All 7 Horror Movies Nominated For Best Picture At The Oscars

The 2025 Oscar nominations included a Best Picture nod for a horror film, leading many to wonder which others in the genre have achieved this milestone. The full list of 2025’s Oscar nominations is already causing a great deal of discussion, just as the Academy Award selections of each year tend to provide. Be it the surprises and snubs of the 2025 Oscar list or predictions for which actors, movies, producers, directors, cinematographers, or composers will win each category, the award season celebrating 2024 is in full swing.

As usual, the Best Picture picks for the 2025 Oscars are making the headlines. The projects nominated as the crown jewel of 2024 include Anora, The Brutalist, A Complete Unknown, Conclave, Dune: Part Two, Emilia Pérez, I’m Still Here, Nickel Boys, The Substance, and Wicked. Most of these picks were expected going into 2025’s awards season, but there are a few that catch the eye, including a horror movie. Even some of the best horror movies of all time have failed to earn a Best Picture nominee, with 2025 marking the seventh time this has happened in history.

7

The Exorcist (1973)

Nominated For Best Picture At The 46th Academy Awards

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The first horror film to ever be awarded a Best Picture Oscar nomination was 1973’s The Exorcist. As one of the most iconic, recognizable horror films in history, this is no surprise. The Exorcist was revered upon its release, receiving 10 total Academy Award nominations. The Exorcist follows two Catholic priests who attempt to exorcise a demon from a young girl, with the film’s status as a cultural phenomenon standing the test of time. Even today, The Exorcist stands as a pillar of the horror genre.

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The Exorcist

R
HorrorSupernatural

Release Date

December 26, 1973

Runtime

122 minutes

Director

William Friedkin

Writers

William Peter Blatty

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All of this only goes to make the film’s Best Picture nomination make all the more sense. The Exorcist was nominated for the coveted award alongside The Sting, Cries and Whispers, American Graffiti, and A Touch of Class. The winner of Best Picture was The Sting, meaning that The Exorcist could not become the first horror movie to win the award as well as being nominated for it. Nonetheless, the cultural significance of the film proves above all else that a Best Picture nomination for it was more than warranted.

6

Jaws (1975)

Nominated For Best Picture At The 48th Academy Awards

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Following the precedence set by The Exorcist, Jaws became the second horror film in history to receive a Best Picture nomination at the Academy Awards. Jaws‘ iconicity is just as big, if not bigger, than that of The Exorcist, with the Steven Spielberg-directed film being known as the first-ever summer blockbuster. Jaws‘ story of a killer shark may prove a different take on the horror genre, but proved just as effective with critics and fans alike, with the film becoming the highest-grossing film in history until the release of Star Wars in 1977.

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Jaws

PG-13
AdventureHorrorThriller

Release Date

June 18, 1975

Runtime

124 minutes

Director

Steven Spielberg

Writers

Peter Benchley, Carl Gottlieb, John Milius, Howard Sackler, Robert Shaw

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As a watershed moment in the history of cinema, Jaws‘ release eventually led to the awards season. Jaws was nominated for four Academy Awards: Best Picture, Best Film Editing, Best Original Score, and Best Sound. The film won the latter three categories, with many rendering it a snub that Spielberg was not even nominated for Best Director.

One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest took the award, leaving Jaws without the Best Picture prize, but the second horror movie ever to be placed in contention for it…

Where the Best Picture prize was concerned, Jaws was up against Nashville, Dog Day Afternoon, Barry Lyndon, and One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest. Were it not for the latter of these films, Jaws could well have been the favorite for the prize and become the first horror movie in history to win Best Picture. However, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest took the award, leaving Jaws without the Best Picture prize, but the second horror movie ever to be placed in contention for it.

5

The Silence of the Lambs (1991)

Nominated For Best Picture At The 64th Academy Awards

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After an almost 20-year period of horror movies being underrepresented regarding the Oscar’s most prestigious award, The Silence of the Lambs became the third horror film to be nominated for Best Picture. Released in 1991, The Silence of the Lambs continued the trend of overly iconic horror movies being recognized by the Academy in a big way. Telling the story of Hannibal Lecter aiding the FBI in catching another mass murderer, the film – much like The Exorcist and Jaws before it – has become synonymous with the horror genre and a staple of spooky, gory cinema.

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The Silence of the Lambs

R
CrimeDramaThriller

Release Date

February 14, 1991

Runtime

118 Minutes

Director

Jonathan Demme

Writers

Thomas Harris, Ted Tally

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At the 64th Academy Awards, The Silence of the Lambs made history. The film became only the third in history to win for each of the five major categories: Best Director, Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Adapted Screenplay, and, of course, Best Picture. With its Best Picture win, The Silence of the Lambs became the first – and to date, only – horror movie to win the award, beating out Beauty and the Beast, JFK, Bugsy, and The Prince of the Tides at the award ceremony hosted in 1992 and solidifying its place as a true horror great.

4

The Sixth Sense (1999)

Nominated For Best Picture At The 72nd Academy Awards

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Following The Silence of the Lambs’ record-breaking horror win for Best Picture, no other movie in the genre could earn a nomination for the award for seven years. That is until 1999 when M. Night Shyamalan’s The Sixth Sense became the fourth horror movie to be nominated for Best Picture. Again, The Sixth Sense is regarded as an incredibly influential horror movie, though not quite on the same level as those before it. Regardless, the film’s popularity saw it receive rave reviews and even put its director’s name on the filmmaking map due to its iconic twist ending Shyamalan is now synonymous with.

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The Sixth Sense

PG-13
ThrillerDramaHorrorMystery

Release Date

August 6, 1999

Runtime

107 minutes

Director

M. Night Shyamalan

Writers

M. Night Shyamalan

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At the 72nd Academy Awards, hosted in 2000, The Sixth Sense went up against four other films in the race for Best Picture. The other nominees included The Insider, The Green Mile, The Cider House Rules, and American Beauty. Unlike its horror predecessor in 1991, The Sixth Sense could not make history by winning the award, losing out to American Beauty. Nonetheless, it still holds a place in the iconic horror movie pantheon for even being considered as a Best Picture-winning movie.

3

Black Swan (2010)

Nominated For Best Picture At The 83rd Academy Awards

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After the 16-year absence of horror films in the Best Picture nominations between Jaws and The Silence of the Lambs, the next-longest hiatus comes between 1999 and 2010. In the latter year, the fifth horror movie to ever be nominated for Best Picture was released: Black Swan. Directed by Darron Aronofsky, Black Swan – like The Silence of the Lambs – is a psychological horror film that received great acclaim upon its release. The film received five Oscar nominations, with lead actress Natalie Portman receiving a win for Best Actress.

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Black Swan

R
ThrillerDocumentary

Release Date

December 3, 2010

Runtime

108 minutes

Director

Darren Aronofsky

Writers

John J. McLaughlin, Andres Heinz, Mark Heyman

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More so than the other horror movies on this list, Black Swan faced a difficult battle for Best Picture due to the increased number of nominations. The film faced eight other movies: The King’s Speech (the eventual winner), The Fighter, Inception, The Kids Are All Right, Toy Story 3, The Social Network, 127 Hours, True Grit, and Winter’s Bone. Black Swan did not quite have enough to overcome its competitors, but, evidently, based on the few subjects of this list, can count itself among some of the best horror movies for receiving one of only seven Best Picture nods.

2

Get Out (2017)

Nominated For Best Picture At The 90th Academy Awards

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Before 2025, the most recent Best Picture nomination in the horror genre was 2017’s Get Out. Get Out was revered for its horror exploration of racial subject matter, helmed masterfully by a filmmaker known primarily for his comedic work, Jordan Peele. Thanks to its incredible response, Get Out received four nominations at the 90th Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, and Best Original Screenplay, the latter of which was won by Jordan Peele.

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Get Out

R
HorrorMysteryThriller

Release Date

February 24, 2017

Runtime

1 hour, 44 minutes

Director

Jordan Peele

Writers

Jordan Peele

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Like Black Swan, Get Out faced a lot of competition, meaning it could not join The Silence of the Lambs as only the second horror Best Picture winner. The film lost out to A Shape of Water, with the other nominees including Call Me by Your Name, Darkest Hour, Dunkirk, Lady Bird, Phantom Thread, The Post, and Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri. Many felt that Get Out was the favorite during the 2018 Oscar season, but it proved not to overcome its competitors and was the last horror nomination in the Best Picture category until 2025…

1

The Substance (2024)

Nominated For Best Picture At The 97th Academy Awards

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The seventh horror film in history to be nominated for the Best Picture Oscar, and the most recent, is The Substance. The Substance is singular on this list due to its primary category as a body horror film, which none of the other entries can claim. The Substance explores a black market drug that allows a fading celebrity to create a much younger clone of herself, leading to darker side effects. As a nominee in the Oscars’ biggest category, The Substance was one of the best-reviewed films of 2024.

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The Substance (2024) Official Poster

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The Substance

R
HorrorDrama

Release Date

September 20, 2024

Runtime

140 Minutes

Director

Coralie Fargeat

Writers

Coralie Fargeat

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Alongside Best Picture, The Substance was nominated for Best Director, Best Actress, Best Original Screenplay, and Best Makeup and Hairstyling. Given that the 97th Academy Awards are not being hosted until March 2, 2025, it is unclear how many of these awards the film will win. To become only the second movie in history to win the Oscar for Best Picture, however, The Substance will need to overcome Anora, The Brutalist, A Complete Unknown, Emilia Pérez, Dune: Part Two, I’m Still Here, NIckel Boys, and Wicked.