2025 proved to be a fantastic year for horror cinema, with several films, including The Conjuring: Last Rites, Sinners, Final Destination: Bloodlines, and Weapons, performing strongly at the worldwide box office. On the awards front, Michael B. Jordan even won the Best Actor Oscar for his dual role as twin brothers Smoke and Stack in Ryan Coogler’s Sinners.
With that in mind, it will be interesting to see whether 2026 can replicate the box office success of the previous year, particularly for horror films. Let’s take a closer look at the 2026 horror releases that have generated the highest theatrical profits (surplus) over their estimated break-even points so far. Let’s find out whether Scream 7, Send Help, 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple, or another title has emerged as the most profitable horror film at the box office so far this year.
Box Office Profit Over Break-Even (Estimated)
Here are the top-grossing horror movies of 2026, along with their worldwide earnings, as per Box Office Mojo, estimated budgets, and break-even points (calculated using the 2.5x multiplier rule):
- Scream 7: Worldwide Earnings: $194.2 million | Budget: $45 million | Break-Even: $112.5 million
- Send Help: Worldwide Earnings: $93.9 million | Budget: $40 million | Break-Even: $100 million
- 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple: Worldwide Earnings: $58.4 million | Budget: $63 million | Break-Even: $157.5 million
- Iron Lung: Worldwide Earnings: $50 million | Budget: $3 million | Break-Even: $7.5 million
- Return to Silent Hill: Worldwide Earnings: $47.4 million | Budget: $23 million | Break-Even: $57.5 million
- Primate: Worldwide Earnings: $41.6 million | Budget: $21 million | Break-Even: $52.5 million
- Undertone: Worldwide Earnings: $15.2 million | Budget: $500k | Break-Even: $1.25 million
- Ready or Not 2: Here I Come: Worldwide Earnings: $12.6 million | Budget: $14 million | Break-Even: $35 million
- The Strangers: Chapter 3: Worldwide Earnings: $9.3 million | Budget: $8.5 million | Break-Even: $21.25 million
Box Office Profit Over Break-Even (Estimated)
- Scream 7: $81.7 million
- Iron Lung: $42.5 million
- Undertone: $13.95 million
- Send Help: –$6.1 million
- Return to Silent Hill: –$10.1 million
- Primate: –$10.9 million
- The Strangers: Chapter 3: –$11.95 million
- Ready or Not 2: Here I Come: –$22.4 million
- 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple: –$99.1 million
In terms of absolute box office profit (theatrical surplus over break-even), Scream 7 is the clear winner among the top-grossing horror films of 2026 so far, as it has generated an estimated $81.7 million in theatrical profit so far. It is followed by Iron Lung, which has earned an impressive $42.5 million surplus thanks to its ultra-low budget, while Undertone is another strong performer with roughly $14 million in theatrical profit.
On the other hand, several 2026 horror films have yet to reach box-office profitability. For instance, 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple is currently sitting nearly $100 million below its estimated theatrical break-even point. Based on the above numbers and calculations, other titles that have not yet surpassed their break-even points are Ready or Not 2: Here I Come, The Strangers: Chapter 3, Return to Silent Hill, and Primate. Send Help remains the closest to breaking even but hasn’t crossed the mark yet.
Scream 7 – Official Trailer
Stay tuned to Koimoi for more box office updates!
Follow Us: Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | YouTube | Google News
