2 New Horror Movies Prove An Exciting Box Office Trend Is Critic-Proof

Summary Horror movies don't need critical acclaim to succeed at the box office, as shown by Tarot and The Strangers: Chapter 1.

The recent success of horror films like Smile and Scream may make it challenging for sequels with poor reviews to perform well.

Even with bad reviews, horror franchises like The Nun can improve critical reception with sequels, offering hope for Tarot and The Strangers.

Both Tarot and The Strangers: Chapter 1 box 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 like Jaws, Alien, and The Exorcist proved the genre was profitable, while the slasher boom of the ‘80s saw franchises like Friday the 13th, Halloween, and A Nightmare On Elm Street dominate 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, and A Quiet Place all proved horror was still huge. However, the genre isn’t always a reliable moneymaker. Until 2024’s teen horror Tarot's box office performance broke 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 of The Strangers reboot proved 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.

Tarot And The Strangers: Chapter 1 Succeeded At The Box Office Despite Bad Reviews

Neither Horror Movie’s Box Office Was Hurt By Low Critical Ratings

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While The Strangers: Chapter 1 benefited 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, Tarot and The Strangers: Chapter 1 succeeded at the box office without any support from critics. This echoes a trend from 2023 when the video game adaptation Five Nights At Freddy’s won big with audiences despite lackluster reviews. While The Strangers: Chapter 1 benefited 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 (via Box Office Mojo), earning back more than three times its $8 million budget.

Movie Rotten Tomatoes Critics Score Worldwide Box Office (via Box Office Mojo) Tarot 18% $30.4 million The Strangers: Chapter 1 19% $15 million (so far)

The notion is exciting as it proves that horror 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 follow Tarot and The Strangers: Chapter 1 into theaters will likely be more concerned with getting viewers in seats than impressing reviewers. This is evidenced in The Strangers: Chapter 1’s shameless cliffhanger ending.

Related 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.

Tarot & The Strangers: Chapter 1 Succeeded At The Box Office Despite Bad Reviews

The Horror Genre’s Box Office Performance Has Been Incredible Since 2020

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The fact that director Renny Harlin’s new The Strangers movie 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, with A Quiet Place: Part II, Halloween Kills, and The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It all earning over $100 million. High-profile flops like Malignant and Last Night In Soho tempered enthusiasm around this trend.

Smile, Nope, Scream, The Black Phone, and Halloween Ends were all major hits, while M3GAN, The Nun II, Scream VI, and Five Nights At Freddy’s did equally well in 2023.

However, 2022 proved that horror was an incredibly profitable investment for studios and filmmakers with numerous massive hits. Smile, Nope, Scream, The Black Phone, and Halloween Ends were all major hits, while M3GAN, The Nun II, Scream VI, and Five Nights At Freddy’s did equally well in 2023. 2024 started wobbly with The First Omen and Lisa Frankenstein underperforming, but Tarot and The Strangers: Chapter 1 redeemed this. As such, it is no surprise that the creators of The Strangers: Chapter 1’s new trilogy weren’t worried about ending the movie with a cheeky “To be continued...”

Top Horror Movies Since 2021-2023 Worldwide Box Office (via The Numbers) The Black Phone (2022) $161.4 million Scream VI (2023) $169 million Nope (2022) $172 million M3GAN (2022) $181.1 million Insidious: The Red Door (2023) $186.2 million The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It (2021) $200.2 million Smile (2022) $217 million The Nun II (2023) $268 million A Quiet Place: Part II (2021) $296.6 million Five Nights at Freddy’s (2023) $297.1 million

Tarot & The Strangers Both Face Future Problems After Poor Reviews

Sequels To These Horror Hits May Struggle

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Although Tarot and The Strangers: Chapter 1 did both succeed upon release, they still face a challenge that wasn’t an issue for 2022’s big horror hits. Smile, The Black Phone, and Scream were all well-liked by critics, so the announcement of their potential sequels was met with enthusiasm. In contrast, the bad reviews that Tarot and The Strangers received may impact the reception of any follow-ups, specifically with The Strangers: Chapter 2's upcoming release. The same could be said for 2023’s horror hits, too, since Five Nights At Freddy’s earned 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 of The Nun and its sequel The Nun II. Both movies were massive box office hits, but this was due in part to The Nun II improving The Nun’s 25% critical rating with a far stronger 52%. These improved reviews proved that Tarot and The Strangers: Chapter 1 aren’t doomed to disappoint with their follow-ups despite their imperfect beginnings.

Sources: Box Office Mojo, The Numbers