Award Season Is Approaching: Could This Be Horror's Year?

If you follow this blog or listen to my podcast, you know that I have an unabashed love for horror movies.

Starting with 2024's Nosferatu, we horror fans have been blessed with an abundance of quality horror films by serious directors and starring major actors. In past years, we usually had one or maybe two movies to look forward to. But 2025 has been glorious.

Movies that knocked me out this year include Nosferatu, Bring Her Back, Weapons, Sinners, and Frankenstein. But we were also blessed with other offerings, including the consistent The Conjuring (apparently the "final" film with Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson as the controversal Warrens), Together, Him, The Monkey, the sequel to Black Phone with Ethan Hawke, Companion, Final Destination: Blood Lines, and M3gan 2.0.

While the majority of these films might only appeal to die hard horror fans, two movies st00d out as films that the general public might want to see and only hide their eyes in fright a couple times: Ryan Coogler's Sinners and Guillermo del Toro's Frankenstein.

I could count on one hand how many times I went to the movie theater between 2020 and 2025. I made it a point to see Twisters and M. Night Shyamalan's A Knock at the Cabin in the theater. 2025 horror movies made me remember why I would like to see movies in the theater. I keep saying 2025, but Nosferatu actually came out in December 2024.

The theater was packed! I was shocked! I thought this movie was one that only die hard horror fans would be interested in, but the pedigree is what I believe brought "Muggles" out: Bill Skarsgård (who is developing quite the horror resume), the ever surprising and dreamy Nicholas Hoult, the new nepo baby on the block (but very effective) Lily-Rose Depp, the always excellent (and also dreamy) Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Emma Corrin, and legend Willem Dafoe, who always elevates the material.

Actor's actors are now dominating horror movies. Horror movies used to be filled with attractive unknowns that sometimes went on to become legends, or "aging" Hollywood legends who couldn't find work otherwise.

Now it seems to be more and more popular the thing to do. Take a look at the big names in the movies I mentioned earlier:

Bring Her Back - Oscar nominee (for another del Toro movie) Sally Hawkins

Weapons - legendary Oscar nominee AMY MADIGAN, Oscar nominee Josh Brolin, Julia Gardner, Alden Ehrenreich

Sinners - Michael B. Jordan, Oscar nominee Hailee Steinfeld

Frankenstein - Oscar Isaac, Oscar winner (TWICE) Christophe Waltz, Oscar nominated All Quiet on the Western Front's Felix Kammerer, Lars Mikkelsen, Charles Dance

Together - Dave Franco

The Monkey - Theo James, Tatiana Maslany, Elijah Wood

Horror seems to be gaining "legitimacy". But will this translate to Academy Award judges?

Historically, no. We have a few that seemed to make it to Best Picture nominee, including last year's The Substance (starring another surprise, Demi Moore), we have The Exorcist, Jaws, The Sixth Sense, Black Swan, and Get Out, only Silence of the Lambs has won the big prize.

Prediction:  Horror is going to sweep the Oscar nominations in 2026.

While it's too early to have an opinion yet about what will actually win, I believe that two particular horror movies will dominate the short list: Sinners and Frankenstein.

My predictions:

Sinners:

• Best Motion Picture

• Best Original Score

• Best Achievement in Production Design

• Best Original Screenplay

• Best Original Song

• Best Costume Design

• Best Sound

• Best Achievement in Visual Effects

• Best Sound Mixing

• Best Achievement in Film Editing

• Best Art Direction

• Best Achievement in Cinematography

• Best Achievement in Makeup and Hairstyling

  • Maybes

    • Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role: Wunmi Mosaku

    • Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role: Michael B. Jordan

    • Best Achievement in Costume Design

    • Best Achievement in Directing Ryan Coogler

Frankenstein: 

• Best Motion Picture

• Best Achievement in Visual Effects

• Best Achievement in Film Editing

• Best Sound

• Best Achievement in Cinematography

• Best Achievement in Production Design

• Best Art Direction

• Best Achievement in Makeup and Hairstyling

• Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role: Jacob Elordi

• Best Achievement in Costume Design

• Best Adapted Screenplay

• Best Achievement in Directing Guillermo del Toro

  • Maybes:

    • Best Original Score (for once the story overshadowed it for me and I did not have an opinion - I usually enjoy Desplat)

I'm looking to see if I'm right! Mark your calendars for January 22, 2026! What are your predictions?