Laura Carollo
Research expert covering cinema and film
Horror movies - statistics & facts
Spooky season is upon us yet again - not only is horror one of the few unwavering genres in a challenging movie landscape, but it is also getting bigger than ever. In 2023, horror movies accounted for more than ten percent of box office revenue, thus doubling its share in the span of only a decade. Albeit generally on the smaller scale in terms of budget or scope, some horror flicks even manage to overshadow blockbusters or established franchises. Less than one month after its release, indie horror movie “Terrifier 3” defied every box office expectations, and unexpectedly dethroned bigger productions such as “Joker 2.” How is horror cinema faring so well?
Even though audiences still have a hard time coming back to theaters, horror movies keep drawing a sizeable number of cinemagoers. The genre is largely immune to franchise fatigue, and leaves room for new movies that are more easily greenlit by increasingly risk-averse studios. Focusing on Gen Z viewers as a target audience, the age bracket that is more inclined to go to the movies, proves to be a winning strategy for the market.
A highly profitable genre
The pandemic has not left the world of cinema unscathed. As of 2023, the number of domestic cinema releases has halved compared to 2019. Despite this, horror movie production has managed to weather the storm and has been exponentially growing since 2000. While the number of released horror productions stagnated under twenty movies at the beginning of the 2000s, it reached its peak in 2023 with a total of 55 movies. As the budgets of blockbusters keep inflating, horror films benefit from their relatively low production costs, thus increasing their chances of profitability. Four of the five most profitable films of the year were horror movies, displaced only by the romantic comedy “Anyone But You.”Horror renaissance at the box office
The genre is partly driven by famous intellectual properties that come back from the dead thanks to sequels or spin-offs. Summer 2024 saw the release of “Alien: Romulus,” the latest installment of the famous Alien franchise, which quickly became one of the highest-grossing horror movies of all time. While major movie studios produce and distribute horror films, many recent box office successes come from smaller, or even independent studios. Blumhouse Productions is the best-known indie studio specialized in horror movies working today. The studio is home to crowd pleasers, such as 2023’s “M3GAN” and “Five Nights at Freddy’s,” both of which topped the charts of the highest-grossing horror movies of that year, but also critically acclaimed and Academy Award winning features such as Jordan Peele’s “Get Out.”An old genre that speaks to young consumers
This new wave of creators and productions stands out for both its style and subject matter. Over the past years, the genre has initiated a shift towards psychological horror that also carries a social message, a phenomenon sometimes referred to as “elevated horror”. These thematically dense and thought-provoking movies particularly speak to Gen Z viewers, a generation that deeply values social justice and diversity. As of 2024, more than 90 percent of Gen Z consumers watched horror movies or TV shows – the highest share among all the considered age brackets. Age was also a factor when it comes to taste, with more than half of viewers aged 65 or older claiming to dislike the genre.Even though audiences still have a hard time coming back to theaters, horror movies keep drawing a sizeable number of cinemagoers. The genre is largely immune to franchise fatigue, and leaves room for new movies that are more easily greenlit by increasingly risk-averse studios. Focusing on Gen Z viewers as a target audience, the age bracket that is more inclined to go to the movies, proves to be a winning strategy for the market.
