These are the most-watched scary movies of Halloween 2025

The most watched horror movies during Halloween season have been revealed in a new report, with M3GAN 2.0 coming out as a surprise winner.

Nielsen, the organisation that collects viewing data for TV and streaming in the US, released the most watched horror movies for the first week of October, and the sequel came out on top with 115million viewing minutes on streaming service Peacock. The film flopped in cinemas upon its release in June, something that studio boss Jason Blum put down to overestimating the character’s versatility.

Second on the list is 1996 classic Scream, a staple of the horror genre that reinvented the slasher movie into something more self-aware. The popularity of the original film may be due to excitement for the forthcoming seventh movie, which just released its first trailer. Scream gained 113million minutes viewed across numerous platforms.

Two 2025 releases took third and fourth – Bring Her Back (93million minutes, HBO Max) and 28 Years Later (60million minutes, Netflix). The former saw Sally Hawkins star as a foster mother with sinister intentions; while the latter was the long-awaited third chapter in the 28 Days Later franchise, with Danny Boyle returning to the director’s chair.

A vintage psychological horror rounded out the top five, as 1962 classic Whatever Happened To Baby Jane? gained 58million views across numerous streaming services.

Bette Davis and Joan Crawford starred in the twisted tale of an aging former child star (Davis) tormenting her sister (Crawford) in a dilapidated Hollywood mansion. It was nominated for five Oscars and became the inspiration for the TV series Feud: Bette And Joan in 2017.

The full top 10 list was:

1. M3GAN 2.0
2. Scream (1996)
3. Bring Her Back
4. 28 Years Later
5. Whatever Happened To Baby Jane?
6. Slender Man
7. Tremors
8. Sinners
9. Halloween (2018)
10. The Intruder

It’s been a big year for horror movies, with original films Sinners and Weapons becoming cultural phenomena and cracking the worldwide box office top 20. Sequels 28 Years Later, Final Destination: Bloodlines, and The Conjuring: Last Rites have also found success as other genres struggle to find their audiences.

Last year, a scientific study was conducted to determine the scariest horror films of all time based on audiences’ physiological reactions.