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Horror films provide alternative to superhero movies,

reboots

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Lower-budget films allow greater creative freedom,

attracting

acclaimed directors

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Horror's global appeal and theatrical experience drive box

office success

By Dawn Chmielewski

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, July 5 (Reuters) - Vampires,

zombies and the Grim Reaper are killing it at the box office.

At a time when superheroes, sequels and reboots have grown

stale among audiences, horror has emerged as an unlikely savior,

entertainment industry veterans say.

This year, scary movies account for 17 percent of the North

American ticket purchases, up from 11 percent in 2024 and 4

percent a decade ago, according to Comscore data compiled

exclusively for Reuters. Thanks to the box office performance of

"Sinners" and "Final Destination: Bloodlines," and new

installments of popular horror films hitting later this year,

including "The Conjuring: Last Rites" and "Five Nights at

Freddy's 2," cinema owners have reason to celebrate.

"We have identified horror as really one of the primary film

genres that we are targeting to grow," said Brandt Gully, owner

of the Springs Cinema & Taphouse in Sandy Springs, Georgia. "It

can really fill a void when you need it."

Producers, studio executives and theater owners say horror

has historically provided a safe outlet to cope with

contemporary anxieties. And there is no lack of material to

choose from: the aftershocks of a global pandemic, artificial

intelligence paranoia, the loss of control over one's body, and

resurgent racism.

"It's cathartic, it's emotional, and it comes with an

ending," said film data analyst Stephen Follows, author of the

Horror Movie Report, which offers detailed insights into the

genre. "Horror movies give space to process things that are

harder to face in everyday life."

The often low-budget productions allow for greater

risk-taking than would be possible with high-cost, high-stakes

productions like "Mission: Impossible -- The Final Reckoning."

The creative freedom has attracted such acclaimed directors as

Ryan Coogler, Jordan Peele, Danny Boyle and Guillermo del

Toro.

"Horror movies are an accountant's dream," said Paul

Dergarabedian, Comscore senior media analyst. "If you're going

to make a science-fiction outer-space extravaganza, you can't do

that on the cheap. With horror films, a modest-budget movie like

'Weapons' can be

scary as hell."

Audiences are responding. Coogler's "Sinners," an original story

about Mississippi vampires starring Michael B. Jordan,was

theyear's third highest-grossing movie in the U.S. and

Canada, according to Comscore.

Movie theaters are still recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic

which broke the movie-going habit, and increased viewing in the

home. Mike De Luca, co-chair and Warner Bros Motion Picture

Group, which released "Sinners," said horror was a genre

that manages to get people out of the house."It's a rising tide

that lifts all boats," he said. "You know, we're trying to get

people back in the habit of going to the theaters."

Fear knows no geographical bounds. Half of all horror

movies released by major U.S. distributors last year made 50

percent or more of their worldwide box office gross outside the

U.S., according to London-based researcher Ampere Analysis. The

breakout international hit "The Substance," for example, grossed

over $77 million worldwide -- with around 80% of that from

outside the U.S.

Streamers also are similarly capitalizing on the appeal of the

genre. AMC's post-apocalyptic horror drama series "The Walking

Dead," became one of the most popular series when it was added

to Netflix in 2023, amassing 1.3 billion hours viewed, according

to Netflix's Engagement Report. Director Guillermo del Toro's

film adaptation of Mary Shelley's gothic novel, "Frankenstein,"

is set to debut in November.

DATE NIGHT

Horror films are ideally suited to watching in movie

theaters, where the environment heightens the experience.

"What you can't do at home is sit in a dark room with a

hundred other people, not on your phone, and jump," said

Blumhouse CEO Jason Blum, producer of "Halloween," "Paranormal

Activity" and other lucrative horror franchises. "You can't

really be scared when you watch a horror movie at home."

Big-budget movies that the industry refers to as "tent poles,"

such as "Captain America: Brave New World" or "A Minecraft

Movie," remain the lifeblood of movie theaters. Over time, these

blockbusters have elbowed out more moderately budgeted romantic

comedies and dramas on movie screens.

Against this backdrop, horror has been quietly gaining

momentum.

The genre broke the $1 billion box office barrier in the

U.S. and Canada for the first time in 2017, Comscore reported,

buoyed by the film adaptation of Stephen King's novel, "It," and

Jordan Peele's exploration of racial inequality in "Get Out."

Announcements of new horror films from U.S. producers have

risen each year for the last three years, including in 2023,

when the Hollywood strikes significantly impacted production,

according to Ampere Analysis.

The number of U.S. horror films that went into production

last year was up 21 percent over 2023, Ampere found.

"While more arthouse fare and even some tentpole superhero

franchises have had mixed fortunes at the global box office in

the wake of the pandemic, horror remains one of the key genres

that audiences still make a point of seeing in the theatres,"

wroteresearcher Alice Thorpe in a report for Ampere's clients

which she shared with Reuters. The researcher's own consumer

surveys revealed horror is the favorite genre among two-thirds

of movie-goers, ages 18 to 24.

"Anytime a teenager graduates to wanting to take a date to

the movies, horror gets popular really fast," said Warner Bros'

De Luca. "It's a great film-going experience to take a date to

because you get to huddle with each other and gasp and hoop and

holler."

FREAK SHOW

Horror has been a cinematic staple from its earliest days,

when Thomas Edison filmed "Frankenstein" on his motion picture

camera, the Kinetograph, in 1910. The British Board of Film

Classification introduced the "H" rating in 1932, officially

designating the genre.

But it didn't always get Hollywood's respect.

"In the first half of the 20th century, it was seen as a

freak-show," said Follows.

Perceptions began to change with the critical and commercial

success of films like "Psycho," "The Exorcist" and "The

Shining." Director Steven Spielberg ushered in the summer

blockbuster in 1975 with "Jaws," a re-invention of the classic

monster movie.

In recent years, horror movies have become part of the Oscar

conversation.

Peele collected an Academy Award for best original

screenplay in 2018 for "Get Out." Demi Moore received her first

Oscar nomination earlier this year for her portrayal of an aging

Hollywood star who will go to any lengths to stay beautiful in

"The Substance."

Not every horror movie connects with audiences. "M3GAN 2.0," a

sequel to the 2022 low-budget film about a killer robotic doll

that grossed $180 million worldwide,brought in a modest $10.2

million in the U.S. and Canada in its opening weekend, according

to Comscore.

Theater chains will have no shortage of horror movies to exhibit

this summer. Seven films are slated to be released before Labor

Day weekend, including Columbia Pictures's nostalgic reboot of

the 1997 film, "I Know What You Did Last Summer," which reaches

screens on July 18, and "Weapons," which opens on Aug. 8.

"The best types of these movies are ones that elicit an

audible and visceral reaction ... 'Don't go in there!'" said

Screen Gems President Ashley Brucks, who has worked on such

films as Sony's ( SONY ) upcoming "I Know What You Did Last

Summer" as well as "A Quiet Place" and "Scream." "You are either

squirming or laughing or screaming and just really having fun

with it."