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Why do horror movies make money? A panel of “scary experts” took on this topic at the 2026 National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) Show.
The NAB Show, the premier event for broadcast, media, and entertainment, ran from April 18–22 in Las Vegas. It brought together over 1,100 exhibitors with creators, technologists, and decision-makers exploring breakthroughs in AI, the creator economy, sports, streaming, and cloud.
“The Scary-Smart Business of Horror” panel that dissected the horror industry consisted of Akela Cooper, screenwriter for M3GAN and Malignant; Michael Clear, president at Atomic Monster; and Mark Fischbach, YouTuber and filmmaker at Markiplier. Natalie Jarvey, who has reported for Vanity Fair and the Hollywood Reporter, moderated the event for NAB.
Why Horror?
Jarvey began the discussion by asking the panelists what attracted them to the genre.
Michael Clear, whose producer credits include M3GAN, Lights Out, and The Curse of La Llorona, recalled his early addiction to Cat’s Eye. Based on Stephen King stories, the 1985 anthology film starred Drew Barrymore and James Woods.
Akela Cooper reminisced on how her parents would let their kids watch anything. “My father enjoyed John Carpenter’s The Thing,” she said, “and I came to enjoy that movie, too. But I knew when the scary parts were coming, and I’d duck behind the couch. But what really did it for me was Stan Winston’s Pumpkinhead. I saw that and had nightmares for months.”
Mark Fischbach speculated that he probably saw Event Horizon way too young, but that what really did it for him were video games.
Show Me the Money
The U.S. domestic box office cashed in almost $1 billion in 2025 from horror movies. This at a time when movie theaters in general struggle to fill seats. Jarvey asked the panel why this happened.
Michael Clear suggested that it had to do with “the communal experience.” He observed that nowadays people want to watch media from the comfort of their couches: “But with horror movies there exists an opportunity to go on a ride with a group of people. In a theater you hear nervous laughs when a scare is about to happen.”
Mark Fischbach also had observations about the theatrical experience. Currently, Fischbach can be seen in the film adaptation of the video game Iron Lung. He self-financed, wrote, directed, and edited the film which, as of March 2026, has grossed over $41 million.
He said, “I would go to see what the responses were. I didn’t want people to know that I was there. Only two jokes in the film and people laughed at those moments. I was really pleased. I thought they would like them and they did.”
Michael Clear also likes funny moments in scary films: “Fun scary is a true-north to us. When you can tap into something that has moments of levity which is paired with great scares, this creates this roller coaster effect which people look for in a theater.”
Inexpensive Scares
The panelists also agreed on the importance of keeping down production costs for horror films.
Michael Clear pointed out, “A lot of times a horror movie is inexpensive because it takes place in a home. We ask, ‘What would we be afraid of?’ This. Then you build a scaffolding on top of it. The genre lends itself to low budgets.”
Jarvey asked Akela Cooper if she thinks about budget when she writes.
Cooper said, “Not at all. Story and character are first for me.”
She did explain, however, how budget became an element in writing M3GAN.
“When I got notes on my first draft, the producers said they didn’t know how the doll was going to run around. I needed to pull back on movement. That created a creative challenge. Then I started thinking of M3GAN kind of like Jaws. They couldn’t get the mechanical shark to work, so they had to shoot around it. You saw it in quick clips. So, in the sequence where M3GAN is chasing the bully, I wrote that you only see her in certain spots. She was like a land shark.”
More About NAB
The National Association of Broadcasters advocates for America’s broadcasters. It advances radio and television interests in legislative and regulatory areas through advocacy, education and innovation. NAB aims to enable broadcasters to better serve their communities, strengthen their businesses and explore digital age opportunities. You can learn more about NAB at NAB.org.
(Speaker photos courtesy of NAB Show)
