This Halloween, it seems Horror is bigger than ever. Subscription video-on-demand (SVoD) services in the USA are now offering more Horror movie titles to audiences than ever before, per data from Ampere’s Analytics SVoD service.
Prior to 2024, the highest available volume of Horror movie hours was observed in Q3 2020 – nearly 2900 hours – but this total has been beaten consistently every quarter of 2024 as services look to bolster their catalogue with frightening fare, reaching almost 4000 hours in Q3.
The bulk of this shift is thanks to Amazon Prime Video (the largest provider of hours at 1,460) which has nearly doubled the size of its catalogue of horror movies since the beginning of 2024. However, while Amazon remains the leading player, other streamers have also gained ground. Having previously accounted for 62% of available hours in Q3 2020, Amazon now accounts for only 38% of those total hours ahead of Halloween 2024, with other streamers such as AMC+, Peacock and dedicated Horror platform Shudder rapidly expanding their catalogues of creepy content.
The growth in the accumulation and promotion of Horror movies by US streamers also reflects shifting consumer preferences more widely, with US audiences reporting increasing interest in the genre, per data from Ampere’s Consumer survey. In 2024, 11.6% of US audiences report Horror to be their favourite genre, making it the second most favourited genre of local consumers. Horror content has also consistently grown its share of audiences reporting it as their favourite genre (rising from 9.7% in 2020), while other genres, including most favourited genre Comedy, and other popular genres like Crime & Thriller and Action & Adventure content have seen interest levels either stagnate or decline over this period.
Horror content is effective in attracting audiences that traditional platforms sometimes struggle to reach. Interest in the genre is mainly driven by younger audiences: 13% of US 18-24-year-olds report Horror to be their favourite genre, making it the most favourited among that demographic.
This speaks to the perennial value of keeping global audiences who seek frights entertained, making Horror movies an important consideration within the strategies of streamers and their parent companies. Such titles typically have lower budgets than other genres, and therefore Original Horror productions are often able to turn a profit through a theatrical release ahead of distribution through later windows. Acquired older titles also create value for services hosting them, with seasonal interest over Halloween driving audiences to rewatch classic scares, further benefiting platforms hosting them.