While horror films are generally quite difficult to win prestigious awards in the world of cinema, there have been some notable exceptions over the past few years, especially in the best picture category at the Oscars. The latest, The Substance, became one of the horror movies that managed to get a best picture Oscar nomination at the Oscars 2025. This film became the seventh film that was able to get the highest nomination at the Oscar awards.
The horror genre is truly experiencing a renaissance, with quality stories replacing cheap gore and jumpscares. Hollywood stars are starting to appreciate the horror genre as a more respectable form of cinema.
The Best Picture category at the Oscars is the most prestigious nomination. So, if a horror movie manages to get a nomination in this category, it is a great achievement. Before the movie The Substance got the nomination, there were only six other horror movies that have ever been in this category.
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Horror Movies that Have Been Nominated for the Best Picture Oscar
1. The Exorcist (1973)
The Exorcist is one of the scariest and best horror movies of all time. In addition, The Exorcist is also the first horror film to receive a Best Picture Oscar nomination.
Selain itu, film ini juga meraih nominasi di berbagai kategori penting lainnya, termasuk Best Sound Mixing, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Actress (Ellen Burstyn), Best Supporting Actor (Jason Miller), Best Supporting Actress (Linda Blair), Best Director, Best Production Design, Best Cinematography, and Best Film Editing.
The Exorcist lost the best picture Oscar nomination at the 46th Academy Awards to the heist film The Sting, but the film still managed to win in two other categories, namely Best Sound Design and Best Adapted Screenplay.
In addition, it has been included in the United States National Film Registry for its cultural significance, and remains one of the most influential horror films of all time. This supernatural horror movie tells the story of a mother who seeks help from two Catholic priests to save her daughter who is trapped in demonic possession.
2. Jaws (1975)
Next up is the movie “Jaws” by director Steven Spielberg. Jaws is still on many lists of the best monster movies almost five decades after its release, and for good reason. Its release is considered a milestone in cinema history, as its wide distribution made it the first summer blockbuster.
Jaws, along with Star Wars (which was released two years later), helped shape Hollywood’s current business model, where big, expensive action/adventure movies are released in the summer when interest in leisure is high.
Jaws is still one of the highest-rated horror films to date, and earned a Best Picture Oscar nomination at the 48th Academy Awards. However, it lost out to Miloš Forman’s iconic psychological comedy-drama.
Like The Exorcist, Jaws is also on the US National Film Registry, and the film has inspired a sub-genre of horror that focuses on killer sharks and other aquatic monsters.
3. The Silence of the Lambs (1991)
The next Best Picture Oscar-nominated horror film is The Silence of the Lambs. The Silence of the Lambs first hit theaters in February 1991 and was a huge success, earning $272.7 million worldwide from a budget of $19 million.
Jodie Foster plays an FBI trainee who enlists the help of an imprisoned cannibal serial killer to catch another serial killer still on the loose.
What makes this movie so special, aside from the quality, is that it remains the only horror movie to win the prestigious Best Picture award at the Academy Awards.
The film received the award at the 64th Academy Awards in 1992. Besides Best Picture, The Silence of the Lambs also won Best Director, Best Actor (Anthony Hopkins), Best Actress (Jodie Foster), and Best Adapted Screenplay.
4. The Sixth Sense (1999)
The Sixth Sense is another commercially successful horror film. With a budget of $40 million, it earned $672 million worldwide, making it the highest grossing film by M. Night Shyamalan.
In this movie, Bruce Willis plays a child psychologist who tries to help a boy who claims to see and communicate with the dead.
The horror film received six Oscar nominations at the 72nd Academy Awards, including the Best Picture category, although it did not win a single award. The Sixth Sense lost out to the psychological comedy-drama American Beauty, which won the best picture award at the time.
5. Black Swan (2010)
Next up is Darren Aronofsky’s Black Swan. Black Swan is one of the most famous and best psychological horror films of all time. Its impact on the horror genre has been felt since its release.
In this movie, Natalie Portman plays a ballet dancer who gets caught up in the fierce competition for the lead role in the New York City Ballet’s performance of “Swan Lake”. Over time, she begins to lose control of reality and slowly descends into madness due to the pressure she puts on herself.
Natalie Portman won the Academy Award for Best Actress at the 83rd Academy Awards, while Black Swan earned five nominations that year, including Best Picture but lost to Tom Hooper’s The King’s Speech.
The movie was also a huge box office success on a relatively small budget, grossing $329 million on a production cost of only $13 million. Despite its intriguing storyline, Black Swan tends to be praised for the actors’ performances rather than the script.
6. Get Out (2017)
Get Out, also known as Jordan Peele’s groundbreaking work in the horror genre, earned an Oscar nomination for Best Picture as well as three other Academy Award categories: Best Director, Best Actor (Daniel Kaluuya), and Best Original Screenplay.
Although the movie did not win Best Picture at the 90th Academy Awards, it did win an Oscar for Best Original Screenplay.
In the Best Picture nominations, Get Out competed with films like Call Me by Your Name, Darkest Hour, Dunkirk, The Shape of Water, Lady Bird, Phantom Thread, The Post, and Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri. In the end, The Shape of Water was the winner.
7. The Substance (2024)
The latest horror movies to make a splash at the Oscars is The Substance, which has been nominated for Best Picture at the 2025 Oscars. Under the direction of director Coralie Fargeat, the movie tells the journey of an ambitious scientist named Elise, who creates an experimental substance to help humans overcome physical limitations.
However, the substance brought unexpected side effects, both physically and mentally. Elise begins to lose control of her experiments as the substance begins to affect those around her, turning them into something far removed from human nature.
The movie The Substance combines science fiction and psychological suspense with an intense horror atmosphere. The Substance was also successful because of its strong narrative and Demi Moore’s performance as Elise, the movie received much praise. The Best Picture nomination shows that the horror genre is growing and has a place in prestigious award shows.
Those are the 7 horror movies that have been nominated for the Best Picture Oscar. In addition to the 7 horror movies above, maybe you should also read our article about the best horror movies of all time to be a recommendation for quality horror movie watching.
