<P> A Nightmare on Elm Street is an American horror franchise that consists of nine slasher films, a television series, novels, and comic books . The franchise began with the film A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984) created by Wes Craven . The franchise revolves around the fictional character Freddy Krueger, a former child killer who stalks teenagers in their dreams and kills them . His motives were to seek revenge on their parents, who had burned him alive . The original film was written and directed by Craven, who returned to co-script the second sequel, A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors (1987), and to write and direct New Nightmare (1994). The films collectively grossed over $457 million at the box - office worldwide . </P> <P> The original film was released in 1984 . A series of sequels produced by the independent film company New Line Cinema followed . New Line often attributes the growth of their company to the success of the Nightmare franchise . The film series as a whole has received mixed reviews by critics, but has been a financial success at the box office . When comparing the United States box office grosses of other American horror film series, A Nightmare on Elm Street is the second highest grossing franchise in adjusted US dollars . In 1988, a television series was produced with Freddy as the host . The pilot episode focused on the night Freddy was burned alive by the angry parents of the children he had killed, though the rest of the series featured episodes with independent plots . Twelve novels, separate from the adaptations of the films, and multiple comic book series were published featuring Freddy Krueger, as well as a crossover film featuring fellow horror icon Jason Voorhees from the Friday the 13th franchise . A remake of the 1984 film was released in 2010, and a second remake is currently being planned . </P> <Table> <Tr> <Th> Film </Th> <Th_colspan="1"> Director </Th> <Th_colspan="1"> Writer (s) </Th> <Th_colspan="1"> Producer (s) </Th> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984) </Td> <Td_colspan="2"> Wes Craven </Td> <Td> Robert Shaye </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy's Revenge (1985) </Td> <Td> Jack Sholder </Td> <Td> David Chaskin </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors (1987) </Td> <Td> Chuck Russell </Td> <Td> Screenplay by: Wes Craven & Bruce Wagner and Chuck Russell & Frank Darabont Story by: Wes Craven & Bruce Wagner </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master (1988) </Td> <Td> Renny Harlin </Td> <Td> Screenplay by: Brian Helgeland and Jim Wheat & Ken Wheat Story by: William Kotzwinkle and Brian Helgeland </Td> <Td> Robert Shaye and Rachel Talalay </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> A Nightmare on Elm Street 5: The Dream Child (1989) </Td> <Td> Stephen Hopkins </Td> <Td> Screenplay by: Leslie Bohem Story by: John Skipp & Craig Spector and Leslie Bohem </Td> <Td> Robert Shaye and Rupert Harvey </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> Freddy's Dead: The Final Nightmare (1991) </Td> <Td> Rachel Talalay </Td> <Td> Screenplay by: Michael De Luca Story by: Rachel Talalay </Td> <Td> Robert Shaye and Aron Warner </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> Wes Craven's New Nightmare (1994) </Td> <Td_colspan="2"> Wes Craven </Td> <Td> Marianne Maddalena </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> Freddy vs. Jason (2003) </Td> <Td> Ronny Yu </Td> <Td> Damian Shannon & Mark Swift </Td> <Td> Sean S. Cunningham </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> A Nightmare on Elm Street (2010) </Td> <Td> Samuel Bayer </Td> <Td> Screenplay by: Wesley Strick and Eric Heisserer Story by: Wesley Strick </Td> <Td> Michael Bay, Andrew Form and Brad Fuller </Td> </Tr> </Table> <Tr> <Th> Film </Th> <Th_colspan="1"> Director </Th> <Th_colspan="1"> Writer (s) </Th> <Th_colspan="1"> Producer (s) </Th> </Tr>

How many nightmare on elm street films have there been
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