2022 has been huge for horror movies, particularly those released exclusively in theatres, and this is exciting news for the future of the genre. Horror cinema is having a moment. From Scream 2022 to Halloween Ends, multiplexes are packed with new contributions to some of the genre’s biggest franchises and these releases are mostly proving to be financial successes.
However, original horror movies without franchise connections are faring even better. The Jordan Peele sci-fi horror Nope earned $171 million over the summer, while The Black Phone managed to make almost as much despite its meager budget of $17 million. Even smaller indie releases like director Damien Leone’s cult slasher sequel Terrifier 2 have done incredible business, with that controversial hit making over $2 million and stirring up massive controversy despite a limited release. None of these numbers would be possible without these horror movies prioritizing exclusive theater releases, which seems to be a trend in 2022’s most successful horror outings.
2022 Horror Movies Avoid The Biggest Cinema Problem
Whether it is Terrifier 2, Smile, The Black Phone, Nope, or Barbarian, almost all of 2022’s biggest horror hits have managed to avoid a major problem that plagues theater releases. These hits are all original titles (or, in the case of Terrifier 2, a sequel to a little-seen indie hit) rather than additions to long-running franchises. As such, audiences don’t need to have seen 8 hours of earlier movies to be excited about these original horrors. Although they all build on classic horror tropes and themes (even Smile’s best twist is borrowed from Stephen King), these movies are all fresh enough to require nothing from viewers outside hardened nerves.
As massive franchises like the MCU and Star Wars extend their tendrils further into the world of television and web series, original horror movies allow the genre to maintain an edge since they are sold based on their lack of franchise familiarity. While Halloween Ends may rely on the familiar presence of Laurie Strode and Michael Myers, most of 2022’s biggest horrors feature no known characters and aren’t part of a larger fictional universe. The genre’s biggest theater releases are proof that horror viewers are willing to take a risk on an unproven IP like Nope, while small-screen efforts like SyFy’s Chucky television series prove that there is still a place for long-established franchises in the genre.
Horror Movies Make Easier Box Office Success
The massive success of The Black Phone and Smile, both original horror movies with no franchise connections, proves that the horror genre has been a big winner since theatres reopened post-pandemic. Since horror movies generally tend to have lower budgets than their blockbuster competitors, the profit margins on these hits are also far larger. While the CGI budget alone for an MCU movie would be bigger than most horror releases, the price tag on superhero movies and action extravaganzas will always be higher since their visuals must be spot on and action sequences eat up cash. In contrast, even a comparatively higher-budget 2022 horror movie like Jordan Peele’s twisty Nope still costs under $70 million, a fraction of the budget allotted to most modern blockbusters.
Why Horror Benefits From Theatre Viewing (More Than Other Movies)
More than any other genre, horror is uniquely suited to the movie theater experience and has benefited from the return of cinema screenings as a result. Plot twists, gory shock factors, jump scares, and the experience of shared tension are all aided and exaggerated by the communal experience of watching a movie together, something that streaming can’t emulate (and many other genres don’t require). Smile and Terrifier 2 alike have received better reviews than the comparable streaming releases Grimcutty and Halloween Ends precisely because their theater releases encouraged a classic movie-going experience, which accentuates horror’s main selling points as a genre.
Theaters Make Horror Movies Scarier (& More Profitable)
While Smile’s clever writing and effective twists meant the movie always deserved to be a hit, earning $140 million (and counting) on a budget of $17 million without any A-list stars reflects how much theater releases can assist horror movies. Smile’s success came down to word-of-mouth (and an ingenious viral marketing campaign), neither of which would have worked if the movie had arrived on VOD at the same time as its theater debut. Similarly, the elements that have made Terrifier 2 so controversial, its intense gore and shock value, don’t work as well on Netflix or Amazon Prime, where viewers can pause, switch tabs, and check out any time.
While reports of viewers fainting and passing out might be a bit hyperbolic, the movie’s director Leone is right to note that 2016's original Terrifier is arguably even nastier than its sequel. However, crucially, few viewers saw that movie in cinemas. The best horror movies of 2022, whether they are studio releases like Smile or independent movies like Terrifier 2, prove that the horror genre can turn the theater-going experience into a selling point. As a result, horror movies have been able to exceed box-office expectations throughout 2022 primarily because the genre can create a must-see movie event without a high budget.
How 2022 Horror Movies Set Up The Genre's Future
2022’s biggest financial successes in the horror genre all have theater-exclusive releases in common. With no stars and a jaw-dropping amount of gore, Terrifier 2 is about as outré as a successful horror movie can get, but the sequel still racked up over $2 million in 2 weeks. Its success, like Smile’s blockbuster box office impact and Barbarian earning its budget back ten times over, implies that studios might be willing to take risks on new horror properties that aren’t attached to existing blockbuster franchises going forward.
Now that the divisive sequel Halloween Ends has brought one major slasher franchise to an end, the horror genre is more open to innovation than ever. The success of 2022’s theatrical horror releases paints a picture of a genre that is not only thriving post-pandemic but one that has actively learned lessons from spending two years in exile. The horror movie-going event has been thoroughly revived as a cultural institution, resulting in unlikely hits springing up throughout the genre despite the absence of big-name actors or sizable marketing budgets. The future of horror movies is bright in 2022 precisely because, while the Internet can provide a lot, the streaming experience can’t replicate the feeling of being scared senseless together in the dark.