'Friday 13th' horror franchise.

• Friday the 13th consists of twelve slasher films, a television show, novels, comic books, and tie-in merchandise.
• The franchise mainly focuses on the fictional character of Jason Voorhees, who drowned at Camp Crystal Lake as a boy due to the negligence of the teenage counselors. Decades later, the lake is rumored to be "cursed" and is the setting for a series of mass murders. Jason is featured in all of the films, either as the killer or as the motivation for the killings.
• The original film was written by Victor Miller, and was produced and directed by Sean S. Cunningham; neither of them returned to write or direct any of the sequels.
• The original film was created to cash in on the success of John Carpernter's Halloween (1978)
• The success of Friday 13th led Paramouny Pictures to purchase the full licensing rights to the Friday the 13th franchise.
• Frank Mancuso, Jr, who produced the films, also developed the television show Friday the 13th: The series after Paramount released Jason Takes Manhattan.
• The television series was not connected to the franchise by any character or setting, but was created based on the idea of "bad luck and curses", which the film series symbolized.
• While the franchise was owned by Paramount, four films were adapted into novels, with Friday the 13th Party III adapted by two separate authors.
• When the franchise was sold to New Line Cinema, Cunningham returned as a producer to oversee two additional films, as well as the crossover film with Freddy Krueger from the Nightmare on Elm Street film series.
• Under New Line Cinema thirteen novels and various comic book series were published featuring Jason.
• Although the films were not very popular with critics, Friday the 13th is considered one of the most successful media franchises in America—not only for the success of the films, but also because of the extensive merchandising and repeated references to the series in popular culture.
• The franchise’s popularity has generated a fanbase who have created their own Friday the 13th films, replica Jason Voorhees costumes, and tattooed their bodies with Friday the 13th artwork.
• Jason’s hockey mask has even become one of the most recognizable images in popular culture.