Our The Biggest Horror Movies of 2025
- Horror Features
Jasmine Clarke- 0
- 18 minutes read
If the past few years taught us anything, it’s that horror doesn’t die, it just mutates. Not only that, but there has been a noticeable growth in the popularity of horror and the box office takings reinforce the general feelings around this.
Years after pandemic delays, strike-scarred schedules and streaming shake-ups, 2025 didn’t just bring horror back to full strength… It unleashed it. From lavish vampire epics and franchise finales to micro-budget miracles and streaming sensations, this was the year horror proved once again that it’s cinema’s most resilient, risk-embracing genre.
Studios went big. Indie filmmakers went weird. Audiences showed up for both.
So as we close the door on the year, here’s how horror ruled 2025, film by film.
The Box-Office Behemoths
Sinners
Ryan Coogler’s Sinners didn’t just dominate horror in 2025, it redefined what a horror blockbuster can look like. A 1930s-set vampire epic fused with gangster drama, the film turned atmosphere, sex appeal and social commentary into box-office gold.
With a worldwide haul of nearly $370 million, Sinners became the year’s highest-grossing horror film, helped by IMAX screenings, awards buzz and a magnetic dual performance from Michael B. Jordan. Stylish, unapologetically sensual and confident in its genre identity, it proved that horror doesn’t need to sand down its edges to play big.
“Not just one of the best vampire films in recent memory. Sinners is a triumph of bold, big-screen storytelling.”
The Conjuring: Last Rites
Every long-running franchise promises a “final chapter”. Few actually deliver one this successfully.
The Conjuring: Last Rites gave Ed and Lorraine Warren a farewell that fans clearly didn’t want to miss, pulling in close to half a billion dollars worldwide and becoming the most successful entry in the series. Familiar? Absolutely. But polished, crowd-pleasing and emotionally weighted enough to feel like a genuine send-off.
If this really is the end of the road, it’s a rare case of a horror universe going out on top.
“It may not scare in the way its predecessors once did, but it does remind us why audiences have followed these characters for over a decade.”
Tom Atkinson’s review
Final Destination: Bloodlines
Death, it turns out, still has excellent timing.
The sixth Final Destination film refreshed the franchise by narrowing its focus to a single family, turning fate’s elaborate Rube Goldberg executions into something more intimate and cruel. The result was the strongest reception the series has seen in years and a worldwide gross north of $300 million.
Proof that audiences never tire of watching death do… creative accounting.
“Bloodlines cements Final Destination as the franchise all other horrors should study if they want to keep people engaged, entertained and downright petrified”
Alex Humphrey’s review
Weapons
Zach Cregger’s follow-up to Barbarian confirmed he’s not a one-hit wonder.
Weapons took a riskier approach, telling its story through multiple perspectives as children vanished and a community unravelled. Made for a modest budget and earning nearly seven times that worldwide, it became one of the year’s most talked-about original horrors, praised for its structure, nerve-shredding tension and refusal to spoon-feed answers.
This was horror for audiences who like their scares with ambition attached.
Five Nights at Freddy’s 2
Critics weren’t impressed. Fans didn’t care.
Despite brutal reviews, Five Nights at Freddy’s 2 opened huge and stayed strong, riding fan enthusiasm to one of the year’s biggest horror grosses. It’s a reminder that in modern horror economics, fandom loyalty can be more powerful than critical consensus.
Love it or loathe it, this sequel cemented the franchise as a box-office force.
Predador: Badlands
“An epic Sci-Horror spectacular. Dan Trachtenberg delivered big in 2025, proving without a doubt that the fantastic franchise is in safe hands.”
Alex Humphrey
Mid-Budget Winners and Surprise Breakouts
Not every horror success in 2025 came with a nine-figure marketing campaign.
Wolf Man
“After artfully updating The Invisible Man Leigh Whannell sets his sights on Lycanthropy with a moving and meaningful reimagining of the Universal classic Wolf Man. Excellent acting throughout with plenty of jumps this is a brilliant update of a timeless tale.”
Alex Humphrey’s review
28 Years Later
Danny Boyle and Alex Garland returned to the rage-virus world with a colder, folk-horror edge. 28 Years Later didn’t just revive the franchise, it expanded it, introducing new infected variants and laying groundwork for future instalments.
Audiences responded, pushing it comfortably past $150 million worldwide and proving there’s still life, and death, in this universe.
“Bleak, beautiful and occasionally brilliant, it’s a rare horror film that earns this level of emotion.”
Tom Atkinson’s review
Black Phone 2
In a year where Blumhouse struggled to recapture its former hit-making magic, Black Phone 2 stood out as a rare sequel that justified its existence. Crossing $130 million globally on a $30 million budget, it reaffirmed that grounded, character-led horror still resonates when handled with care.
Together
“One of the year’s most hotly anticipated but promptly forgotten horrors was Michael Shanks’ Together, and in another strong year for the genre, it definitely deserves more attention. A wild and creative body horror take on codependent romance, it had an intriguing mystery premise, avoided over-explaining it, and focused more on the dynamics of its lead couple, played compellingly by real-life husband and wife Dave Franco and Alison Brie. While it offered some gnarly moments of grue, its most uncomfortable moments arguably came from the interactions within a failing relationship, but a decidedly tongue-in-cheek approach gave a fair share of dark comedy to break things up. Together was my firm favourite of 2025.”
Luna Guthrie
Heart Eyes
A Valentine’s Day slasher rom-com shouldn’t work. Heart Eyes did.
With a modest budget and clever counter-programming, the film doubled its costs and lingered in cinemas thanks to strong word of mouth. Proof that genre mash-ups, when executed with confidence, can still surprise audiences.
“In the grand tradition of horror-comedies, Heart Eyes doesn’t break much ground, but it does remix with style.”
Tom Atkinson’s review
Companion
Few films exemplified modern horror’s cross-platform success better than Companion. Opening quietly in cinemas, the AI-themed chiller became a genuine hit once it reached streaming, climbing charts and boasting near-universal approval from critics and audiences alike.
Small budget. Big idea. Huge payoff.
“It may not be the most original take on the AI panic, but it’s certainly one of the most darkly enjoyable.”
Tom Atkinson’s review
Good Boy
A haunted-house film told from a dog’s perspective should not have worked. It did.
Made for just $70,000, Good Boy became one of Shudder’s biggest success stories ever, delivering astonishing returns and proving that originality, not scale, remains horror’s most valuable currency.
“Unique, creepy, and at it’s core, undeniably sweet – Good Boy made me want to snuggle my pug a little closer.”
Rebecca Barr’s review
The Ugly Stepsister
“Emilie Blichfeldt’s The Ugly Step Sister (2025) is a horrific retelling of the classic fairytale that brought us the perfect juxtaposition of beauty and wretchedness. The stunning set design and dreamy landscapes transport you into Elvira’s world while the grotesque special effects and atrocious characters disgust you. It’s exploration of girlhood, beauty, patriarchy, and self-worth provokes the audience to reflect on society and themselves. It’s a must-watch body horror tailored to the female gaze and fears.”
Bring Her Back
“If you have the stomach for it, the Philippou brothers have delivered an emotional, often jarring, unrelentingly creepy piece of work with some of the nastiest moments you’ll see this year.”
The Monkey
“An immense amount of fun, The Monkey is best viewed in a packed auditorium amongst fellow horror lovers laughing their heads off while watching others loose theirs. With this movie, Perkins has proven there is much more to him than Longlegs, and with another horror already announced I can’t wait to see what he brings us next.”
Alex Humphrey’s review
Streaming, Prestige and Cult Favourites
Frankenstein
Guillermo del Toro’s Frankenstein barely registered at the box office, but that tells only half the story.
Once it hit Netflix, the film exploded, topping charts in dozens of countries and pulling in tens of millions of views. Lavish, mournful and deeply romantic, it became one of the year’s most culturally significant horror releases, fuelled by awards chatter and passionate debate.
This was prestige horror thriving in the streaming age.
The Shrouds
David Cronenberg’s grief-soaked return to body horror wasn’t built for mass appeal, and its modest box-office performance reflected that. But critically, The Shrouds landed as a haunting meditation on loss, mortality and obsession.
“The Shrouds is equal parts psychological thriller and body horror”
Erica Vilkus’ review
Mother of Flies
A bewitching mix of philosophical musings on our very existence and grim, gory goings on, Mother of Flies is the Adams Family’s best yet. It’s a treat for the eyes and the brain. It’s packed with contrasts, the gorgeous locations bearing witness to horrific acts of violence.
Best Wishes to All
One of the year’s most unsettling films arrived quietly. A surreal, cruel fable about happiness as a finite resource, Best Wishes to All became a word-of-mouth sensation on Shudder and the festival circuit.
More Shirley Jackson than jump-scare J-horror, it exemplified the platform’s growing reputation as a home for daring, left-field genre work.
Portal to Hell
Written and directed by Woody Bess this quick witted and quirky comedy horror was one of the standout hits at this years FrightFest. Packed with jet black humour and some complex moral questions this is a gripping yarn of Faustian proportions set in run down launderette.
“It’s refined, funny, moving and proves that the humdrum setting of a laundromat can be just as effective as any haunted house or remote cabin.”
Tom Atkinson’s review
What 2025 Told Us About Horror
If 2025 proved anything, it’s that horror thrives on variety.
Blockbusters like Sinners and The Conjuring: Last Rites showed that audiences still crave big, cinematic scares. Mid-budget originals like Weapons and Companion demonstrated that ambition pays off. Streaming platforms turned passion projects into global events. Even misfires like Wolf Man highlighted a genre unafraid to take swings. From franchise finales to micro-budget miracles, 2025 reinforced horror’s place as the most adaptable, audience-driven genre in modern cinema.
And with 2026 already sharpening its knives, we have a lot to look forward to!
