Michael B. Jordan and Miles Caton in “Sinners.” Credit: Warner Bros. Pictures via TNS
The horror genre has paved a new path in 2025.
With movies like “Sinners,” “Weapons” and “Nosferatu” doing exceptionally well at the box office — “The Conjuring: Last Rites” broke the box office record for the biggest opening weekend for a horror movie, grossing $194 million, according to People — some viewers have gained a new appreciation for scary movies.
According to Beth Kattelman, curator at Ohio State’s Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee Theatre Research Institute, introducing new characters and storylines has intrigued audiences due to new backstories and mystery.
“As you go along in a franchise, and they start to fill out the backstory, it gets to a point where it’s fun to see them, but you are getting the same thing over and over again,” Kattelman said. “Whereas, if you’re not quite as familiar, for instance, with ‘Weapons,’ and the lead character in that, we’re like ‘Where did she come from? ‘Who is she? Is she a part of that family?’ and ‘Why?’ She’s so weird, and there’s just this mystery that you get to conjecture about things that way.”
According to Reuters, horror films have made up 17% of North American ticket purchases this year, jumping up from 11% and below in previous years, quietly sneaking up on box office numbers and sales.
The changes within horror in 2025 are not only financial, but within content, stemming away from the continuation of the popular franchises and producing more original content.
Grappling with psychological depth within social issues and traumas is what is allowing these films to become more appreciated with audiences and critics, Kattelman said.
“There’s more coming out and more being discussed in the substance of the horror films than just ‘We’re going to throw a lot of splatter and a lot of gory special effects,’” Kattelman said. “So we’ve come past that now, and [horror films] are really grappling with issues of family trauma and things like that.”
“Together,” which was released in July, uses body horror to demonstrate codependency and commitment issues in an over-the-top way, Jackie Moates, president of the paranormal club, said.
“It takes these very complicated ideas and issues and they put this abstract, a bit crazy, unreasonable representation of it, but it really gets you thinking,” Moates said. “It does it in a way that’s really fun. I think that when you’re watching these movies, you get tense.”
Similarly, films like “Hereditary” or “Longlegs” focus on deep-rooted issues between family members. Psychological issues that are typically dealt with in dramas can be demonstrated in a visually artistic way through horror, allowing these movies to become recognized by critics, Kattelman said.
Another appeal to watching horror films is the social aspect, Moates said.
“If you’re watching with someone else, a lot of times you interact a lot more than you would if you were watching a comedy or something else,” Moates said. “I think that the complicated nature of newer movies is really helping them to take off.”
As scary movie season kicks off, audiences can expect to see even more theatrical horror releases by the end of the year.
A sequel to “The Black Phone” is set to release Friday, as well as original movies such as “Keeper” — coming to theaters Nov. 14 — and a new adaptation of Mary Shelley’s “Frankenstein,” which will have a limited theatrical run beginning Friday, and will be globally released on Netflix in November.
