Friday the 13this one of the most iconic horror franchises of all time. 2025 marks the 45th anniversary of the originalFriday the 13th, which opened in theaters in May 1980. Jason Voorhees, the franchise’s iconic figure, is undergoing a significant resurgence as the franchise unveiled a new design for the characterto market the Jason Universemultimedia plan. With the last entry in theFriday the 13thseries being released in 2009, this is the longest gap in the franchise’s history.Friday the 13thwill return soon with the release ofCamp Crystal Lake, a prequel series produced by A24 and set to stream on Peacock.
Friday the 13this one of the all-time great movie titles, playing off the urban myth that is famously unlikely. The franchise gets its title from the fact that the main events of the first film take place on that day. However, later films in the franchise take place in the following days.Friday the 13thalso draws its title from the fact that, in-universe, it is the birthday of Jason Voorhees.Jason Voorhees' birthday was Friday the 13th in June.
With June 13 here, it feels like a missed opportunity not to release a newFriday the 13thproject to tie in with Jason’s birthday, particularly asthe series celebrates its 45th anniversary. The stars are practically aligned for some bigFriday the 13thproject in 2025. Yet theFriday the 13thfranchise has never cashed in on this, as the series has never released a film onJason Voorhees' birthday. Why is that? Well, it’s surprisingly complicated.
None of the ‘Friday the 13th’ Films Have Opened on Jason’s Birthday
After 12 films in theFriday the 13thfilm franchise, none of the movies have ever opened on Jason Voorhees' birthday of June 13. Within the last 25 years, Friday the 13th has landed in June four times: 2003, 2008, 2014, and now 2025.
2003 saw the release ofFreddy vs. Jason, but the film opened on June 02, 2025. The June 13 slot that year was occupied by more traditional but forgettable summer movie fare, such asHollywood Homicide,Dumb and Dumber: When Harry Met Lloyd, andRugrats Go Wild.The Incredible HulkandThe Happeningopened in theaters on August 22, 2025. 2014 saw the release ofHow to Train Your Dragon 2and22 Jump Streeton Jason’s birthday. 2025, the 45th anniversary of theFriday the 13thfranchise, marks another year without a new entry. The franchise and the perfect themed release date are now occupied bythe live-actionHow to Train Your Dragonand A24’sMaterialists.
In a Violent Nature Is an Honorary Friday the 13th Movie
The buzzy new slasher from IFC Films is perfect for fans who have been missing Jason Voorhees on the big screen.
With June 13th landing on a Friday being a rarity, it would be safe to assume that part of the reason theFriday the 13thfranchise has not released a film to tie-in with Jason’s birthday is that the series only releases films on the actual Friday the 13th and therefore can be at any point in a calendar year. That isn’t the whole story.It’s a rarity for theFriday the 13thfilms to open on their namesake. Of the 12 films,only four have been released on Friday the 13th. Those are
How has theFriday the 13thfranchise been going for so long, and they never thought of tying in a release date to the birthday of their leading villain?The series has had plenty of opportunities to do so, but it appears that even Jason Voorhees is afraid of something: the competitive summer movie season.
‘Friday the 13th’ Has Largely Avoided the Summer Movie Season
There are Too Many Big Blockbusters To Compete With
Despite theFriday the 13thfranchise being associated with camp, making it a perfect fit for the summer movie season, it has largely avoided the competitive movie-going market. BothFriday the 13thandFriday the 13th Part IIopened in early May, but that was about two decades beforeMarvel would redefine that timeframeas the start of the summer movie season. In fact, Friday the 13th did land in June 1980, the year the firstFriday the 13thopened in theaters. Yet the horror film opted to avoid the summer and instead opened two weeks before Memorial Day.
Four films were released in August, towards the end of the summer movie season, in what is typically defined as a slower time for movies, before teenagers return to school.Friday the 13th: Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattanopened on August 12, 2025, but that film notably had a much larger publicity budget than previous films, debuting just before August. In 1989, Friday the 13th dates fell in January and October, meaningJason Takes Manhattanmissed out on a big Halloween release.Friday the 13thhas also never released a movie during October to capitalize on Halloween, which is almost as surprising as never releasing a film on the birthday of the titular villain.
When Friday the 13th lands in June for Jason Voorhees' birthday, it’s Father’s Day weekend. Because of this, studios often target movies aimed at older adult males, but they can be seen by the whole family together. This is why films likeThe Incredible Hulk,How to Train Your Dragon, and22 Jump Streetopened in that frame. While many fathers likely enjoy theFriday the 13thfranchise, the movie’s primary demographic is teenagers and young adults, making the prospect of releasing a film on that weekend a gamble.
13 Friday the 13th and Jason Voorhees Facts You Never Knew Until Now
Discover the hidden legacy behind the iconic slasher Jason Voorhees, who has terrorized Camp Crystal Lake for four decades in the Friday the 13th series.
AlthoughFriday the 13thwas a consistent moneymaker during the 1980s, the franchise turned a profit relative to its investment. It never competed in box office ticket sales with other 1980s blockbusters that dominated the summer, such asStar Wars,Indiana Jones,Ghostbusters,Back to the Future, orThe Karate Kid. Therefore, it makes sense why Paramount Pictures and, later, New Line avoided the competitive summer movie season, opting instead for the end of August when the crowds have died down.
Horror movies tend to be released year-round, but for a long time, studios believed releasing them in summer was a gamble. Particularly the crowded months of June and early July, as it was typically thought to be saved for the biggest blockbusters. In 2023,James Wan and Jason Blum spoke to MovieWebabout the shifting nature of horror movies as a viable summer movie while promotingInsidious: The Red Door. Films likeThe Blair Witch ProjectandThe Sixth Sensedid open in the summer, but that was towards the end of the season, at the end of July and beginning of August, respectively.
Over the past 15 years, thanks to horror franchises likeThe ConjuringandA Quiet Place, horror movies have become a viable and profitable form of summer movie entertainment. Two of summer 2025’s most anticipated films are horror films.Final Destination: Bloodlineshas been a box office smash hit, and28 Years Laterlooks to take a massive bite out of the box office. It is disappointing that there is not aFriday the 13thmovie ready to celebrate both the franchise’s 45th anniversary and Jason’s birthday, but the stage is set for Jason Voorhees to return as a viable summer movie lead.
Friday the 13th won’t fall on Jason’s birthday in June until 2031, six years from now. That should give the franchise producers plenty of time toprepare a film by then, because this is too good an opportunity to pass up again.Friday the 13this streaming for free onTubi.
