The scare share: Horror movies at the box office

10/30/22 8:00PM

If you’re a Halloween-celebrator who didn’t spend your weekend trick-or-treating, you might have spent it in a cinema being frightened by the latest horror offerings on the big screen.

‍The scare share

‍An increasing share of movie goers are now opting for a fright, with data from The Numbers revealing that horror movies have taken 10-12% of all box office receipts in the last 3 years, roughly double the 5-6% share that the genre averaged from 2000-2010.

With the advent of streaming, and the proliferation of higher-quality TVs and sound systems, the at-home viewing experience for most genres is now a closer substitute for the cinema experience. Watching horror movies, however, likely remains a much more intense experience at the cinema, which is perhaps one reason why horror fans have flocked back to the big screen at a faster rate than other movie fans. Horror movies also typically don't need to have A-list star power or be attached to a universe or particular IP, giving a better chance for independent movie makers to recoup their investment.

‍2021 was horror’s best year relative to other genres, with 63 million tickets sold thanks to box office hits such as A Quiet Place: Part II, Candyman, Halloween Kills and the third movie in The Conjuring series. This year at the top of the scare charts has been Nope, Smile and The Black Phone, with horror films topping the box office for the last 5 weekends in the run up to Halloween.

‍Related charting: R-rated movies at the box office.

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