Although 2025 wasn’t the best year at the box office, one genre that found major success was horror. That’s typically the case because many horror films can be made on small budgets and people love to get scared, so they flock to watch them. 2025 gave us more of the same from the genre.
Horror films were pretty special this past year and the hits covered several avenues. There were movies based on video games, a few Stephen King adaptations, anticipated sequels, and some of the best original horror films in recent memory. Things are looking up for the horror genre.
Until Dawn – $54.1 Million
Films based on popular video games used to be a punchline in Hollywood, often receiving poor reviews and ultimately being viewed as disappointments. That has changed in recent years, with several adaptations being hits with both critics and general audiences.
Until Dawn attempted to be next in that line. Based on the PlayStation Studios game of the same name, the film centers on a group of friends who get trapped in a time loop where a threat is out to kill them. In order to get free, they must survive through the night, which is easier said than done.
Critical reviews were mostly mixed for Until Dawn but it performed well commercially, pulling in $54.1 million on a budget of $15 million. It helped that the movie had a talented young cast including Odessa A’zion, Ella Rubin, Ji-young Yoo, Michael Cimino, and Maia Mitchell.
I Know What You Did Last Summer – $64.8 Million
Legacy sequels are popping up everywhere these days and the horror genre isn’t exempt from it. I Know What You Did Last Summer might share the same exact name as the original movie from 1997, but it acts as a direct sequel to the second entry.
The film even brings back several characters from the first installment, including Jennifer Love Hewitt, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Freddie Prinze Jr., and even Brandy. Of course, there’s a new batch of characters for audiences to get invested in, played by exciting young actors like Madelyn Cline and Chase Sui Wonders.
This I Know What You Did Last Summer grossed $64.8 million, which is less than the two from the ’90s, yet was still a success given the budget of around $18 million. Reviews might not have been great, yet it’s kind of in line with the rest of the franchise.
The Monkey – $68.8 Million
The Monkey might not be part of an existing franchise, but it has the benefit of being adapted from something written by Stephen King. As soon as a project has his name attached, people’s intrigue piques up because of his impressive track record.
The Monkey is based on a King short story from 1980 and focuses on twin brothers who have their lives turned upside down when a cursed toy monkey starts causing people around them to die. Osgood Perkins wrote and directed it, adding another well-received film to his resume.
With a cast that includes Tatiana Maslany, Theo James, Adam Scott, and Elijah Wood, there was some solid star power in The Monkey. That, and the Stephen King name, helped it gross $68.8 million on a budget of around $11 million, making it a pretty big hit for the horror genre.
Black Phone 2 – $132.2 Million
In 2021, acclaimed horror filmmaker Scott Derrickson put out The Black Phone, based on a short story from 2004. It ended up being a pretty big post-COVID hit, yet with the way the film concluded, it didn’t seem like a sequel would ever happen.
Derrickson returned with another installment and went in a totally different route. The Grabber was still dead, yet he found ways to haunt the dreams of Finney and Gwen, who head to a winter camp to learn more about his first victims. A lot of this was clearly inspired by Freddy Krueger and that’s a good thing.
Despite being much different from the first film, Black Phone 2 delivered in spades. It received strong reviews from critics and grossed $132.2 million. It also helped star Mason Thames land three number one movies in 2025 at the box office.
28 Years Later – $151.3 Million
One of the most interesting horror franchises in cinema history is the 28 Days Later series. The first installment, 28 Days Later, arrived in 2003, with 28 Weeks Later arriving in 2007. It took over a decade before we got 28 Years Later and it continued the franchise’s successful streak.
Once again, this film was a critical darling and performed well commercially. Taking place 28 years after the original, the story centers on a boy trying to find medical help for his mother while living in a quarantined zone thanks to the zombie outbreak decades prior.
Having Danny Boyle back in the director’s chair and Alex Garland as writer brought back aspects that worked in the first film, while Jodie Comer, Ralph Fiennes, and more delivered strong performances. 28 Years Later grossed $151.3 million and spawned a 2026 sequel that was also a critical hit.
Five Nights At Freddy’s 2 – $238.3 Million
It’s rare for a horror movie to become a hit with kids, yet that’s what Five Nights at Freddy’s pulled off in 2023. Based on the video game series of the same name, it follows a security guard who learns that the animatronic mascots at his job are possessed by the souls of kids who were murdered.
The video game aspect likely helped, yet it was still surprising to see the film do so well with younger audiences. Five Nights at Freddy’s 2 wasn’t quite as successful, yet it still pulled in $238.3 million worldwide on a budget of around $50 million.
This sequel sees a girl get manipulated by one of the animatronics into a plot designed to get revenge against parents. Critics felt this was more ambitious than its predecessor, yet didn’t work quite as well and received lackluster reviews.
Weapons – $269.9 Million
Two original horror movies stood out from the rest of the pack in 2025 for getting widespread acclaim from critics and audiences while also being hits at the worldwide box office. One of them was Weapons, which was all the talk for a while after it hit theaters.
Weapons comes from the mind of Zach Cregger, one of the fastest rising horror directors in Hollywood. Following his hit Barbarian, this movie took things to the next level. It tells the story of a small town where 17 kids mysteriously run away from home in the middle of the night for seemingly no reason.
The intriguing premise grabbed people while word of mouth brought even more to the theater. The film grossed $269.9 million on a budget of $38 million and has been nominated for several major awards, including Amy Madigan landing a Best Supporting Actress Oscar nod.
Final Destination Bloodlines – $317.8 Million
The Final Destination franchise is one of the most consistent in Hollywood. Basically every installment was met with mixed reviews and performed well at the box office, while also being pop culture staples.
Before 2025, the most recent installment came out in 2011 and it seemed like the series was done. However, Final Destination Bloodlines breathed new life into things, including scoring the best critical reviews of the franchise to the tune of a 92% Rotten Tomatoes rating.
Final Destination Bloodlines follows a college student who inherits visions of a 1969 premonition that leads to Death coming after them. The movie ended up grossing $317.8 million, which is easily the most that any entry has pulled in.
Sinners – $369.0 Million
Alongside Weapons, it was Sinners that wowed audiences and critics as a completely original horror movie. From acclaimed director Ryan Coogler, Sinners centers on twin brothers who return home to Mississippi in 1932 to open a juke joint only for evil forces to interrupt their first night.
If you don’t go in knowing this is a horror movie, you won’t realize it until around the halfway point where the vampire Remmick shows up. He’s after Sammie, a singer with a beautiful gift that makes his music transcendent, summoning spirits from the past and the future.
Sinners was a major commercial success, grossing $369 million and an even bigger hit with critics. The film has gone on to become the most nominated movie in the history of the Academy Awards, is a love letter to Black culture, and is a tremendous horror project.
The Conjuring: Last Rites – $499.1 Million
Sometimes, it’s hard to beat an established franchise and there aren’t many bigger in the horror genre than The Conjuring. After several huge hit installments and a mixed bag of spin-offs, The Conjuring: Last Rites arrived and marks the apparent final entry.
The Conjuring: Last Rites again follows Lorraine and Ed Warren as they investigate something paranormal, this time based on the Smuri haunting case. As has always been the case, Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson are very good as the lead characters.
That said, The Conjuring: Last Rites only received mixed reviews, which was in line with the third entry but far below the first two. Still, it raked in $499.1 million, which makes it the highest-grossing installment in the franchise.
