How Horror Films Broke Through at the Academy Awards

For decades, the Academy Awards have been known for their selective tastes, often favoring certain genres and stories that fit a particular vision of America. Movements like #OscarsSoWhite and #MeToo have brought attention to the ceremony’s history of rewarding a narrow group of filmmakers, especially white men, sometimes even those with troubling backgrounds. The Oscars have a reputation for gravitating toward emotional dramas, biopics, and sweeping historical tales—films that seem designed to win. This has left other genres, especially horror, on the outside looking in.

Horror movies rarely get their moment in the Oscar spotlight. The genre is often dismissed as less serious, with critics pointing to its jump scares and relentless chase scenes. Yet, horror has long been a vehicle for exploring tough social and political issues, using monsters and masked killers as metaphors for everything from racism to misogyny and the dark side of capitalism. Despite this depth, the Academy has seldom recognized horror, making any win in the category a true rarity.

Breaking the Mold: Early Horror Wins

When “The Substance” took home an Oscar in 2024, it felt like a major shift. Body horror had never been so celebrated at such a prestigious event. The recent success of “Sinners ” in the 2026 awards season suggests that horror might finally be inching toward mainstream acceptance. But these victories stand on the shoulders of earlier films that proved the genre could be award-worthy.

Major titles like “The Exorcist ” managed to snag awards for Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Sound, while “The Silence of the Lambs” swept several top categories, including Best Picture. These films helped pave the way, but the very first horror film to win an Oscar arrived much earlier, setting a precedent that would take decades to follow.

The First Oscar-Winning Horror Performance

Back in 1931, “Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde” made history. Frederic March delivered a dual performance as the scientist and his monstrous alter ego, bringing Robert Louis Stevenson’s classic tale to life in a way that captivated audiences. While the story had been adapted before, March’s version was the first with sound, and his transformation into the sinister Hyde remains unforgettable. His work was so compelling that he earned an Academy Award—though he shared the honor with Wallace Beery for “The Champ.”

It would be another 37 years before another horror performance won an Oscar, when Ruth Gordon was recognized for her role in “Rosemary’s Baby.” Since then, a handful of actors —like Anthony Hopkins as Hannibal Lecter and Kathy Bates as Annie Wilkes—have joined this exclusive club. Still, such wins are few and far between, making each one a milestone for the genre.