Darkened theaters, white-knuckled grips, and tense anticipation: just another night for horror aficionados.
The genre is experiencing a remarkable year in 2025, with leading titles like *Sinners*, *Final Destination: Bloodlines*, and *28 Years Later* amassing a collective £41.3 million ($55.6 million) at the UK box office.
This figure surpasses the £39.5 million ($53 million) earned by the top nine horror releases throughout the entirety of the previous year, according to data from Box Office Mojo.
In North America, horror films have accounted for 17% of all ticket sales this year, a significant increase from 11% in 2024 and a mere 4% a decade prior, as reported by Reuters.
“Right now it feels like we’re in the renaissance of horror,” Chase Sui Wonders, a star in *I Know What You Did Last Summer* (IKWYDLS), told BBC Newsbeat.
“Everyone’s going to theatres watching horror movies.”
The rise of social media is also playing a key role in promoting the latest releases.
According to data from TikTok, there has been a surge in horror-related videos globally over the past 12 months.
The platform reported 10.7 million users engaging with the horror hashtag, a 38% increase, while the HorrorTok community grew by 40% to 2.6 million.
While these tags aren’t solely dedicated to movie content, TikTok noted a significant increase in their usage during the Cannes Film Festival in May.
Although recent figures suggest a sudden boom in horror’s popularity, longtime enthusiasts argue that the genre’s ascent has been a gradual process.
Ash Millman, a journalist and presenter specializing in horror coverage, describes the genre’s success as a slow and steady build rather than an overnight phenomenon.
She notes that horror has steadily gained both critical acclaim and commercial success over the past decade.
She credits the success of both artistic endeavors, such as A24’s *Hereditary*, and crowd-pleasing productions from horror specialists like Blumhouse.
However, Millman acknowledges that 2025 has been a particularly strong year for horror fans.
“It’s got a bit of everything for everyone,” she says.
“We have sequels, then amazing new things like Sinners.”
“I do think we’re going to be talking about 2025 for years to come.”
Millman highlights the consistent support provided by smaller-scale indie productions, while emphasizing the unprecedented number of major releases this year.
“I think blockbuster horror has become a thing again,” she states.
“People want to go to the cinema, they want to see it on the big screen, they want to be scared.”
Following the Covid-19 pandemic, Hollywood has been working to revitalize cinema attendance, particularly as home streaming became more widespread.
Horror movies, often produced on relatively modest budgets, appear to be defying this trend, and IKWYDLS hopes to continue this success.
Director Jennifer Kaytin Robinson tells Newsbeat that the communal experience of watching with an audience cannot be replicated at home.
“I think it’s the collective experience of being scared,” she says.
“It’s so fun. Everybody wants to go to the movies with their friends and jump and scream and have a good time.”
IKWYDLS reimagines the 1997 cult classic slasher film, which follows a group of friends who attempt to conceal a tragic accident, only to be stalked by an anonymous killer known as the Fisherman.
The original debuted in October, the traditional “spooky season” for major horror releases.
However, IKWYDLS cast member Jonah Hauer-King believes the new version will feel right at home in July.
“Counter-intuitively, though it is frightening and scary, there is something feel-good about this kind of film,” he says.
“It doesn’t take itself too seriously and it is a bit of a wild ride, so it feels like a summer popcorn film with the scares and with the thrills.”
Hauer-King also suggests a deeper motivation behind the appeal of horror.
“I think at the moment people want to go to the cinema for a bit of escapism, forget about things and have a bit of fun,” he says.
Millman concurs, noting that periods of “chaos and uncertainty” in the world tend to fuel the genre’s popularity.
“I think that’s always a big festering ground for horror to make statements,” she says.
“I feel like horror is a reflection of society but gives us a bit of control over it.”
“Usually you see people kind of battling against a great evil and overcoming it in blockbuster horror, where we get a nice wrapped-up ending.”
“And I think that’s a really nice form of escapism and a way of kind of moving past these horrible things going on in the world.”
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