Horror's Box-Office Surge and Influential Works

comScore data show horror’s share of ticket purchases rising from 4% a decade ago to 17% by July 2025, and the category surpassed $1 billion in box-office receipts for the year. Contemporary auteurs (Jordan Peele, Robert Eggers), viral-born filmmakers and microbudget hits like the Terrifier series are reshaping modern horror, while practical-effects-driven gore remains a vital strand. Critics note unevenness: some recent titles (e.g., Shelby Oaks) are criticized as derivative, while studio-backed efforts such as Eli Roth’s Dream Eater have ambition but mixed reviews. Audiences and critics still revere tightly directed, influential films (Psycho, The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, Let the Right One In). In anime, body-horror touchstones (Akira) and crossover titles (Parasyte, Trese) are reaching new viewers on streaming platforms even as shows like Flowers of Evil and Neon Genesis Evangelion remain polarizing. Series such as Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood and To Your Eternity are celebrated for storytelling depth, underscoring how live-action and animated horror are complementary in the genre’s current resurgence.