A Nightmare on Elm Street (franchise)

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On September 21, 1999, New Line Cinema released the first, and to date, only box-set release containing the entire series, which includes interviews with cast and crew members as well as multiple commentaries.
On September 21, 1999,[1] New Line Cinema released the first, and to date, only box-set release containing the entire series, which includes interviews with cast and crew members as well as multiple commentaries.[2]

A Nightmare on Elm Street is an American horror franchise that consists of eight slasher films, a television show, novels, and comic books initially developed by Wes Craven, with various other individuals taking over those jobs for each sequel. The franchise is based on the fictional character of Freddy Krueger, who stalks and kills teenagers in their dreams; if Freddy kills the teenager in the dream world then they are ultimately killed in the real world. His motives were to seek revenge on their parents, who had burned him alive years before the events of the first Nightmare film. The original film was written and directed by Craven, who returned to co-script the second sequel, A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors (1987), and to write and direct New Nightmare (1994).

The original film was released in 1984, and following its success a series of sequels was produced by the independent film company New Line Cinema. New Line often attributes the growth of their company to the success of the Nightmare franchise.[2] The film series as a whole has received mixed reviews by critics, but has been a financial success at the box office. When comparing the United States box office grosses of other American horror film series, A Nightmare on Elm Street is the third highest grossing franchise in adjusted US dollars.[3]

In 1988, a television series was produced with Freddy as the host. The pilot episode focused on the night Freddy was burned alive by the angry parents of the children he had killed, though the rest of the series featured episodes with independent plots. Eight novels and a long-running comic book series were published featuring Freddy Krueger.

Contents

[edit] Films

[edit] Overview

The original film, written and directed by Wes Craven and titled A Nightmare on Elm Street, was released in 1984. The story focuses on Freddy Krueger attacking Nancy Thompson (Heather Langenkamp) and her friends in their dreams, successfully killing all but Nancy. Krueger’s back-story is revealed by Nancy’s mother, who explains he was a child murderer whom the parents of Springwood killed after Krueger was acquitted of police charges on a technicality. Nancy defeats Freddy by pulling him from the dream world, into the real world, and strips him of his powers when she stops being afraid of him.[4] Freddy returns to attack the new family living in Nancy Thompson's house, the Walshs, in 1985's A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy's Revenge. Freddy possesses the body of Jesse Walsh (Mark Patton), using him to kill. Jesse is saved by his girlfriend Lisa (Kim Myers), who helps Jesse fight, and break free from Krueger's spirit.[5]

Wes Craven returned to give Freddy life for a third time in A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors, released in 1987. In the second sequel, Freddy is systematically killing the last of the Elm Street children. The few remaining children have been placed in Westin Hills Mental Institution, for reasons of "attempted suicide". Nancy Thompson arrives at Westin Hills as a new intern, and realizes the children are being killed by Freddy. With the help of Dr. Neil Gordon (Craig Wasson), Nancy helps Kristen (Patricia Arquette), Joey (Rodney Eastman), Taryn (Jennifer Rubin), Kincaid (Ken Sagoes), and Will (Ira Heiden) find their dream powers, so they can kill Freddy once and for all. Neil, unknowingly until the end, meets the spirit of Freddy’s mother, Amanda Krueger (Nan Martin), who instructs him to bury Freddy’s remains in hallowed ground in order to stop him for good. Neil completes his task, but not before Freddy kills Nancy.[6] The story of Kristen Parker would continue with 1988's A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master. This time, Kristen (Tuesday Knight) unwittingly releases Freddy, who immediately kills Kincaid and Joey. Before Freddy can kill Kristen, she transfers her dream powers to Alice (Lisa Wilcox), a friend from school. Alice begins inadvertently providing victims for Freddy when she begins pulling people into her dreams while she sleeps. Alice, who begins taking on traits of the friends who were murdered, confronts Freddy. She uses the power of the Dream Master to release all the souls Freddy has taken; they subsequently rip themselves from Freddy’s body, killing him in the process.[7] Picking up shortly after the events of The Dream Master, A Nightmare on Elm Street 5: The Dream Child involves Freddy using Alice’s unborn child, Jacob (Whitby Hertford), to resurrect himself and find new victims. The spirit of Amanda Krueger (Beatrice Boepple) returns, revealing that Freddy was conceived when she, a nun working in a mental asylum, was accidentally locked in a room with "100 maniacs" and raped "hundreds of times". Amanda Krueger convinces Jacob to use the powers he was given by Freddy against him, which gives her the chance to subdue Freddy long enough for Alice and Jacob to escape the dream world.[8]

1991's Freddy's Dead: The Final Nightmare followed the exploits of "John Doe" (Shon Greenblatt), an amnesiac teenager from Springwood, who was sent out to find Freddy's daughter Maggie (Lisa Zane), whom he needs to leave Springwood. Freddy's goal is to create new "Elm Streets", and begin a new killing spree after having killed all of the children in Springwood. Maggie, utilizing new dream techniques, uncovers Krueger’s past, which include: being taunted by schoolmates for being the "son of 100 maniacs", being cruel to animals, beaten by his stepfather, the murder of his own wife when she discovers he has been killing children, and the moment when the Dream Demons arrive in his boiler room to make him the offer of eternal life. Eventually, Maggie pulls Freddy out of the dream world, and uses a pipe bomb to blow him up.[9] Wes Craven returned to the Nightmare series a third time with New Nightmare in 1994. This film focuses on a fictional "reality", where Craven, Langenkamp, and Englund all play themselves, and where the character of Freddy Krueger is really an evil entity that has been trapped in the realm of fiction by all the movies that have been made. Since the movies have stopped, the entity, which likes being Freddy Krueger, is trying to escape into the real world. The only person in its way is Heather Langenkamp, whom the entity sees as "Nancy" — the first person who defeated him. Craven explains to Langenkamp the only way to keep the entity contained is for her to "play Nancy one last time". Langenkamp pursues "Krueger", who has kidnapped her son, into the dream world as "Nancy". There, she and her son trap Krueger in a furnace until he is finally destroyed.[10] In 2003, New Line pitted Friday the 13th's Jason Voorhees against Freddy Krueger. The film explains that Freddy Krueger has grown weak as people in Springwood, his home, have suppressed their fear of him. Freddy, who is impersonating Pamela Voorhees, the mother of Jason Voorhees, sends Jason (Ken Kirzinger) to Springwood to cause panic and fear. Jason accomplishes this, but refuses to stop killing. A battle ensues in both the dream world and Crystal Lake between the two villains. The winner is left ambiguous, as Jason surfaces from the lake holding Freddy's severed head, which winks and laughs.[11]

[edit] Crew

Film Director Writer(s) Producer(s) Music
1. A Nightmare on Elm Street Wes Craven Robert Shaye Charles Bernstein
2. Freddy's Revenge Jack Sholder David Chaskin Christopher Young
3. Dream Warriors Chuck Russell Wes Craven, Frank Darabont, Chuck Russell, Bruce Wagner Angelo Badalamenti & Dokken
4. The Dream Master Renny Harlin Brian Helgeland, Jim Wheat, Ken Wheat Rachel Talalay & Robert Shaye John Easdale & Craig Safan
5. The Dream Child Stephen Hopkins Leslie Bohem Robert Shaye Jay Ferguson
6. Freddy's Dead Rachel Talalay Michael De Luca Robert Shaye & Aron Warner Brian May
7. New Nightmare Wes Craven Robert Shaye J. Peter Robinson
8. Freddy vs. Jason Ronny Yu Damian Shannon & Mark Swift Sean S. Cunningham Graeme Revell

[edit] Box office

When comparing A Nightmare on Elm Street with the other top-grossing American horror franchises—Child's Play, Friday the 13th, Halloween, the Hannibal Lecter series, Psycho, Saw, Scream, and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre—and adjusting for the 2008 inflation,[12] A Nightmare on Elm Street is the third highest grossing horror franchise, in the United States, at approximately $500.3 million.[3] The series is topped by Friday the 13th at $585.8 million,[13] and the Hannibal Lecter film series with $557.1 million.[14] Halloween follows A Nightmare on Elm Street with an estimated $495.6 million,[15] then Scream with $380.6 million,[16] Psycho at $356 million,[17] Saw with 306 million,[18] The Texas Chainsaw Massacre with $302.3 million,[19] and the Child's Play film series rounding out the list with approximately $173.2 million.[20]

List indicator(s)

  • A dark grey cell indicates the information isn't available for the film.
  • (y) indicates the film was re-released.


Film Release date (US) Budget Box office revenue Reference
United States Foreign Worldwide
1. A Nightmare on Elm Street November 9, 1984 $1,800,000[21] $25,504,513   $25,504,513 [22]
2. A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy's Revenge November 1, 1985 $3,000,000[23] $29,999,213 $29,999,213 [24]
3. A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors February 27, 1987 $5,000,000[25] $44,793,222 $44,793,222 [26]
4. A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master August 19, 1988 $13,000,000[27] $49,369,899 $49,369,899 [28]
5. A Nightmare on Elm Street 5: The Dream Child August 11, 1989 $6,000,000[29] $22,168,359 $22,168,359 [30]
6. Freddy's Dead: The Final Nightmare September 13, 1991 $5,000,000[31] $34,872,033 $34,872,033 [32]
7. Wes Craven's New Nightmare October 14, 1994 $18,090,181 $18,090,181 [33]
8. Freddy vs. Jason August 15, 2003 $25,000,000 $82,622,655 $32,286,175 $114,908,830 [34]
A Nightmare on Elm Street film series $58,800,000 $307,420,075 $32,286,175 $339,706,250

*Note: Updated January 24, 2008. Please update if necessary.

[edit] Future

On January 29, 2008, Variety reported that Michael Bay and his Platinum Dunes production company would be rebooting the Nightmare on Elm Street franchise. Bay, Brad Fuller, and Andrew Form already have another reboot ready to begin shooting in April, that of Jason Voorhees and the Friday the 13th franchise.[35]

[edit] Other media

[edit] Comic Books

[edit] Novels

  • Ripped From a Dream: A Nightmare on Elm Street Omnibus (collects Black Flame books 1 - 3)

[edit] Video games

  • In the early 1990s, a pinball game was produced.

[edit] References

  1. ^ A Nightmare on Elm Street Boxset. Amazon. Retrieved on 2008-04-14.
  2. ^ a b Guido Henkel. "A Nightmare on Elm Street DVD Box set", DVD Review, 1999-08-11. Retrieved on 2008-04-14. 
  3. ^ a b A Nightmare on Elm Street box office rankings. Box Office Mojo. Retrieved on 2008-01-17.
  4. ^ Wes Craven (Director). (1984). A Nightmare on Elm Street [DVD]. United States: New Line Cinema.
  5. ^ Jack Sholder (Director). (1985). A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy's Revenge [DVD]. United States: New Line Cinema.
  6. ^ Chuck Russell (Director). (1987). A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors [DVD]. United States: New Line Cinema.
  7. ^ Renny Harlin (Director). (1988). A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master [DVD]. United States: New Line Cinema.
  8. ^ Stephen Hopkins (Director). (1989). A Nightmare on Elm Street 5: The Dream Child [DVD]. United States: New Line Cinema.
  9. ^ Rachel Talalay (Director). (1991). Freddy's Dead: The Final Nightmare [DVD]. United States: New Line Cinema.
  10. ^ Wes Craven (Director). (1994). Wes Craven's New Nightmare [DVD]. [United States: New Line Cinema.
  11. ^ Ronny Yu (Director). (2003). Freddy vs. Jason [DVD]. United States: New Line Cinema.
  12. ^ Tom's Inflation Calculator. Half Hill. Retrieved on 2008-01-17.
  13. ^ Friday the 13th box office ranking. Box Office Mojo. Retrieved on 2008-01-17.
  14. ^ The Hannibal Lector series box office rankings. Box Office Mojo. Retrieved on 2008-01-17.
  15. ^ Halloween box office rankings. Box Office Mojo. Retrieved on 2008-01-17.
  16. ^ The Texas Chainsaw Massacre box office rankings. Box Office Mojo. Retrieved on 2008-01-17.
  17. ^ Psycho box office rankings. Box Office Mojo. Retrieved on 2008-01-17.
  18. ^ Scream box office rankings. Box Office Mojo. Retrieved on 2008-01-17.
  19. ^ The Texas Chainsaw Massacre box office rankings. Box Office Mojo. Retrieved on 2008-01-17.
  20. ^ Child's Play box office rankings. Box Office Mojo. Retrieved on 2008-01-17.
  21. ^ John Kenneth Muir (2004-02-24). Wes Craven: The Art of Horror. McFarland, 18. 
  22. ^ A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984). Box Office Mojo. Retrieved on 2007-12-10.
  23. ^ A Nightmare on Elm Street 2 budget. The-Numbers.com. Retrieved on 2008-01-24.
  24. ^ A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy's Dead (1985). Box Office Mojo. Retrieved on 2007-12-10.
  25. ^ A Nightmare on Elm Street 3 budget. The-Numbers.com. Retrieved on 2008-01-24.
  26. ^ A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors (1987). Box Office Mojo. Retrieved on 2007-12-10.
  27. ^ A Nightmare on Elm Street 4 budget. The-Numbers.com. Retrieved on 2008-01-24.
  28. ^ A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master (1988). Box Office Mojo. Retrieved on 2007-12-10.
  29. ^ A Nightmare on Elm Street 5 budget. The-Numbers.com. Retrieved on 2008-01-24.
  30. ^ A Nightmare on Elm Street 5: The Dream Child (1989). Box Office Mojo. Retrieved on 2007-12-10.
  31. ^ Freddy's Dead budget. The-Numbers.com. Retrieved on 2008-01-24.
  32. ^ Freddy's Dead: The Final Nightmare (1991). Box Office Mojo. Retrieved on 2007-12-10.
  33. ^ Wes Craven's New Nightmare (1994). Box Office Mojo. Retrieved on 2007-12-10.
  34. ^ Freddy vs. Jason (2003). Box Office Mojo. Retrieved on 2007-06-12.
  35. ^ Michael Fleming. "New Line sets up new 'Nightmare'", 2008-01-29. Retrieved on 2008-01-29. 

[edit] External links


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The Nightmare on Elm Street series
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