"This year, like most years, highlighted the dependability of Hollywood's favorite cash-cow genre. As theaters struggle to draw pre-lockdown box office numbers, horror fans prove to be a reliable demographic keeping auditoriums packed. Blumhouse alone is having another profitable year despite financial disappointments like M3GAN 2.0, boasting an estimated $253 million cumulative worldwide gross (thanks largely to Black Phone 2) against a high-end budgeted ballpark of $103 million - and that's before Five Nights at Freddy's 2."
"However, the real surprise of this year was the number of quality studio releases. My end-of-year lists tend to lean toward independent features, but 2025 saw almost an equal balance of mainstream releases and surprising TV breakthroughs. Studios took bigger gambles, whether they be charming holiday slashers, sports-centric thrillers, or another twisty Zach Cregger doozy. It's refreshing to see as a genre fan, and hopefully an indication for even bolder and more unpredictable creative freedoms on the horizon."
"Clown in a Cornfield made $3.7 million in its opening weekend, setting a new opening record for IFC (sorry, Late Night with the Devil). Good on Shudder's young adult slasher, because it deserves the haul. Eli Craig leaves Tucker and Dale behind to adapt Adam Cesare's novels into a teen-friendly splatterfest that introduces moviegoers to their new evil clown obsession: Frendo."
Horror remained a dependable theatrical draw in 2025, keeping auditoriums fuller than many other genres amid weakened overall box office returns. Blumhouse posted an estimated $253 million worldwide gross, buoyed by Black Phone 2 despite M3GAN 2.0 underperforming, with bigger tentpoles like Five Nights at Freddy's 2 forthcoming. Low-budget Stephen King adaptations scored solid grosses, turning modest budgets into healthy returns. Studios released an unexpectedly high number of quality genre titles and TV projects, taking creative gambles across subgenres. Smaller studio and indie efforts like Clown in a Cornfield achieved strong niche openings while blending splatter with generational commentary.
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