In honor of Halloween, Kidscreen has curated a list of some of the highest-grossing spooky movies with a G/PG rating—proving that thrills for little viewers can generate big returns at the box office. (All figures below encompass worldwide gross earnings and include re-releases.)

1. Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation (2018)
US$528 million
Sony Pictures Animation

While on a luxury cruise, Dracula experiences love at first sight when he meets the ship’s human captain, Ericka. The third installment of this four-movie monster franchise is its biggest box-office success to date—and it was the 17th highest-grossing film worldwide in 2018.

2. Casper (1995)
US$287 million
Amblin Entertainment, Harvey Films

When an afterlife specialist moves into a mansion with his daughter, they run into a young, kind-hearted spectre named Casper. Created by Seymour Reit and Joe Oriolo, the friendly ghost appeared in numerous comics and series before this feature-length project, which ranked eighth on the highest-grossing film chart for 1995.

3. Scooby-Doo (2002)
US$275 million
Warner Bros. Pictures, Mosaic Media Group

After a not-so-amicable split, the iconic mystery gang reunite at a horror-themed tropical resort, where they are tasked with investigating a mysterious curse. Scooby-Doo marks the first live-action film adaptation in the long-running franchise.

4. The Addams Family (2019)
US$204 million
Paramount Pictures, Scott Rudin Productions

In this eerie CG-animated comedy, the eccentric Addams clan faces the threat of a reality TV host who wants to create the perfect planned community. And it out-earned the 1991 live-action adaptation it shares a name with (US$191 million).

5. Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit (2005)
US$194 million
Aardman Animations, DreamWorks Animation

Aardman’s beloved man-and-dog duo must crack a case involving a giant rabbit who has been destroying crops. Were-Rabbit is the second highest-grossing stop-motion movie of all time (behind only Chicken Run), and it was also the first stop-motion film to win an Oscar for Best Animated Feature.

6. The Haunted Mansion (2003)
US$182 million
Walt Disney Pictures, Rideback

Eddie Murphy stars as a realtor who stumbles upon a sinister, haunted mansion in this pic based on a same-name Disneyland ride. He and his family must break the curse in order to escape the ghastly manor’s clutches. Disney released a reboot of the film earlier this year that grossed US$117 million.

7. Goosebumps (2015)
US$158 million
Columbia Pictures, Sony Pictures Animation, LStar Capital, Village Roadshow Pictures, Original Film, Scholastic Entertainment

It’s a race against time for a group of kids who accidentally unleash all of the monsters from the Goosebumps books into the real world. And R.L. Stine’s famed kidlit franchise has leaped from page to screen again in 2023, this time in a same-name TV series that launched on Disney+ and Hulu earlier this month.

8. The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)
US$99 million
Touchstone Pictures, Skellington Productions

Bored of the same-old routine of Halloween, Jack Skellington—the king of Halloween Town—decides that his new mission is to take over Christmas. Tim Burton’s critically acclaimed pic went on to become the first-ever animated film to receive an Oscar nomination for Best Visual Effects.

9. Frankenweenie (2012)
US$84 million
Tim Burton Productions, Walt Disney Pictures

After a young boy resurrects his canine bestie, he must find a way to stop the mayhem when other kids copy his method for bringing dead animals back to life. This dark stop-motion comedy earned acclaim for managing to parody and pay homage to the classic story of Frankenstein, as well as for its charming black-and-white aesthetic.

10. Hocus Pocus (1993)
US$50 million
Walt Disney Pictures

A group of teens exploring an abandoned house accidentally release a coven of 17th-century Salem witches who once lived there. This Disney film has gained cult classic status over the years, thanks to Disney Channel and Freeform airing it every October. And a sequel, Hocus Pocus 2, debuted on Disney+ in 2022.

Featured image: 30th anniversary poster of Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas—created by Shepard Fairey’s Studio Number One (Graphic: Walt Disney Company)