The Oscar nominations are in, and this year, the horror genre has made a significant impact. We're talking about four horror flicks receiving nods! That's pretty impressive when you think about how often the genre has been overlooked in the past. These nominations are proof that horror is finally getting the respect it deserves.
As horror fans, we’ve always known the genre was worthy of recognition. We were just waiting for the Oscars and other industry awards to catch on. Now, they're finally showing us the love, and we couldn't be happier!
This year, the horror movie with the most Oscar nominations among the four nominated is the body horror film The Substance. The movie managed to score five nods, including Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Original Screenplay. The body horror also earned a Best Actress nomination for Demi Moore and a nomination for Best Makeup and Hairstyling.
Best Picture is widely considered to be the most important category at the Oscars, so for a horror flick to receive a nomination in this category is a monumental achievement. This is especially significant given that, prior to this movie's nomination, only six other horror films had ever been recognized in this category. Find out what they are below!
The Exorcist (1973)
The Exorcist, aka one of the greatest and scariest movies ever made, was the first horror film to receive a nomination for Best Picture at the Academy Awards. Not only was it nominated in this major category, but it was also nominated for Best Sound Mixing, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Actress (Ellen Burstyn), Best Supporting Actor (Jason Miller), Best Supporting Actress (Linda Blair), Best Director, Best Production Design, Best Cinematography, and Best Film Editing.
While The Exorcist lost Best Picture to the heist film The Sting at the 46th Academy Awards, it still managed to secure wins in the categories Best Sound Design and Best Adapted Screenplay.
The supernatural horror film revolves around a mother who enlists the help of two Catholic priests to save her daughter from the demonic possession overtaking her.
Jaws (1975)
Jaws is easily one of the greatest creature features ever created. It follows a police chief, a marine biologist, and a professional shark hunter who band together to hunt down a great white shark that has begun attacking the residents and tourists of a small beach town.
Besides its Best Picture nomination, Jaws was nominated for Best Film Editing, Best Music (Score), and Best Sound Mixing. Unfortunately, the film did not take home the award for Best Picture at the 48th Academy Awards, but it did secure wins in the other categories it was nominated for. The psychological comedy-drama One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest ended up winning the award for Best Picture that year.
The Silence of the Lambs (1991)
The Silence of the Lambs was released in theaters back in February 1991 and became a box-office hit, grossing $272.7 million worldwide against a $19 million budget. Jodie Foster stars as an FBI trainee who uses the help of an imprisoned cannibalistic serial killer to catch another serial killer on the loose.
What makes this movie really special, besides it just being a good film, is that it remains the first and only horror film to win the coveted Best Picture award at the Academy Awards. It took home this award at the 64th Academy Awards in 1992.
In addition to Best Picture, The Silence of the Lambs also won Best Director, Best Actor (Anthony Hopkins), Best Actress (Jodie Foster), and Best Adapted Screenplay.
The Sixth Sense (1999)
The Sixth Sense is another horror film that was a commercial success. It made $672 million worldwide on a $40 million budget and ultimately became M. Night Shyamalan's highest-grossing movie. Bruce Willis stars as a child psychologist who tries to help a young boy who claims he can see and communicate with the dead.
The film went on to be nominated for six Academy Awards, including Best Picture. However, it did not win any. The psychological comedy-drama American Beauty won the award for Best Picture at the 72nd Academy Awards.
Black Swan (2010)
After The Sixth Sense was nominated for Best Picture in 2000, it wasn't until 11 years later, in 2011, that another horror film was nominated for Best Picture at the Academy Awards. That movie was Black Swan, starring Natalie Portman and Mila Kunis. The film was also nominated for four other Academy awards: Best Director, Best Actress (Natalie Portman), Best Cinematography, and Best Film Editing. However, it only won Best Actress for Portman. It lost to the historical drama film The King's Speech for Best Picture.
In Black Swan, Portman plays a talented ballet dancer who starts to lose her grip on reality as the intense pressure of performing a dual role in a production of Swan Lake takes its toll.
Get Out (2017)
Get Out, aka Jordan Peele's groundbreaking entry into the horror genre, was nominated for Best Picture along with three other Academy Award categories: Best Director, Best Actor (Daniel Kaluuya), and Best Original Screenplay. While the film didn't win Best Picture at the 90th Academy Awards, it did take home the Oscar for Best Original Screenplay.
It competed for Best Picture alongside movies like Call Me by Your Name, Darkest Hour, Dunkirk, The Shape of Water, Lady Bird, Phantom Thread, The Post and Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri. Ultimately, The Shape of Water won the award.
Here's the official synopsis for Get Out via the Universal Pictures website:
"When a young African-American man visits his white girlfriend’s family estate, he becomes ensnared in a more sinister real reason for the invitation. Now that Chris and his girlfriend, Rose, have reached the meet-the-parents milestone of dating, she invites him for a weekend getaway upstate with Missy and Dean. At first, Chris reads the family’s overly accommodating behavior as nervous attempts to deal with their daughter’s interracial relationship, but as the weekend progresses, a series of increasingly disturbing discoveries lead him to a truth that he could have never imagined."
Be sure to tune in to the 97th Academy Awards to see if The Substance wins any awards. The ceremony is set to air live on ABC on Sunday, March 2, 2025, at 7:00 p.m. ET/4:00 p.m. PT.