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The largest surprise the movie business has experienced in 2025? The return of horror as a main player at the UK box office.

As a category, it has remarkably outperformed previous years with a 22% rise compared to last year for the UK and Ireland film earnings: £83,766,086 in 2025, compared with £68.6 million last year.

“In the past year, not a single horror movie hit £10 million in UK or Irish theaters. Now, five have achieved that,” says a cinema revenue expert.

The top performers of the year – Weapons (£11.4 million), Sinners (£16.2m), The Conjuring Last Rites (£14.98 million) and 28 Years Later (£15.54m) – have all hung about in the cinemas and in the audience's minds.

Even though much of the industry commentary highlights the standout quality of renowned filmmakers, their successes suggest something evolving between audiences and the genre.

“Many have expressed, ‘You should watch this even if horror isn’t your thing,’” states a head of acquisition.

“Films like these play with genre and structure to create something completely different, and that speaks to an audience in a different way.”

But beyond artistic merit, the ongoing appeal of horror movies this year suggests they are giving cinemagoers something that’s much needed: catharsis.

“Currently, cinema mirrors the widespread anger, fear, and societal splits,” says a film commentator.

“Scary movies excel at tapping into viewers' fears, amplifying them, allowing you to set aside daily worries and concentrate on the on-screen terror,” remarks a respected writer of vampire and monster cinema.

In the context of a current events featuring war, border tensions, far-right movements, and environmental crises, witches, zombies and vengeful spirits resonate a bit differently with audiences.

“It’s been noted that vampire cinema thrives during periods of economic hardship,” comments an actress from a popular scary movie.

“The concept reflects how economic systems can drain vitality from individuals.”

From film's inception, societal turmoil has shaped horror.

Scholars highlight the rise of German expressionism after the WWI and the unstable environment of the early Weimar Republic, with films such as The Cabinet of Dr Caligari and a pioneering fright film.

This was followed by the economic crisis of the 30s and iconic horror characters.

“Consider the Dracula narrative: an outsider from the east brings a corrupting influence that permeates society and challenges its heroes,” explains a academic.

“Thus, it mirrors widespread fears about migration.”

The specter of immigration shaped the recently released supernatural tale The Severed Sun.

The creator elaborates: “My goal was to examine populist trends. For instance, nostalgic phrases promising a return to a 'better' era that excluded many.”

“Secondly, the idea that you could be with someone you know and then suddenly they blurt out something round the dinner table or in a Facebook post and you’re like, ‘Where did that come from?’”

Maybe, the modern period of acclaimed, socially switched-on horror started with a clever critique debuted a year after a contentious political era.

It sparked a fresh generation of visionary directors, including various prominent figures.

“Those years were remarkably vibrant,” recalls a filmmaker whose film about a violent prenatal entity was one of the era’s tentpole movies.

“I believe it initiated a trend toward eccentric, high-concept horror that aimed for artistic recognition.”

The director, currently developing another scary story, continues: “Over 10 years, audiences’ minds have been opening up to much more of that.”

At the same time, there has been a revival of the overlooked scary films.

In recent months, a new cinema opened in London, showing cult classics such as a quirky horror title, The Fall of the House of Usher and the 1989 remake of the expressionist icon.

The renewed interest of this “rough and rowdy” genre is, according to the venue creator, a clear response to the algorithmic content produced at the box office.

“It counters the polished content from big producers. The industry has become blander and more foreseeable. Numerous blockbusters share the same traits,” he says.

“In contrast [these alternative films] are a bit broken. It’s like they’ve erupted out of someone’s subconscious and been planted out there without corporate interference.”

Horror films continue to upset the establishment.

“These movies uniquely blend vintage vibes with contemporary relevance,” observes an specialist.

Besides the return of the mad scientist trope – with multiple versions of a classic novel on the horizon – he anticipates we will see scary movies in the coming years reacting to our modern concerns: about artificial intelligence control in the near future and “monstrous metaphors in power structures”.

At the same time, a religious-themed scare film The Carpenter’s Son – which tells the story of Mary and Joseph’s struggles after Jesus’s birth, and stars well-known actors as the holy parents – is scheduled to debut in the coming months, and will definitely send a ripple through the faith-based groups in the US.</