Horror by the numbers: Janet Leigh’s ‘Psycho’ pay compared to Anthony Perkins and more

Though the niche audiences that queue up for horror films most likely don't care about the numbers their films generate, here are some figures illustrating the price paid — whether it’s budgets, box office, fake blood or back-end points — for scary cinema classics. Touchstone films like Alfred Hitchcock’s “Psycho,” George A. Romero’s “Night of the Living Dead” and Stephen King’s “Carrie” — he only got how much for the rights to that book?!? — all have surprising sums attached to their lore.

$806,947

Estimated budget of Alfred Hitchcock’s “Psycho” (1960)

$40,000

What Anthony Perkins was paid for “Psycho”

$25,000

What Janet Leigh was paid for “Psycho”

$40,000

The amount Leigh’s character Marion Crane stole in “Psycho”

78

Number of shot set ups required for “Psycho’s” shower scene

1

Casaba melon, used to create the stabbing sound in “Psycho’s” shower scene

$32 million

Estimated domestic gross of “Psycho,” Hitchcock’s most profitable film

$2500

What Stephen King was paid for the rights to “Carrie” (1976), his first novel adapted into a movie.

1,000

Gallons of movie blood director Kimberly Peirce says were used to film prom scene of her 2013 “Carrie” remake.

$146

Dollars 2015 horror moviegoers spent per year on snack bar carbonated beverages, $21 more than average moviegoers.

$114,000

Budget for George A. Romero’s “Night of the Living Dead.”

20

Number of days Romero needed his “Night of the Living Dead” star Duane Jones to work without pay in exchange for back-end points.

0

Number of times the word “zombie” is used in “Night of the Living Dead.

0

Number of main characters alive at the end of "Night of the Living Dead."

Sources: IMDb, TCM, “Alfred Hitchcock and the Making of 'Psycho'” by Stephen Rebello, Box Office Mojo