Lessons Learned About the State of Horror Movies in 2024

Even as the 21st century has seen virtually every longstanding pillar of the Hollywood business model challenged (and in some cases destroyed), the endless profitability of horror movies has remained a comforting truth in an era of uncertainty.

In many ways, the genre’s business fundamentals have rendered it immune to the winds of change that have sent the rest of the industry into a state of turmoil. Horror films can be produced incredibly cheaply, seldom rely on expensive stars, enjoy a loyal built-in fanbase, and thrive on a level of immersion that incentivizes fans to take trips to theaters rather than streaming at home. Those factors have long combined to form something of an economic moat around horror movies, allowing the genre to remain a profitable corner of studio balance sheets in even the most trying years.

From “M3GAN” and “Smile” to “Cocaine Bear” and “Talk to Me,” the 2020s have seen plenty of horror breakouts in the prototypical mold: Low budget, original projects that ride strong word of mouth to become worldwide hits with staggering profit margins. But 2024 has yet to deliver a horror hit on that scale. Blumhouse efforts “Night Swim” and “Imaginary” turned respectable profits, but boasted neither the cultural relevance nor the nine figure hauls of some of its bigger recent hits. Universal’s “Abigail” seemed like a horror slam dunk on paper given its cast and direction from horror hitmakers Matt…