Following a 2023 that saw several breakout horror hits arrive in the domestic market—led by day-and-date release Five Nights at Freddy’s, which opened to $80M in late October before legging out to $137.2M domestically—the first half of 2024 failed to deliver a horror title that crossed over to general audiences, leaving A Quiet Place: Day One to snag the “top-grossing horror movie of 2024” title within mere days of its June 28 opening. Though Sony horror release Afraid won’t surpass Day One when it hits theaters in wide release on August 30, given the state of horror this year it has a solid shot at cracking the top five. Additional horror films to come to cinemas in 2024 include Smile 2, They Listen, and Terrifier 3.
A Quiet Place: Day One
Paramount Pictures | June 28
Domestic Opening: $52.2M
Domestic Total: $138.8M, as of 8/20
Still in theaters
The third film in Paramount Pictures’ A Quiet Place franchise, and the first one not directed by John Krasinski, debuted to a franchise-high $52.5M in late June, surpassing The Strangers: Chapter 1 as the highest-grossing horror film of 2024 after only two days in theaters. Moving into its second weekend, it stands as the 18th highest-grossing film of 2024 domestically and 15th highest-grossing film globally. Though it didn’t reach number one at the box office (due to a little film called Inside Out 2), it still stands to out-earn the first two films in the growing franchise.
Longlegs
NEON | July
Domestic Opening: $22.4M
Domestic Total: $72.9M, as of 8/20
Still in theaters
Specialty distributor NEON went big with Oz Perkins’ Longlegs, opening the horror title on 2,510 screens, the widest release for a NEON title. The bet paid off in a big way, with the film breezing past even the highest end of our box office predictions to earn $22.4M on opening weekend, trailing only fellow new release Despicable Me 4 and giving NEON its biggest opening weekend to-date. After a mere 14 days it became the distributor’s highest grosser, surpassing 2019’s Parasite, the gradual roll-out of which had the film reaching $53.3M more than five months into its domestic run.
Alien: Romulus
Walt Disney / 20th Century Studios | August 16
Domestic Opening: $41.5M (est.)
Domestic Total: $42M (as of 8/18)
Still in theaters
The third highest-grossing horror film of 2024 so far was one that was initially slated to bypass theaters and go straight to Hulu: Fede Alvarez’s Alien: Romulus, in which the director of Don’t Breathe and the Evil Dead remake brings the Alien franchise back to its horror roots. The film opened slightly under expectations with $42.5M over the three-day weekend, enough to knock Deadpool & Wolverine out of the number one spot in its fourth frame.
The Strangers: Chapter 1
Lionsgate Films | May 17
Domestic Opening: $11.8M
Domestic Total: $35.2M
With a domestic gross topping out in the mid-$30Ms, Lionsgate’s The Strangers: Chapter 1—like A Quiet Place: Day One, the third film and first prequel in an established horror franchise—wouldn’t even have been in the top ten highest-grossing horror films had it come out in 2023, an illustration of how far the genre has fallen at the box office this year. Opening in mid-May, the film debuted at the number three spot at the box office and enjoyed a moderate -53% drop before week two—moderate, at least, for the horror genre, which tends to drop off rather quickly after opening weekend. Chapter 1 stands solidly in the middle of the franchise in terms of box office, out-earning 2019’s The Strangers: Prey at Night ($24.4M domestic total) but having virtually no chance at catching up with the $52.5M earned by The Strangers when it came out in 2008.
Night Swim
Universal Pictures | January 5
Domestic Opening: $11.7M
Domestic Total: $32.4M
January 2023 was a surprisingly strong month for horror at the box office, with Universal’s M3GAN opening to $30.4M and IFC Films’ Skinamarink breaking out on the indie scene, riding a wave of good buzz (mostly generated on TikTok) to a $2M domestic gross—earned in spite of the fact that it went day-and-date in theaters and on Shudder. Any hopes of a similar performance from the genre this year were dashed when Universal’s Night Swim debuted to a mere $11.7M on over 3,000 screens. It would set the tone for the next few months, with wide releases Imaginary, The First Omen, and Tarot similarly failing to catch on with audiences.
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