy resort owned by Dracula. The legendary vampire has invited all of his best monster friends to celebrate his daughter's birthday, which is made all the more interesting when an average guy accidentally crashes the party. The film’s voice cast includes Adam Sandler as Dracula, along with Andy Samberg, Selena Gomez, Kevin James, Fran Drescher, Steve Buscemi, Molly Shannon, David Spade and CeeLo Green. It was directed by Genndy Tartakovsky in his feature directorial debut, after previously creating popular animated series like Samurai Jack and Star Wars: The Clone Wars.
Hotel Transylvania would go on to launch a multimedia franchise that includes three sequels -- with Adam Sandler returning and new voices like Keegan-Michael Key joining the monster house fun -- plus three short films, a flash-animated TV series and several video games.
9. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone (2001)
81% on the Tomatometer
82% on the Popcornmeter
Based on J.K. Rowling's 1997 novel, this film marks the first installment of the Harry Potter series in movie form. It stars Daniel Radcliffe as Harry Potter, who discovers that he is a famous wizard and begins his formal education at Hogwart's School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Radcliffe was joined by a large cast in this magical world, featuring Rupert Grint and Emma Watson as Harry's friends Ron and Hermione. Rowling hand-picked the late Alan Rickman to play Snape, and gave him secrets about the story that nobody else would know until the final installment. .
The Sorcerer's Stone was a massive hit, earning nearly $1 billion during its initial run, good enough to be the highest-grossing film of the year and second-highest-grossing film ever at the time. It also racked up three Academy Award nominations, and was followed by seven sequels.
8. Monsters, Inc. (2001)
96% on the Tomatometer
90% on the Popcornmeter
Featuring the voices of John Goodman, Billy Crystal, Steve Buscemi and Jennifer Tilly, this Pixar animated hit is about the workings of large scare factory called Monsters, Incorporated, which powers the city using the screams of children. But things go a bit haywire when a little girl – toxic to monsters -- enters into their world.
This film marked the directorial debut for Pete Docter, who would go on to direct other Pixar films like Up (2009), Inside Out (2015) and Soul (2020). Another Pixar regular, Randy Newman, returned to compose the score for Monsters, Inc. He ended up taking home an Academy Award for Best Original Song for “If I Didn’t Have You." A prequel film, Monsters University, was released in 2013.
7. Gremlins (1984)
86% on the Tomatometer
78% on the Popcornmeter
Gremlins was directed by Joe Dante from a screenplay written by Chris Columbus, with Steven Spielberg serving as the film's executive producer. It was Spielberg who helped make this more family friendly, while being instrumental in the Motion Picture Association of America altering its rating system to create a new PG-13 category.
Gremlins follows a young man, played by Zach Galligan, who breaks the important rules for the care of the new pet he got for Christmas, unleashing a wave of mischievous monsters and unfortunate events all over his small town. Phoebe Cates co-starred alongside Galligan, while Howie Mandel provided the voice of Gizmo – the film’s main Mogwai character – and Corey Feldman played a small role which helped establish his early credentials as a child actor.
6. Hocus Pocus (1993)
40% on the Tomatometer
72% on the Popcornmeter
This classic family comedy follows a teenager, played by Omri Katz, who moves to a small Massachusetts town. While exploring an abandoned house with his sister and their friend, he inadvertently frees coven of evil witches – the Sanderson sisters. The witches, played by Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker and Kathy Najimy, are trying to become immortal. The kids, with the help of a magical cat, have to try and stop them by stealing their book of spells.
The film hit theaters the same day as Free Willy in 1993, and was not considered a critical or commercial success upon its release, reportedly losing Disney around $16 million during its initial theatrical run. But Hocus Pocus has become a cult classic over the years, not because of the work of an evil witch but rather largely thanks to annual airings on cable TV every October. It was followed by a Disney+ original sequel film in 2022.
5. The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)
95% on the Tomatometer
92% on the Popcornmeter
Henry Selick made his feature directorial debut in this stop-motion animated film conceived and produced by Tim Burton, which originated as a poem Burton wrote in 1982 while working as an animator at Walt Disney Productions. The Nightmare Before Christmas tells the tale of Jack Skellington, the Pumpkin King of Halloween Town. Jack is bored with his life until he discovers Christmas Town, and he decides to bring the joy of that holiday back to his town.
The voice cast includes Chris Sarandon, Catherine O'Hara, William Hickey and Ken Page, while composer Danny Elfman wrote the music and also provided the singing voice of Jack Skellington. The Nightmare Before Christmas became the first animated film to be nominated for the Academy Award for Best Visual Effects, and was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress in 2023, 30 years after its release.
4. E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial (1982)
99% on the Tomatometer
72% on the Popcornmeter
Crash-landing in June of 1982 was the worldwide phenomenon known as E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial, the Steven Spielberg-directed film about a boy who discovers and befriends an alien – an alien that really needs to leave this human world and get home. This sweet tale features Henry Thomas as young Elliott, plus a young Drew Barrymore, who was 7 years old when the film was released and already establishing herself as a star.
E.T. closed out the Cannes Film Festival a couple weeks prior to its U.S. release in June, and went on to become the highest-grossing film of all time until Spielberg’s own stomped it down to number two in 1993. E.T. also won four of its nine Academy Award nominations, including John Williams' Oscar for his iconic film score.
3. The Addams Family (1991)
67% on the Tomatometer
66% on the Popcornmeter
Another great option for your family on Halloween comes from this family, based on characters created by cartoonist Charles Addams and inspired by the 1964 television series produced by David Levy. The Addams Family was directed by former cinematographer Barry Sonnenfeld in his feature directorial debut, and follows the bizarre Addams family and the con artist who is trying to swindle them for their riches.
The film stars Anjelica Huston as Morticia Addams, Raul Julia as Gomez Addams and Christopher Lloyd as Uncle Fester, with Huston earning a Golden Globe nomination for her portrayal of Morticia. Despite going over-budget, The Addams Family was a box office success, paving the way for the 1993 sequel, Addams Family Values.
2. Beetlejuice (1988)
82% on the Tomatometer
82% on the Popcornmeter
This Halloween staple was directed by Tim Burton and has an all-star cast that includes Michael Keaton, Alec Baldwin, Geena Davis, Jeffrey Jones, Catherine O'Hara and Winona Ryder. It follows the titular character, played brilliantly by Keaton, a “bio-exorcist” who is hired by a recently deceased yet nice couple that can’t seem to scare a family of new people out of their beloved former home.
Beetlejuice was a critical and commercial success, grossing nearly $74 million on a budget of $15 million, and spawned an animated television series, video games and a 2018 stage musical. Keaton and Ryder both signed on to reprise their roles for a sequel in the early 90s called Beetlejuice Goes Hawaiian, but the idea fizzled out. The pair – along with Burton and O’Hara – did end up returning 36 years later for the 2024 sequel, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice. (Which is Iin theaters now -- get your tickets right here!)
But perhaps the biggest claim to fame for this film is that it marked the first-ever DVD sent out by Netflix in 1998. Fun facts!
1. Ghostbusters (1984)
95% on the Tomatometer
88% on the Popcornmeter
With Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Harold Ramis and Ernie Hudson leading the way, Ghostbusters follows a group of paranormal investigators -- years before the term was cool on cable TV -- who start a ghost removal service in New York City. It was directed by Ivan Reitman and written by co-star Rick Moranis, Ramis and Aykroyd, inspired by the latter’s fascination with the paranormal that he inherited from his father, who wrote a historical book about ghosts.
Ghostbusters was the one of the first comedies to use expensive special effects, raising some concern about the budget that would ultimately require faith in its box office potential. Fortunately, it would go on to become the second-highest-grossing film of 1984 behind Beverly Hills Cop. And with the number one hit song “Ghostbusters” by Ray Parker Jr. helping, this film would have a long-lasting impact on pop culture, launching a full-blown media franchise in the process. That includes video games, board games, comic books and other swag, along with a popular animated series, plus multiple sequels to this movie and a reboot as well.
