Michael B. Jordan on the red carpet in front of “Sinners” poster

(Adrian Dennis/Getty Images)

Scare share

Horror has emerged as the shining genre at the US box office in 2025

“Sinners” has been a clear standout in what’s turning into a bumper year for scary movies.

4/29/25 10:58AM

Let he who has not seen “Sinners”…

Even taking its $90 million budget, lauded director, and star-studded cast into account, Warner Bros.’ vampiric flick “Sinners” is posting some seriously impressive numbers for studio execs to sink their teeth into.

The horror movie, the fifth collaboration in 12 years between director Ryan Coogler and star Michael B. Jordan, has been generating buzz among critics and audiences alike. For context, many films tend to drop 40% to 50% on their second weekends; “Sinners” dropped just ~6% last weekend from its $48 million opener. That’s the smallest second weekend drop for a debut over $40 million since “Avatar” back in 2009. Good company for any movie.

The $123 million that “Sinners” — a completely original movie in a slate typically awash with sequels and recycled IP — has grossed at the domestic box office so far has helped see the horror genre take a near record share of ticket sales this year.

Horror genre market share chart — Sherwood News

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In the streaming era, luring Americans into theaters is harder than ever, though a dose of big-screen scares still seems to be doing the trick. Data from box office research and news site The Numbers reveals that the horror genre has accounted for a 12.1% share of domestic box office ticket sales so far in 2025 — up from 9.8% last year and not far off the record 12.9% share that the genre took in 2021, thanks to the success of some fresh follow-ups in popular series like “Halloween” and “A Quiet Place.”

With the long-awaited third installment in Danny Boyle’s apocalyptic horror series, which started with 2002’s “28 Days Later,” landing in June, plus a gruesome slew of other incoming releases, there’s a lot for horror heads to get excited about. However, as Variety noted in a piece earlier this week, the glut of releases in 2025 — Universal, Sony, Neon, and Warner Bros. are all bringing out more horror movies than they did last year — could see some films cancel each other out and might scare genre devotees away through sheer fatigue.

Go Deeper: Jason Blum on the great horror renaissance and how Blumhouse is still scaring up big profits at the box office.

Millie Giles

SOUND FAMILIAR?

Kids these days are listening to more songs from the good old days

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Drake whiffs on an expected No. 1 on Spotify

Drake started at the bottom and he’s here, but not quite at the top... of Spotify, at least.

It’s been nearly three weeks since Drake dropped his three surprise albums — “Iceman,” “Habibti,” and “Maid of Honour.” Heading into the month, prediction markets were rating it a near certainty, a 98% chance, that Drake’s sonic onslaught was enough to snag the No. 1 slot on Spotify at least once in June.

But, while he surpassed the late Michael Jackson and took up three slots on the Billboard album chart at once, his newly released songs haven’t quite cracked the popular music-streaming platform’s top charts, and market seem to think the moment has passed.

(Event contracts are offered through Robinhood Derivatives, LLC — probabilities referenced or sourced from KalshiEx LLC or ForecastEx LLC.)

Spotify’s “Top Songs - Global” chart currently show that Jackson’s “Billie Jean,” which is more than four decades old, Justin Bieber’s “Beauty and a Beat,” which climbed back to the top of Spotify charts following his Coachella set in the spring, Olivia Rodrigo’s new angsty love song “The Cure,” and BTS’s “Swim” are all ahead of Drake’s “STFU Janice” from his “Iceman” album.

While Spotify previously reported last month that Drake’s “Make Them Cry” was the most streamed album in a single day this year, that was later revealed to be a data error.

Prediction markets currently show traders are betting there’s only a 15% chance Drake will have a No. 1 song on Spotify in June.

Meanwhile, Taylor Swift is in the lead at 98% — a day before the release of her new original song “I Knew It, I Knew You,” which she wrote and performed for Disney and Pixar’s upcoming “Toy Story 5” — followed by Olivia Rodrigo, whose highly anticipated album “You Seem Pretty Sad for a Girl So in Love” comes out next Friday.

(Event contracts are offered through Robinhood Derivatives, LLC — probabilities referenced or sourced from KalshiEx LLC or ForecastEx LLC.)

While Spotify previously reported last month that Drake’s “Make Them Cry” was the most streamed album in a single day this year, that was later revealed to be a data error.

Prediction markets currently show traders are betting there’s only a 15% chance Drake will have a No. 1 song on Spotify in June.

GameStop’s collectibles business just keeps booming, as “Pokémon” cards continue to fly

Collectibles revenue grew 65% year over year in its latest quarter.

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Will critics and audiences go out of this world for Steven Spielberg’s “Disclosure Day”?

Legendary director Steven Spielberg is back with his first film in four years.

While 2022’s Oscar-nominated “The Fabelmans” was a semi-autobiographical film, it looks like he’s back to his sci-fi roots with the upcoming release of Universal Pictures’ “Disclosure Day.”

The movie stars Emily Blunt, Josh O’Connor, Colin Firth, Eve Hewson, and Colman Domingo, and follows a cybersecurity whistleblower (O’Connor) and meteorologist (Blunt) who work together to uncover government secrets and expose the truth about extraterrestrial life.

Some first reactions out of early screenings shared on social media have been praising the film so far. Germain Lussier, a senior entertainment reporter at Gizmodo, posted on X that the movie is Spielberg’s “best film in 20 years,” while many have praised Blunt’s performance as one of her best. Others have said it is reminiscent of the filmmaker’s other sci-fi classics like “Close Encounters of the Third Kind” and “E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial.”

To be considered “fresh,” movies have to receive at least 60% on Rotten Tomatoes. While the global embargo for formal reviews doesn’t lift until Tuesday, June 9, at 12 p.m. ET following more advance screenings in Los Angeles, New York, and other cities ahead of the June 12 release date, traders on prediction markets are currently betting there is a 68% chance that the movie will score above 85% on the site.

(Event contracts are offered through Robinhood Derivatives, LLC — probabilities referenced or sourced from KalshiEx LLC or ForecastEx LLC.)

‘Disclosure Day’ First Reactions Call Steven Spielberg’s Sci-Fi Epic ‘His Best Film in 20 Years’ and Praise Emily Blunt’s ‘All-Time’ Performance

(Event contracts are offered through Robinhood Derivatives, LLC — probabilities referenced or sourced from KalshiEx LLC or ForecastEx LLC.)

Millie Giles

BLOCKS, BUSTED

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Major movie franchise sequels might not be the safe bet they once were

With internet-born indie horrors storming past the latest “Star Wars” movie, it seems Hollywood’s winning formula might not always add up.

Horror has emerged as the shining genre at the US box office in 2025

Let he who has not seen “Sinners”…

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