Horror Movies
Vampires, zombies, and the Grim Reaper are dominating the box office in a year when audiences have grown weary of superheroes, sequels, and reboots. Horror films have emerged as a surprising savior for the entertainment industry, drawing significant crowds and generating strong ticket sales, according to industry experts.
This year, horror movies accounted for 17 percent of all ticket purchases in North America, a sharp increase from 11 percent in 2024 and just 4 percent a decade ago, based on Comscore data compiled exclusively for Reuters. The success of films like Sinners and Final Destination: Bloodlines, combined with anticipated releases such as The Conjuring: Last Rites and Five Nights at Freddy’s 2, has given cinema owners reason to celebrate and focus on the genre.
Brandt Gully, owner of Springs Cinema & Taphouse in Sandy Springs, Georgia, emphasized the importance of horror in filling a gap for moviegoers. He said, “We have identified horror as really one of the primary film genres that we are targeting to grow. It can really fill a void when you need it.”
Horror has long been recognized for providing a safe outlet to confront contemporary fears and anxieties. Themes of pandemic aftershocks, artificial intelligence paranoia, bodily autonomy, and rising social tensions have fueled compelling narratives within the genre. Film data analyst Stephen Follows, author of the Horror Movie Report, explains, “It’s cathartic, it’s emotional, and it comes with an ending. Horror movies give space to process things that are harder to face in everyday life.”
Unlike big-budget blockbusters such as Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning, horror films are often made on modest budgets, allowing for more creative risks. This has attracted acclaimed directors like Ryan Coogler, Jordan Peele, Danny Boyle, and Guillermo del Toro. Comscore’s senior media analyst Paul Dergarabedian calls horror movies “an accountant’s dream,” noting that modest-budget films can be just as terrifying and successful as expensive sci-fi extravaganzas.
Audiences are responding enthusiastically. Sinners, a fresh take on vampire lore starring Michael B. Jordan, became the third highest-grossing film in the U.S. and Canada this year. Movie theaters, still recovering from the pandemic-driven decline in attendance, see horror as a key genre to bring people back. Warner Bros’ Mike De Luca highlighted horror’s unique ability to lure audiences out of their homes, calling it “a rising tide that lifts all boats.”
The appeal of horror is global. Nearly half of the horror movies released by major U.S. distributors last year earned at least half of their worldwide box office revenue outside the United States. International hits like The Substance earned over $77 million globally, with about 80 percent coming from overseas markets.
Streaming platforms are also capitalizing on horror’s popularity. AMC’s The Walking Dead became one of Netflix’s most-watched series in 2023, amassing 1.3 billion hours viewed. Guillermo del Toro’s upcoming film adaptation of Frankenstein is highly anticipated.
Horror thrives in theaters where the communal experience amplifies fear and excitement. Jason Blum, CEO of Blumhouse Productions, noted that watching a horror movie with a crowd intensifies the thrill in ways that home viewing cannot replicate. “You can’t really be scared when you watch a horror movie at home,” he said.
While blockbuster tentpole movies like Captain America: Brave New World remain crucial to cinemas, they have gradually pushed out mid-budget romantic comedies and dramas. Meanwhile, horror has quietly grown in popularity, breaking the $1 billion mark in box office revenue in the U.S. and Canada for the first time in 2017, buoyed by films like It and Get Out.
Despite Hollywood strikes impacting production in 2023, new horror film announcements have risen steadily over the past three years. Research shows that horror is especially popular among younger audiences, with two-thirds of moviegoers aged 18 to 24 naming it as their favorite genre. Warner Bros’ De Luca explained that horror movies are often a popular choice for date nights because of the shared excitement and adrenaline rush.
Horror has a long cinematic history dating back to early 20th-century classics like Frankenstein. Though once considered a niche or “freak-show” genre, horror gained respect through iconic films like Psycho, The Exorcist, and The Shining, and later by directors such as Steven Spielberg who helped popularize the summer blockbuster with Jaws.
In recent years, horror has also gained critical acclaim, with Jordan Peele winning an Academy Award for Get Out and Demi Moore receiving an Oscar nomination for The Substance.
However, not every horror film finds success. For example, M3GAN 2.0, a sequel to the popular 2022 low-budget film about a killer robotic doll, earned a modest $10.2 million in its opening weekend in the U.S. and Canada, showing that even within the genre, audience reactions can vary widely.
