As the year wraps up, 2024 was generally a successful year for horror movies. As one of cinema’s oldest genres, horror movies have had a growing fan base since the genre was defined in the mid-1900s. Although the genre has stayed rooted in its fear factor, several of today’s horror movies are a blend of other genres. For decades, the genre was considered to have one of the lowest production budgets.
However, with its continued Box Office success, big studios began investing millions of dollars in production. 2024 was an interesting year, as industry watchers saw small and big-budget horror movies contend with each other at the Box Office. As proof of the genre’s success in 2024, the list will comprise movies with at least $50 million in earnings. With only Robert Eggers’ Nosferatu yet to be released, these are the top 11 highest-grossing and must-watch horror movies of 2024.
11. The First Omen — $53.9 Million
The First Omen joined the decades-running The Omen franchise as its sixth installment. It is created as a prequel to the original 1976 horror classic and explores the origins of the Antichrist’s birth. The First Omen’s plot centers around its protagonist, Margaret Daino (Nell Tiger Free). Margaret is an American novice nun sent to a Catholic orphanage in Rome in 1971.
There, she uncovers a sinister conspiracy within the Church aimed at orchestrating the birth of the Antichrist. The First Omen effectively expands the lore of the original series, providing a deeper understanding of the events leading up to the birth of Damien, the central figure in The Omen franchise. The First Omen performed moderately at the Box Office, grossing $53.9 million against its $30 million budget. The movie received generally positive reviews for its storytelling and performances.
10. Night Swim — $54.8 Million
Director Bryce McGuire made her feature directorial debut with the 2024 supernatural horror Night Swim. The movie was based on and adapted for the big screen from McGuire’s 2014 short film of the same name. The movie was produced by two of Hollywood’s horror veteran producers, Jason Blum and James Wan. Night Swim centers on the Weller Family, comprising father Ray (Wyatt Russell), mother Eve (Kerry Condon), and their two children, Izzy (Amélie Hoeferle) and Elliot (Gavin Warren). Seeking a permanent residence, the Weller family moved into a new home with a backyard swimming pool. Unbeknownst to them, the pool harbors malevolent forces linked to a dark secret from the home’s past. Night Swim was panned by critics but was a commercial success. It more than tripled its $15 million production cost, grossing $54.8 million at the Box Office.
9. Speak No Evil — $76.8 Million
Speak No Evil (2024) is directed by English filmmaker James Watkins. The movie is a remake of the 2022 Danish-Dutch film and stars Scottish actor James McAvoy as its cast lead. Speak No Evil’s plot follows an American family, Ben Dalton (Scoot McNairy), Louise Dalton (Mackenzie Davis), and their daughter Agnes (Alix West Lefler).
While vacationing in Italy, the family befriended a British couple, Paddy (James McAvoy) and Ciara (Aisling Franciosi), along with their son. The British family later invites the American family to their remote farmhouse in the English countryside. What starts as a friendly visit soon escalates into a tense and sinister ordeal as the hosts’ behavior becomes increasingly unsettling. Speak No Evil was a critical and commercial success, grossing $76.8 million from its $15 million production budget.
8. Terrifier 3 — $89.1 Million
Two years after the first sequel, Terrifier 3 was released theatrically on October 11, 2024. Damien Leone’s Terrifier 3 is a Christmas-themed supernatural slasher film that continues the gruesome saga of Art the Clown (David Howard Thornton). The film’s plot picks up five years after the events of Terrifier 2, with survivor Sienna Shaw (Lauren LaVera) attempting to rebuild her life while grappling with the trauma and hallucinations of her deceased friend. Meanwhile, Art the Clown returns and resumes his murderous rampage but is now accompanied by a possessed Victoria Heyes (Samantha Scaffidi). With Box Office earnings of $89.1 million, Terrifier 3 is the highest-grossing film in the series. Having a production budget of $2 million makes it one of the most profitable horror films of 2024.
7. Exhuma — $98 Million
It wasn’t only Hollywood who smashed the horror Box Office this year. Exhuma, a South Korean horror film, grossed $98 million after its theatrical run. Proof of its amazing feat, Exhuma became the highest-grossing South Korean film of 2024. Exhuma centers around a renowned shaman, Lee Hwa-rim (Kim Go-eun), and her protégé, Yoon Bong-gil (Lee Do-hyun).
A wealthy Korean American family enlists them to investigate a mysterious illness afflicting their newborn son. After tracing the curse to a vengeful ancestral spirit in the family’s grandfather’s grave, they seek to exhume and relocate the grave. To this end, they enlist Feng shui master Kim Sang-deok (Choi Min-sik) and undertaker Yeong-geun (Yoo Hae-jin). However, during the excavation, they inadvertently unleash a malevolent force, leading to a series of terrifying events.
6. Longlegs — $127 Million
The Nicolas Cage-led horror film was one of 2024’s most successful horror movies. The police procedural horror film cast Cage as the enigmatic serial killer, Longlegs. With actress Maika Monroe playing FBI agent Lee Harker, Longlegs is set in the 1990s Oregon. The film follows Agent Harker as she investigates a series of familicides, where fathers murder their families before committing suicide. Each of these cases leaves behind cryptic letters signed “Longlegs.” Longlegs received critical acclaim for its atmospheric tension and performances, particularly Nicolas Cage’s portrayal of the unsettling antagonist. Produce on a budget of less than $10 million, Longlegs grossed $127 million at the Box Office.
5. Smile 2 — $138 Million
Parker Finn returns with a sequel, Smile 2, to his 2022 box office hit Smile. Smile 2 follows Skye Riley (Naomi Scott), a Grammy-winning pop star. Skye prepares for a comeback tour after a public struggle with substance abuse and the death of her boyfriend, Paul Hudson. As Skye readies herself for the tour, she becomes entangled with a malevolent entity known as the “smile curse.”
The curse compels its victims to commit suicide in front of witnesses, thereby passing the curse to them. Although Smile 2 was produced with a higher production budget of $28 million, it was still a commercial success, with Box Office earnings of $138 million. However, it failed to outgross its predecessor, which had Box Office earnings of $217.4 million.
4. Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire — $201.9 Million
An unsurprising addition to the list is Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire. The film joined the famous Ghostbusters franchise as the fourth mainline installment. Set three years after the events of Ghostbusters: Afterlife, Frozen Empire follows the Spengler family and Callie Spengler’s (Carrie Coon) partner, Gary Grooberson (Paul Rudd). They move to New York City to assist Winston Zeddemore (Ernie Hudson) and Dr. Raymond “Ray” Stantz (Dan Aykroyd) in re-establishing the Ghostbusters. They confront Garraka, a phantom god intent on conquering humanity by unleashing a deathly chill and building a spectral army. Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire grossed $201.9 million from its $100 million production budget.
3. A Quiet Place: Day One — $261.8 Million
A Quiet Place: Day One is the third installment in A Quiet Place film series. Day One is a prequel and spin-off of the original films and centers around Samira (Lupita Nyong’o), a terminally ill poet residing in a New York hospice. During a day trip to Manhattan, Sam and her service car, Frodo, find themselves amid the sudden arrival of alien creatures that hunt by sound. Distributed by Paramount Pictures, A Quiet Place: Day One grossed $261.8 million after its theatrical run against its $67 production budget.
2. Alien: Romulus — $350.9 Million
Alien: Romulus is yet another movie from an established horror franchise. Romulus’s story is set between the events of the 1979 Alien and 1986 Aliens horror movies. Cailee Spaeny played the protagonist, Rain Carradine, an orphaned colonist on the dark planet LV-410. After Rain discovers the Weyland-Yutani Corporation has extended her work contract, she finds a way to escape the planet. Rain teams up with Andy (David Jonsson), her android surrogate brother and ex-boyfriend Tyler Harrison (Archie Renaux).
They are joined by Tyler’s cousin and sister, Bjorn (Spike Fearn) and Kay (Isabela Merced). Aileen Wu also joined the cast as Navarro, Bjorn’s adopted sister. However, things go awry after they inadvertently unleash a horde of hostile xenomorph creatures in an abandoned Weyland-Yutani space station. Alien: Romulus is the second high-grossing horror movie of 2024, grossing $350.9 million against an $80 million budget.
1. Beetlejuice Beetlejuice — $451.1 Million
Tim Burton’s 2024 Beetlejuice Beetlejuice is unarguably the highest-grossing horror film of 2024. It is the sequel to his 1988 cult classic Beetlejuice. Burton’s Beetlejuice Beetlejuice revisits the Deetz family, focusing on Lydia Deetz (Winona Ryder), now a mother and host of a paranormal talk show. Following her father’s death, Lydia returns to her Winter River, Connecticut, childhood home with her daughter, Astrid (Jenna Ortega), and stepmother, Delia (Catherine O’Hara).
Besides having a strained relationship with her mother, Astrid is skeptical about her mother’s psychic abilities. Astrid’s curiosity inadvertently opens a portal to the afterlife and summons Betelgeuse (Michael Keaton). Beetlejuice Beetlejuice was also the most expensive horror movie of 2024, with production budget estimates of $99–100 million. Impressively, it not only broke even but became the year’s highest-grossing horror movie with Box Office earnings of $451.1 million. While these horror movies of 2024 were a success, check out the biggest Box Office flops of 2024.
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