Were the Friday the 13th Movies Released on Friday the 13th?

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Scary Movies and Series

When Were the Friday the 13th Movies Released?

The movie title “Friday the 13th” would lead fans to believe all of the movies were released on Friday the 13th itself. The truth, however, is that the movies would be released as it were most profitable for the film makers and theaters playing the films.  It does appear that they attempted to get it close, however, the true release dates of the Friday the 13th movies will surprise many fans.  Additionally, the plot of the films seem to draw very little connection to the ‘unlucky’ day, Friday the 13th. Still, Horror Enthusiast mapped out the release dates in order to draw a fair conclusion.

List of Friday the 13th Movie Release Dates

It is interesting that the Friday the 13th movies were not released on Friday the 13th. Here is a full list of the release dates of all Friday the 13th movies.

  • Friday the 13th (1980) was released on May 9th. While it was a Friday, it was not the 13th.
  • Friday the 13th Part 2 (1981) was released on May 1st. This was a Friday, but not the 13th.
  • Friday the 13th Part III (1982) was released on August 13th, the first movie to be released on an actual Friday the 13th.
  • Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter (1984) was released on April 13th, the second movie in the franchise to snag an authentic Friday the 13th release date.
  • Friday the 13th: A New Beginning (1985) was released on March 22nd, which was a Friday, but not the 13th.
  • Jason Lives: Friday the 13th Part VI (1986) was released on August 1st. Again, they secured a Friday but not a 13th.
  • Friday the 13th Part VII: The New Blood (1988) released on May 13th, a Friday, securing the third movie in the franchise with a genuine Friday the 13th release date.
  • Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan (1989) was released on July 28th, a Friday but not the 13th.
  • Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday (1993) got released on August 13th, a Friday and a 13th. This becomes the 4th movie in the franchise to have an authentic Friday the 13th release date.
  • Jason X (2001), aka “Jason in Space,” was released on April 26, which may have been a Friday, but was most certainly not a 13th.
  • Freddy vs Jason (2003) opened on August 15th, a Friday but again, not a 13th.
  • Friday the 13th (2009), the latest in the franchise, released on February the 13th. This movie locks in the 5th movie with an official Friday the 13th release date.

Last Notes About the Friday the 13th Release Dates

In the end, they got the release date right 5 times out of 12 movies.  That’s not that bad considering there are very few Friday the 13th dates each year (if more than one at all). The movies themselves are not very much so based on the date. And it has even been speculated that the movie title was chosen as a way to capitalize on Halloween’s success. Still, however, the Friday the 13th movies do quite well and wind up getting played across tons of TV networks and movie screens on Friday the 13th itself!

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