Quick TakeArticle at a glance
- The horror movies of 2026 gave us the biggest original horror opening ever (A24's Backrooms , $81.4 million), a $263 million run for a debut from a YouTube sketch creator, and the best start the Resident Evil series has ever had.
- Below is every notable US horror release of 2026 in one table: the date it opened (or will open), where to see it, what it's based on and whether its date moved.
- All dates are US theatrical openings unless the row says otherwise.
The horror movies of 2026 gave us the biggest original horror opening ever (A24’s Backrooms, $81.4 million), a $263 million run for a debut from a YouTube sketch creator, and the best start the Resident Evil series has ever had. Still to come: Clayface on October 23, Victorian Psycho on November 13 and Robert Eggers’ Werwulf on Christmas Day.
Below is every notable US horror release of 2026 in one table: the date it opened (or will open), where to see it, what it’s based on and whether its date moved. Under that are the movies worth your ticket or your couch. If you want the year’s superhero, sci-fi and fantasy dates instead, those live in our 2026 movie release calendar.
Every 2026 Horror Movie, With US Release Dates
All dates are US theatrical openings unless the row says otherwise. Streaming dates are listed only where the studio or platform has announced one.
| Movie | US release date | Where | Based on | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Primate | Jan 9 | Theaters (Paramount) | Original | Out |
| 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple | Jan 16 | Theaters (Sony) | 28 Days Later sequel | Out |
| Return to Silent Hill | Jan 23 | Theaters (Cineverse) | Silent Hill 2 (game) | Out |
| Send Help | Jan 30 | Theaters (Disney) | Original (Sam Raimi) | Out |
| Iron Lung | Jan 30 | Theaters (self-released by Markiplier) | Iron Lung (indie game) | Out |
| The Strangers: Chapter 3 | Feb 6 | Theaters (Lionsgate) | The Strangers trilogy | Out |
| Scream 7 | Feb 27 | Theaters (Paramount); Paramount+ date announced as May 28 | Scream franchise | Out |
| The Bride! | Mar 6 | Theaters (Warner Bros.) | Frankenstein | Out |
| Ready or Not 2: Here I Come | Mar 20 | Theaters (Searchlight) | Ready or Not sequel | Out |
| Exit 8 | Apr 10 | Theaters (Neon) | The Exit 8 (game) | Out |
| Lee Cronin’s The Mummy | Apr 17 | Theaters (Warner Bros.) | The Mummy | Out |
| Hokum | May 1 | Theaters (Neon) | Original (Damian McCarthy) | Out |
| Obsession | May 15 | Theaters (Focus); Peacock since Jul 17 | Original (Curry Barker) | Out |
| Backrooms | May 29 | Theaters (A24); HBO Max since Sep 25 | Kane Parsons’ YouTube series | Out |
| Evil Dead Burn | Jul 10 | Theaters (Warner Bros.) | Evil Dead franchise | Moved: Jul 24 → Jul 10 (out) |
| Insidious: Out of the Further | Aug 21 | Theaters (Sony) | Insidious franchise | Out |
| Resident Evil | Sep 18 | Theaters (Sony) | Resident Evil (games) | Out |
| Ghost in the Cell | Oct 2 | Limited theaters (Well Go USA) | Original (Joko Anwar) | Out |
| Other Mommy | Oct 9 | Theaters (Universal) | Original (Rob Savage) | Out |
| Crawlers | Oct 16 | Theaters (Roadside Attractions/Saban) | Original | Moved: Oct 2 → Oct 16 (out) |
| Whalefall | Oct 16 | Theaters (20th Century) | Daniel Kraus novel | Out |
| Clayface | Oct 23 | Theaters (Warner Bros./DC Studios) | DC Comics | Moved: Sep 11 → Oct 23 (coming) |
| Victorian Psycho | Nov 13 | Theaters (Bleecker Street) | Virginia Feito novel | Moved: Sep 25 → Nov 13 (coming) |
| Werwulf | Dec 25 | Theaters (Focus Features) | Original (Robert Eggers) | Coming |
| The Exorcist: Martyrs | Mar 12, 2027 | Theaters (Universal) | The Exorcist | Moved: March 2026 → Mar 12, 2027 |
| Remain | Feb 5, 2027 | Theaters (Warner Bros.) | Original (M. Night Shyamalan) | Moved: Oct 23, 2026 → Feb 5, 2027 |
| Crossed | Not announced | No US distributor announced | Garth Ennis comic | Waiting on a distributor |
The Real Story of 2026: YouTube Out-Scared the Franchises
Here’s the number that tells you what happened to horror this year. Three movies came straight out of internet video culture: Obsession (Curry Barker, who built his following with YouTube sketches and short films), Backrooms (Kane Parsons, who started the story as a YouTube series) and Iron Lung (Markiplier, who adapted the indie game and released it himself). Together they’ve grossed about $489 million in the US, according to Box Office Mojo’s 2026 chart.
Now add up nine legacy horror brands that opened this year: Resident Evil, Scream 7, Insidious: Out of the Further, Evil Dead Burn, The Mummy, The Bone Temple, Ready or Not 2, The Strangers: Chapter 3 and Return to Silent Hill. That whole stack comes to roughly $456 million. Three creator-made movies beat nine legacy franchises combined, and Obsession alone ($263.5 million) out-grossed the biggest franchise entry, Resident Evil, by about $119 million.
The easy headline is “video game horror finally works,” but the numbers don’t back it up. Return to Silent Hill opened to $3.3 million and Exit 8 to $1.4 million. What worked was horror made by people whose audience was already watching them every week. Young viewers followed Parsons and Barker from their phones to the multiplex, and studios are going to spend 2027 trying to find the next one.
Obsession and Backrooms: The Two Breakouts
Obsession opened May 15 to $17.2 million, then did the thing horror movies never do: it kept growing. Focus Features bought Barker’s debut out of the Toronto International Film Festival, and it’s now the biggest horror movie of the year in the US at $263.5 million. It’s streaming on Peacock.
Backrooms landed two weeks later on May 29 and opened to $81.4 million, A24’s best start by a mile. It’s at $197.5 million domestic and has been streaming on HBO Max since September 25. If you skipped it in theaters, it’s also on our list of the best horror movies on HBO Max right now.
Resident Evil Finally Got It Right
Sony’s Resident Evil, from Weapons director Zach Cregger, opened September 18 to $60.2 million, more than double the series’ old opening record. It sits at $144.6 million domestic, the biggest studio-franchise horror number of the year. The cast, story and what comes next are all in our Resident Evil 2026 movie guide.
Scream 7 Brought Sidney Back and Sold a Lot of Tickets
Scream 7 opened February 27 to $63.6 million, the best debut in the franchise’s history and a record for a February horror release. With Neve Campbell back as Sidney Prescott, it finished at $121.9 million in the US. Paramount set its Paramount+ debut for May 28. Our Scream 7 trailer breakdown covers how the marketing teased Ghostface’s return.
When Does Clayface Come Out?
Clayface opens in US theaters on Friday, October 23, 2026, after Warner Bros. moved it from September 11. It’s a full-on horror movie set in the DC Universe, rated R for strong bloody violence and gore. James Watkins directs from a script by Mike Flanagan and Hossein Amini, with Tom Rhys Harries as Matt Hagen, the actor whose face gets turned into clay. Here’s what the first reactions said about the body horror.
It’s the clearest sign yet that R-rated comic horror is a real lane for DC, and it lands the weekend before Halloween. Garth Ennis’ Crossed is the far grimmer version of the same idea: Rob Jabbaz’s adaptation has a brutal first teaser but no US distributor or release date yet.
Werwulf Is the Christmas Horror Movie
Robert Eggers’ Werwulf opens in theaters on December 25, 2026, from Focus Features, the same studio and the same Christmas slot as his Nosferatu. It’s a 13th-century werewolf story starring Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Lily-Rose Depp, Willem Dafoe and Ralph Ineson, and the second trailer is about as bleak as Christmas counterprogramming gets.
Which 2026 Horror Movies Moved?
Four big dates shifted. The Exorcist: Martyrs, Mike Flanagan’s take starring Scarlett Johansson, slid out of March 2026 and is now set for March 12, 2027; Universal showed the full trailer at New York Comic Con, as Variety reported, and here’s our breakdown of the Martyrs trailer. M. Night Shyamalan’s Remain left October 23, 2026 for February 5, 2027. Clayface went from September 11 to October 23, and Victorian Psycho went from September 25 to November 13.
One move went the other way: Evil Dead Burn jumped up two weeks, from July 24 to July 10. It opened to $13.7 million, well short of the $24.5 million Evil Dead Rise opened to in 2023.
The Smaller Horror Movies Worth Finding
Ghost in the Cell, Joko Anwar’s gory Indonesian prison horror-comedy, opened in limited US theaters on October 2 through Well Go USA; our trailer breakdown explains why it’s worth tracking down. Hokum, Damian McCarthy’s follow-up to Oddity, made $17 million for Neon. Primate turned a killer chimp into the year’s first horror hit in January, and Exit 8 is the most faithful game adaptation of the year, even if almost nobody saw it.
On the not-so-great side, Other Mommy topped the box office on October 9 with a $27.8 million opening despite a D+ CinemaScore, and The Bride! was the year’s most expensive horror miss, opening to $7.3 million.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the biggest horror movie of 2026?
Obsession is the biggest horror movie of 2026 in the US, with about $263.5 million domestic. Backrooms ($197.5 million) and Resident Evil ($144.6 million) are next.
When does Clayface come out?
Clayface opens in US theaters on October 23, 2026. Warner Bros. moved it from its original September 11 date, and it is rated R.
Is The Exorcist: Martyrs coming out in 2026?
No. Mike Flanagan’s The Exorcist: Martyrs moved out of March 2026 and is now dated for March 12, 2027.
What horror movies are coming out in December 2026?
Robert Eggers’ Werwulf is the big one, opening in theaters on December 25, 2026, from Focus Features.
Where can I stream Backrooms and Obsession?
Backrooms has been streaming on HBO Max in the US since September 25, 2026. Obsession has been on Peacock since July 17, 2026.
