2026 Is Continuing Last Year’s Surprisingly Successful Horror Trend

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Horror movies are continuing their winning streak into 2026, following a surprisingly successful year in 2025. Last year was a record-breaker for the genre, with both new films like Sinners and Weapons, and popular franchises such as The Conjuring: Last Rites and Final Destination: Bloodlines drawing huge audiences.

Horror movies are having a strong year so far. Although 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple didn’t do as well in theaters as hoped, it still earned positive reviews from both critics and viewers. Sam Raimi’s Send Help is also a critical success, and it brought in $27.2 million worldwide during its opening weekend.

The horror film Iron Lung has quickly become a standout success story. Made by YouTuber Markiplier for around $3 million, it earned over $21 million worldwide when it was first released. This strong start adds to a growing trend in horror films that began in 2025.

Iron Lung Continues A Run Of YouTuber Horror Hits

Markiplier is a hugely popular creator on YouTube, boasting over 38.2 million subscribers. This large audience enabled him to independently fund and release his game, Iron Lung. However, he’s not the first horror creator to come from the YouTube community.

In 2025, several horror movies were directed by YouTubers, marking the start of some filmmakers’ careers. Chris Stuckmann, a well-known film critic, directed his first full-length movie, Shelby Oaks. The film was released by Neon and received mixed reviews (a 59% score on Rotten Tomatoes), but was financially successful, earning $6.6 million worldwide from a budget of $2.8 million.

Michael Shanks, a YouTuber known as timtimfed, recently made his first feature film, Together. Released in 2025, the movie stars Dave Franco and Alison Brie and quickly gained attention at Sundance. It was a critical and commercial success, earning an 89% rating on Rotten Tomatoes and grossing $32 million worldwide.

Following the popularity of their 2023 horror film, Talk To Me, Danny and Michael Philippou recently released their second movie, Bring Her Back. The brothers first gained attention creating videos for their channel, RackaRacka, and have quickly become well-known figures in the horror genre. Both of their films have been well-received by critics, with Bring Her Back earning an 89% score on Rotten Tomatoes.

Iron Lung’s Success Is Good News For Another YouTuber Horror Movie

While critics were divided on Iron Lung (giving it a 43% rating on Rotten Tomatoes), the film still did well, proving that Markiplier’s fans were eager to support his work. This suggests audiences are increasingly interested in seeing projects from creators they already like, and Iron Lung’s success could be a positive indicator for another horror film planned for 2026.

A24 plans to release The Backrooms in 2026. The film is directed by Kane Parsons, who first became known for his unsettling Backrooms videos on his YouTube channel, Kane Pixels. The Backrooms began as an idea for a frightening place – a seemingly endless maze of empty office rooms that are hard to escape.

The concept originated as videos and games, and is now being adapted into a horror film. While Parsons doesn’t have as large an audience as Markiplier, he still has 2.78 million subscribers and clearly understands what makes The Backrooms so scary.

This film benefits from being produced by A24, a company well-known for its independent horror movies. While it might not launch with the same buzz as Iron Lung, it has the potential to be successful, thanks to its director and the story it’s based on.

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2026-02-05 16:02