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The most significant shock the movie business has encountered in 2025? The return of horror as a dominant force at the UK box office.

As a category, it has remarkably exceeded past times with a 22% rise compared to last year for the UK and Ireland film earnings: £83.7 million in 2025, against £68.6 million last year.

“Previously, zero horror films made £10 million in the UK or Ireland. Currently, five have surpassed that mark,” says a box office editor.

The top performers of the year – Weapons (£11.4 million), Sinners (£16.2m), the latest Conjuring installment (£14.98m) and the sequel to a classic (£15.54m) – have all stayed in the theaters and in the audience's minds.

Even though much of the industry commentary focuses on the standout quality of renowned filmmakers, their achievements suggest something changing between audiences and the category.

“I’ve heard people say, ‘Even if you don’t like horror this is a film you need to see,’” says a head of acquisition.

“Such movies experiment with style and format to produce entirely fresh content, connecting with viewers on a new level.”

But apart from creative value, the steady demand of spooky films this year implies they are giving audiences something that’s much needed: therapeutic relief.

“These days, movies echo the prevalent emotions of rage, anxiety, and polarization,” observes a horror podcast host.

“Scary movies excel at tapping into viewers' fears, amplifying them, allowing you to set aside daily worries and concentrate on the on-screen terror,” says a noted author of horror film history.

Against a current events featuring war, border tensions, far-right movements, and environmental crises, witches, zombies and vengeful spirits resonate a bit differently with viewers.

“I read somewhere that the success of vampire movies is linked to economically depressed times,” comments an performer from a successful fright film.

“This symbolizes the way modern economies can exhaust human spirit.”

Historically, public discord has always impacted scary movies.

Scholars highlight the surge of European artistic movements after the WWI and the chaotic atmosphere of the early Weimar Republic, with features such as early expressionist works and a pioneering fright film.

This was followed by the 1930s depression and iconic horror characters.

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

“Therefore, it embodies concerns related to foreign influx.”

The specter of migration inspired the newly launched supernatural tale The Severed Sun.

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

“Additionally, the notion that acquaintances might unexpectedly voice extreme views, leaving others shocked.”

Arguably, the present time of acclaimed, socially switched-on horror commenced with a sharp parody released a year after a contentious political era.

It sparked a fresh generation of horror auteurs, including a range of talented artists.

“That period was incredibly stimulating,” recalls a creator whose film about a violent prenatal entity was one of the time's landmark films.

“I think it was the beginning of an era when people were opening up to doing a really bonkers horror film which had arthouse aspirations.”

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

Simultaneously, there has been a reconsideration of the genre’s less celebrated output.

Earlier this year, a new cinema opened in a major city, showing obscure movies such as The Greasy Strangler, a classic adaptation and the late-80s version of the expressionist icon.

The fresh acclaim of this “raw and chaotic” genre is, according to the cinema founder, a direct reaction to the formulaic productions pumped out at the theaters.

“This responds to the sterile output from major studios. Today's cinema is safer and more repetitive. Many popular movies feel identical,” he explains.

“On the other hand, [these indie works] feel imperfect. They seem to burst forth from deep creativity, free from commercial constraints.”

Fright flicks continue to disrupt conventions.

“They have this strange ability to seem old fashioned and up to the minute, both at the same time,” observes an expert.

Alongside the return of the insane researcher motif – with multiple versions of a classic novel imminent – he predicts we will see horror films in the near future responding to our present fears: about AI’s dominance in the coming decades and “monstrous metaphors in power structures”.

Meanwhile, “Jesus horror” a forthcoming title – which depicts the events of holy family challenges after the nativity, and includes celebrated stars as the divine couple – is set for release soon, and will definitely cause a stir through the Christian right in the America.</