Summary

• Talk to Me has become a box-office success, earning over $24 million on a $4 million budget, proving that the horror genre is enjoying a huge comeback.
• Compared to other horror movies, Talk to Me stands out for its effectiveness and shocking story, leaving behind heavy hitters like Evil Dead Rise and Scream VI.
• The success of Talk to Me and other horror movies demonstrates that the horror genre has consistently been a winner at the box office, providing audiences with the cathartic fun they seek after the pandemic.

The A24 horror hit Talk to Me is another box-office success that keeps one consistent genre trend alive. Directed by Danny and Michael Philippou, the Australian horror movie tells the bleak story of Mia, a teenager haunted by the recent death of her mother. When Mia’s friend seemingly channels her later mother’s spirit before a tragic accident, Mia becomes obsessed with ing the dead, culminating in a scary tale of teenagers contending with evil spirits.

Clearly, Talk to Me's story has gone over well with audiences. The movie has become the latest horror film to prove a huge success at the box office, earning over $24 million on a budget of only $4 million. While $24 million would always be an impressive haul for such a low-budget film, the fact that Talk to Me was released only a week after the Barbie/Oppenheimer box office battle makes this achievement even more impressive. Talk to Me’s box office success, along with its critical acclaim, is further proof that the horror genre is enjoying a huge comeback.

Why Talk To Me Is 2023's Best Horror Movie (So Far)

Talk to Me has a lot of competition for the title of 2023’s best horror movie, but the Australian indie has managed to wrestle the honor from some genre heavy hitters. While Evil Dead Rise and Scream VI were both successful additions to their respective franchises, they lacked the effectiveness of Talk to Me's horror sequences. Beau is Afraid was an endlessly inventive, funny return from director Ari Aster, but that box office flop was more comedy than horror. Like Talk To Me, The Boogeyman’s moving story of losing a mom proved surprisingly poignant. However, that Stephen King adaptation didn't pack the same punch as the shocking story told in Talk to Me.

Similarly, Insidious: The Red Door revived its dormant franchise but wasn’t anywhere near as disturbing as Talk to Me. Some fellow indie efforts like There’s Something Wrong With the Children offered inventive spins on genre tropes, while others like Unwelcome were un-scary and unoriginal. In contrast, Talk to Me took its limited budget and ran with it, creating a small-scale story that felt brutally impactful because the movie’s plot was limited to a few locations and only a handful of characters. Not only that, but the A24 hit also stuck its landing. Where Run Rabbit Run’s divided critical reception came from an ambiguous ending, Talk to Me’s punchline hasn't hurt its standing with critics or audiences.

Talk To Me Continues Horror's Box Office Streak - Why A24's Movie Is A Hit

The horror genre has been one of the box office’s most consistent winners since theaters reopened in 2021. Historically, horror has been a reliable genre for producers thanks to the low budgets of most horror movies and their consistent popularity. However, in recent years, horror’s profitability has become more apparent than ever. In 2022, the $250,000 indie Terrifier 2 racked up $15.4 million, while the $4 million sleeper hit Barbarian made $45 million upon release. Talk to Me’s success comes down to the indie movie’s genre and its dark take of a recent horror mainstay, mother-daughter relationships. This recurring theme is shared by some of the genre’s biggest recent hits.

In 2023, taboo-breaking horror movies like Talk to Me focused on the scary side of mothers and daughters. Evil Dead Rise managed to wring a lot of horror out of a possessed mother while the The Exorcist: Believer is set to repeat this trick with a story of a possessed daughter. Generational trauma has become a popular topic in horror movies since Hereditary proved a hit in 2018, and Talk to Me is just the latest successful movie to integrate this theme and gain critical success in the process. Even the bleakly comic Barbarian, in its twisted way, touched on the complex topic of motherhood.

Why Horror Movies Keep Doing So Well At The Box Office

In the first months of 2023 alone, Knock at the Cabin Door, Scream VI, and Insidious: The Red Door all topped the box office despite their big-budget blockbuster competition. As proven by the return of everything from Hellraiser to Child’s Play to The Exorcist, horror franchises can’t seem to stay dead as viewers flock to see anything the genre has to offer in ever-increasing numbers. After the real-life terror of a pandemic, audiences are eager to seek out the cathartic fun of horror. Thus, while Talk to Me’s $24 million payday is a great success story, it's also further evidence that the appeal of the horror genre can yield major hits.