The new horror comedy from A24,Death of a Unicorn, has been underperforming at the box office, in another troubling sign for the horror movie market.Death of a Unicornstars Paul Rudd opposite Jenna Ortega as a father and daughter who accidentally kill a unicorn on a road trip and contend with the unicorn’s vengeful parents. AlthoughDeath of a Unicornreceived mixed reviewsfrom critics, it seemed to have all the makings of a hit: bankable stars, intriguing trailers, and a high-concept creature-feature premise.
But unfortunately, in spite of those elements,Death of a Unicornhas not performed well upon release. Although it’s scored blockbuster horror hits in the past withMidsommar,Talk to Me, and most recentlyHeretic, A24 is currently going through a rough patch with its scary movie output. Just a couple of weeks after their thrillerOpusstruggled,Death of a Unicorngrossed $5.8 million on its opening weekend, coming in well below Blumhouse’sThe Woman in the Yard,which rang up opening weekend receipts of $9.4 million.
The Once-Hot Market For Horror Movies Appears To Have Cooled
…But New Movies In 2025 Could Quickly Reverse That
Despite having the winning combination of Rudd and Ortega in lead roles,Death of a Unicornwas always going to be a bit of a gamble. Its humor is so quirky and tongue-in-cheek thatit would either connect with audiences or it wouldn’t, and it seems like it didn’t. Horror films can often find a second life in streaming release or attain cult status, however, so we shouldn’t count this one out yet.
Death of a Unicorn’s performance reflects a wider trend of horror movies missing the box office mark that began in 2024. Long considered a safe studio investment due to relatively low budgets and the potential for word-of-mouth hits, there have been signs of “genre fatigue” after several films fell below expectations. In 2024,The Omen,Imaginary, andAbigailwere among the properties that struggled.
While recent returns suggest audience appetite may be slowing for frighteners, this trend could also be quickly reversed. As shown on its opening weekend,The Woman In The Yardoverperformed expectation-wise, after initial projections had it aimed at more of a $5 million haul. And several highly-anticipated titles of the thriller and horror variety are slated for release in 2025 and have the potential to reignite audience excitement, including Ryan Coogler’sSinners,The Black Phone 2, M3GAN 2.0, 28 Years Later,and a fresh installment in theI Know What You Did Last Summerfranchise.
Both Rudd and Ortega have new movies with A24 on the horizon.Hurry Up Tomorrowhas a strong cast, featuring Ortega, Barry Keoghan, and The Weekndplaying himself. LikeDeath of a Unicorn, it’s a quirky horror film that doesn’t easily fall into a familiar category, and instead offers an intriguing premise: a musical psychological thriller about an insomniac musician on the verge of a nervous breakdown. Rudd will star alongside Tim Robinson and Kate Mara in writer/director Andrew DeYoung’s dark comedyFriendship, in which a suburban father becomes uncomfortably entangled with his neighbor.Friendshipbows on May 23rd, 2025 andHurry Up Tomorrowhits theaters January 31st, 2025.
