Nothing says the year’s over for horror fans more than when not a single horror title appears in the top 10 at the weekend domestic box office. Thankfully, this year, the holiday dry spell lasts only a few days because in a rare move, Hollywood is releasing a horror film in December. Nosferatu hits theaters in three days, just a week before the new year.
So we thought we would take this time to reflect on 2024 and its horror titles and where they fell money-wise with American audiences. Some big box IPs like Alien Romulus and Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire raked in over $100 million. But 2024 was more the year of the indie which means producers were the true profit winners. Cineverse, the studio behind Terrifier 3, has solidified its position in Hollywood as a low-budget horror heavy hitter. And distributor Neon flooded the marquee with niche horror all-sorts making A24’s mainstream flex Civil War seem like a straight-to-video title. Civil War had a budget of $50 million and made $68 million. Neon’s Longlegs cost $10 million and made over 70.
The list below contains the top 11 horror movies and their grosses from most to least and where they fall on the chart. None accomplished the century mark because as previously stated this was truly the year of indie profit spread. But If you consider Beetlejuice Beetlejuice horror, that was the clear winner this year with $294 million. Alien Romulus got $105 million. Beyond that, nothing topped those big numbers.
It should be noted that the numbers below only reflect the domestic box office via Box Office Mojo.
#26 Longlegs: 74.3 million
#29 Smile 2: $68.9 million
#37 Terrifier 3: $53 million
#42 Trap: $42.7 million
#44 Speak No Evil: $36.9 million
#45 The Strangers: Chapter 1: $35.2 million
#48 Night Swim: $32.4 million
#54 Imaginary: $28 million
#56 Abigail: $25.8 million
#66 The First Omen: $20 million
#72 Tarot: $18