Summary
BothTarotandThe Strangers: Chapter 1box office performances prove something very important regarding the horror genre’s resurgence. Like any genre, horror goes through cycles at the box office. In the ‘70s, huge hits likeJaws,Alien, andThe Exorcistproved the genre was profitable, while the slasher boom of the ‘80s saw franchises likeFriday the 13th,Halloween, andA Nightmare On Elm Streetdominate the video store shelves. Later, the meta-slashers of the ‘90s, Japanese horror remakes of the ‘00s, and the found footage craze of the 2010s kept the genre alive.
More recently,Five Nights At Freddy’s,IT, andA Quiet Placeall proved horror was still huge. However, the genre isn’t always a reliable moneymaker. Until 2024’s teen horrorTarot’sbox office performancebroke a multiple-month drought, 2024 seemed to have brought an end to the genre’s recent string of box office successes. Fortunately, the impressive debut ofThe Strangersrebootproved that this was no fluke. Meanwhile, the critical reception of both movies highlights a surprising truth about the horror movies that proved to be financial successes in 2024.
Neither Horror Movie’s Box Office Was Hurt By Low Critical Ratings
WhileThe Strangers: Chapter 1benefited from its association with a successful series,Tarot’s box office success proved that horror movies don’t even need a recognizable franchise to win over viewers.
Although both movies received bad reviews,TarotandThe Strangers: Chapter 1succeeded at the box officewithout any support from critics. This echoes a trend from 2023 when the video game adaptationFive Nights At Freddy’swon big with audiences despite lackluster reviews. WhileThe Strangers: Chapter 1benefited from its association with a successful series,Tarot’s box office success proved that horror movies don’t even need a recognizable franchise to win over viewers. The supernatural horror movie made over $30 million upon release (viaBox Office Mojo), earning back more than three times its $8 million budget.
18%
$30.4 million
19%
$15 million (so far)
The notion is exciting as it proves thathorror movies don’t rely on critical acclaim to succeed,but this has the potential to become a concerning trend. After all, critically reviled horror movies succeeding at the box office leaves studios with no concerns about quality control. Despite the so-called “elevated horror” trend granting the genre more critical legitimacy in recent years, horror movies that followTarotandThe Strangers: Chapter 1into theaters will likely be more concerned with getting viewers in seats than impressing reviewers. This is evidenced inThe Strangers: Chapter 1’s shameless cliffhanger ending.
10 Most Influential Horror Movies Of All Time
Many of the best horror movies of all time have also gone down in history for sparking the genius of future filmmakers who draw inspiration from them.
The Horror Genre’s Box Office Performance Has Been Incredible Since 2020
The fact that director Renny Harlin’s newThe Strangersmovie ended without a resolution proves that creators can get away with a lot in service of maximizing output. That said, it is not surprising that studios are unconcerned by critical misgivings after the horror genre’s recent performance at the box office. In 2021, horror proved to be a big winner when theaters reopened, withA Quiet Place: Part II,Halloween Kills, andThe Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do Itall earning over $100 million. High-profile flops likeMalignantandLast Night In Sohotempered enthusiasm around this trend.
Smile,Nope,Scream,The Black Phone,andHalloween Endswere all major hits, whileM3GAN,The Nun II,Scream VI, andFive Nights At Freddy’sdid equally well in 2023.
However,2022 proved that horror was an incredibly profitable investment for studios and filmmakerswith numerous massive hits.Smile,Nope,Scream,The Black Phone,andHalloween Endswere all major hits, whileM3GAN,The Nun II,Scream VI, andFive Nights At Freddy’sdid equally well in 2023. 2024 started wobbly withThe First OmenandLisa Frankensteinunderperforming, butTarotandThe Strangers: Chapter 1redeemed this. As such, it is no surprise that the creators ofThe Strangers: Chapter 1’s new trilogyweren’t worried about ending the movie with a cheeky “To be continued…”
$161.4 million
$169 million
$172 million
M3GAN (2022)
$181.1 million
$186.2 million
$200.2 million
$217 million
$268 million
$296.6 million
$297.1 million
Tarot & The Strangers Both Face Future Problems After Poor Reviews
Sequels To These Horror Hits May Struggle
AlthoughTarotandThe Strangers: Chapter 1did both succeed upon release, they still face a challenge that wasn’t an issue for 2022’s big horror hits.Smile,The Black Phone, andScreamwere all well-liked by critics, so the announcement of their potential sequels was met with enthusiasm. In contrast, the bad reviews thatTarotandThe Strangersreceived may impact the reception of any follow-ups, specifically withThe Strangers: Chapter 2’s upcoming release. The same could be said for 2023’s horror hits, too, sinceFive Nights At Freddy’searned a paltry 32% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
To be fair, another 2023 horror hit proves that this isn’t always an issue.Horror franchises can turn their critical reception around, as evidenced by the Rotten Tomatoes scores ofThe Nunand its sequelThe Nun II. Both movies were massive box office hits, but this was due in part toThe Nun IIimprovingThe Nun’s 25% critical rating with a far stronger 52%. These improved reviews proved thatTarotandThe Strangers: Chapter 1aren’t doomed to disappoint with their follow-ups despite their imperfect beginnings.
