2025 made a strong case for being the best year for horror so far this decade. The diverse slate of titles that hit theaters throughout the year included everything from mainstream hits like Weapons and Sinners to indie gems like Bring Her Back and led to plenty of critical acclaim and strong box office performances, making 2025 a banner year for the genre on the big screen. As 2026 stands poised to be another great year for the genre, one of 2025’s biggest horror releases has become an instant streaming hit after joining Peacock in January.
Videos by ComicBook.com
Following its $132 million box office run in October, which made it one of the highest-grossing horror films of the year, Black Phone 2 crashed into Peacock’s streaming library on January 16th. The movie, director Scott Derrickson’s sequel to his hit 2021 supernatural horror movie The Black Phone, immediately launched into the Top 10 and has held the No. 1 spot ever since, outranking other favorites like Shrek Forever After, Despicable Me, and The Hunger Games. Ethan Hawke, Mason Thames, and Madeleine McGraw reprise their roles from the first film in a sequel set four years after the original as a now 17-year-old Finney and his sister Gwen deal with their lingering trauma and the Grabber’s vengeful return at a winter camp.
Black Phone 2 Is a Surprisingly Strong Horror Sequel
Horror sequels often have a reputation for being bad, many failing to match the original’s impact and providing diluted stories, cheap scares, and overused tropes, but Black Phone 2 beat the odds to became not just a successful follow-up, but one of the best horror movies of the year. Instead of being a simple cash grab repeat, the movie successfully evolves the original’s story and supernatural lore as it delves deeper into the characters’ trauma, and it delivers plenty of chills with a more ’80s horror-inspired vibe and more intense horror and gore.
Black Phone 2 earned rave reviews from critics and audiences alike, scoring a “Certified Fresh” critic score on Rotten Tomatoes of 72% and an even higher 83% audience rating, which ticked in only marginally below the original’s 81% and 88% scores. ComicBook’s Marco Vito Odo gave the film a 3.5 out of 5 and said “Black Phone 2 manages to justify its existence with a fresh hook that expands its predecessor’s mythology while delving even deeper into its audacious genre mashup.” Odo described the movie as “an unexpectedly wild cinematic experience that is mesmerizing” and “filled with thrills and genuine scares.”
A Black Phone 3 hasn’t been announced, but given the sequel’s success as one of the best horror movies of 2025, we wouldn’t be surprised to see another movie. Many of those connected to the movie, including Derrickson and writer C. Robert Cargill, have expressed interest in a third movie.
What’s New on Peacock?
Black Phone 2 is currently dominating the streaming charts, but the NBCUniversal streamer has plenty of other streaming options after you watch the horror movie. Peacock has added dozens of great films throughout January, and subscribers can now stream hits like Ad Astra, The Green Mile, Jurassic World, The Shining, and The Terminator.
What do you think? Leave a comment below and join the conversation now in the ComicBook Forum!
Most Viewed
-
Image via New Line Cinema -
Image Courtesy of Prime Video -
Image Courtesy of Lucasfilm
