Horror Film Research

Horror is most popular with male teenagers and young adults and for that, most horrors are targeted at that age range. Although horrors are watched by woman often, they are not seen as the majority of the viewers. Because of the smaller target audience, horror films do not generate as much revenue as other films and get lower rating by critics. Most horrors are rated 15+ prevented lower aged audiences from watching and the films are found to not interest older audiences.

Some of the top grossing horror films are older classics where horrors were more popular, in today's society they aren't so popular due to the wider range of other films now being released regularly. One noticeable film from the list below is 'A Christmas Carol' which is a modern CGI film aimed at children and the family but still classed as a horror because of its 'scary' aspect. Another film, 'Paranormal Activity' which was very low budget did very well because of its simplicity but its ability to scare people because it was set in a home using a home camcorder. It shows that there is a very wide range of horror films out there and by using the right technique, it can become a high grossing film.

Top-Grossing Horror Films:

1. What Lies Beneath (2000) - http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0161081/
2. Gremlins (1984) - http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0087363/
3. The Blair Witch Project (1999) - http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0185937/
4. A Christmas Carol (2009) - http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1067106/
5. Godzilla (1998) - http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0120685/
6. The Ring (2002) - http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0298130/
7. The Grudge (2004) - http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0391198/
8. Paranormal Activity (2007) - http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1179904/
9. Scream (1996) - http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0117571/
10. Scream 2 (1997) - http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0120082/