Are horror movies the new summer blockbusters?

This summer, movies are having something of an identity crisis, as traditional blockbusters of the silly season are being superseded by cinema that’s much scarier, and delivers much more satisfying thrills and excitement.

We’re currently living through the year of the animated movie. Pixar’s Inside Out 2 is the most successful movie of 2024 thus far, and well on its way to becoming the biggest cartoon of all-time.

Despicable Me 4 is working its way towards $1 billion, while the hype and anticipation surrounding Moana 2 suggests the Disney sequel is likely to give both films a run for their money.

But while family cartoons are currently the dominant force, a more sinister genre is slowly creeping its way into contention, and that’s horror.

That’s largely because it’s been a rough time for big-budget blockbusters. New Apes, Bad Boys, and Godzilla/Kong movies turned a profit. But the likes of Madame Web in February, Ghostbusters in March, and more recently The Fall Guy and Furiosa failed to post the numbers required of movies with such sizeable budgets.

Instead, the most successful films of the summer – dollar-for-dollar – have been scary movies, with three terrifying titles currently packing people into cinemas worldwide.

The horror movies that are dominating summer 2024

A Quiet Place: Day One is the third movie in the creature-feature franchise, and while the first two films released pre-summer, this prequel was pushed to June, slap-bang in the middle of blockbuster season.

The movie duly did blockbuster business, with a $50 million opening weekend the best for a Quiet Place movie thus far, and the running total standing at more than $220 million. Which is more than three times the film’s production budget.

MaXXXine is another third installment that’s proved to be a summer winner. The final part of a trilogy that started with March movie X, and continued with September release Pearl, MaXXXine hit screens on July 5.

It immediately debuted with record numbers for the X series, the slasher stabbing way above its weight, and edging towards the $15 million mark. Which is huge for a film that’s estimated to have cost $1-2 million.

Meanwhile, the most talked about movie of the moment is Longlegs. Oz Perkins’ serial killer thriller – starring a spine-chilling Nicolas Cage – arrived last week following a masterful marketing campaign, as well as some wild early reactions.

The horror movie then delivered at the box office, debuting with a $22 million opening weekend; a record for indie distributor Neon. That number has already risen to $28 million domestically, giving the film a worldwide total of $30 million. And that’s from just a $10 million budget. 

Why terror is taking hold

One way of viewing the success of these movies is as counter-programming, for cinema-goers searching out fare aimed at adults rather than pre-teens. Or as an alternative to those action movies which are all muscles and no brain.

But while the former is doubtless true, I’d say it’s more complicated when it comes to the latter. As these horror movies are delivering the kind of thrills and excitement expected of the classic summer blockbuster. But they’re also combining those elements with strong central characters and a heartfelt emotional through-line, making for a more well-rounded movie-going experience.

I certainly came out of the new Quiet Place feeling something, which can’t be said of The Fall Guy, fun as it was. While for all its faults – which we touched on in our Longlegs review – Perkins’ film has stayed with me for days, resonating in a way that many recent summer blockbusters simply haven’t.

This isn’t just a 2024 thing either. Australian horror Talk to Me was released in July of 2023 to rave reviews, and a global haul of $90 million, from a budget of less than $5 million.

While new master of horror Jordan Peele decided to release his third movie Nope in July of 2022, resulting in a $170 million haul, from a budget of around $70 million.

Going even further back, The Blair Witch Project was released 25 years ago this week, and famously made more than 4,000-times its budget in cinemas. While the original summer blockbuster was also a horror movie, with Jaws grossing more than $400 million in 1975, which translates to around $1.2 billion in today’s money. 

Meaning 2024’s creepy crop aren’t the first to be making this season their own. But with three scary movies in the Top 10 this week it’s clearly becoming an industry strategy, suggesting that yes, horror movies might quietly – and stealthily – transform into the new summer blockbusters. 

For more scary stuff, check out our list of the best horror movies of all-time, or five movies to watch if you love Longlegs.