The first horror movie of 2025 has been released in theaters, and it is debuting to a strong Rotten Tomatoes score. 2024 was a good year for horror movies, with A Quiet Place: Day One, Smile 2, and Alien: Romulus leading the way with critical acclaim and box office success. Each turned a profit by thrilling audiences and using strong word-of-mouth to draw viewers to theaters. Notably, every one of these releases was also related to a pre-existing franchise. That happened to track with other genre trends, as the rest of the box office faced similar sequel and prequel success.

As Hollywood prepares for 2025, box office expectations could change. The lingering effects of the 2023 WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes should be behind the industry. Depending on the impact of streaming services and pandemic-related disdain for theaters, theatrical success could continue to be restrained to event movies. Still, the success of horror movies indicates...