The Oscars Just Nominated A Full-On Horror Movie For Best Picture, And Genre Fans Can’t Contain Their Excitement

Horror, as a genre, remains as popular as ever in theaters. 2024 was a great year in this respect, with movies like Longlegs, Alien: Romulus, Heretic, and, most recently, Robert Eggers' Nosferatu all faring well with audiences and finding success at the box office. When it comes to awards recognition, however, horror usually struggles to make much of a mark, especially at the Oscars, and especially in major categories like Best Picture.

Not including this most recent batch of nominations, only six horror movies have ever been nominated for Best Picture at the Oscars, and only two after the year 2000. Black Swan (2010) and Get Out (2017) were previously the only two horror movies to earn this coveted nomination over the past 25 years, but the announcement of the 2025 Oscar nominees today has just changed that. One buzzy 2024 horror title has now become the seventh ever horror movie to earn a Best Picture nomination.

Horror Fans React To The Substance's Best Picture Nomination

Coralie Fargeat's Gnarly Horror Has Accomplished A Major Feat

Demi Moore looking in the mirror in The Substance.

The Substance has just earned a Best Picture nomination at the 2025 Oscars, and horror fans are taking to social media to express their enthusiasm. Directed by Coralie Fargeat, the 2024 horror flick stars Demi Moore as Elisabeth, an aging starlet who takes an experimental drug that creates a younger and better version of herself named Sue (Margaret Qualley). The Substances reviews were glowing from critics, but the film's gore and gross-out elements seemed to make it an unlikely contender at the Oscars.

Following The Substance's nomination for Best Picture, fans are sharing their thoughts on X, formerly Twitter, and Bluesky, expressing joy that such a gnarly horror movie has earned a nomination. In addition to Best Picture, the movie earned nominations for Best Actress for Moore, Best Director, Best Original Screenplay, and Best Makeup and Hairstyling, with the reactions celebrating the film's impressive accomplishments. Check out select reactions below:

"Happy for my horror freaks Nosferatu and The Substance getting some Oscar noms. Del Toro's Frankenstein next year pls!" writes RayRay.

@Partybyy6969 comments on a post highlighting that The Substance is only the third horror movie of this century to earn a Best Picture nomination, writing: "Substance is so f--king good and deserves all the awards it gets."

Emily joins in on the love for the horror film, exclaiming: "the substance nation we rise!!"

The Substance getting a best picture Oscar Nom is the shining light we needed in this ever increasingly bleak world. — Trae P. (@traetalks.bsky.social)2025-01-23T15:47:23.782Z

"The Substance getting a best picture Oscar Nom is the shining light we needed in this ever increasingly bleak world," writes Trae P. on Bluesky.

Miles Blanket shares an especially enthusiastic, caps-heavy reaction, writing: "HOLY SH-T THE SUBSTANCE IS A BEST PICTURE NOMINEE," with the rest of his post celebrating that a horror movie has a shot at Best Picture.

Picturing the academy voters, looking exactly like the rich people the three stooges would work for, shattering their monocles watching The Substance. Lmao — Jacob Deldin Rich's Game Dev Zone (@jacobrich.bsky.social)2025-01-23T15:45:19.636Z

"Picturing the academy voters, looking exactly like the rich people the three stooges would work for, shattering their monocles watching The Substance," jokes Jacob Deldin Rich's Game Dev Zone.

The substance, nosferatu, and alien Romulus all have Oscar nominations. I’m so glad to be proven wrong that horror movies can be seen as Oscar worthy. — (@wickd-witch.bsky.social)2025-01-23T15:45:12.364Z

"The substance, nosferatu, and alien Romulus all have Oscar nominations," writes @wickd-witch. "I'm so glad to be proven wrong that horror movies can be seen as Oscar worthy."

THE SUBSTANCE WAS NOMINATED FOR BEST PICTURE, BEST DIRECTOR, BEST ACTRESS AND BEST SCREENPLAY. HORROR IS SO FUCKING BACK, BABY!!!! — Joe Russo (@joerusso.bsky.social)2025-01-23T15:18:30.018Z

Joe Russo shares an ethusiastic reaction as well, writing: "THE SUBSTANCE WAS NOMINATED FOR BEST PICTURE, BEST DIRECTOR, BEST ACTRESS AND BEST SCREENPLAY. HORROR IS SO F--KING BACK, BABY!!!!"

"the substance and nosferatu getting nominated at the oscars.. horror fans we've come so far," writes eshaal.

Shayne Mathis Bluesky post about The Substance's Oscar nomination for Best Picture

Shayne Mathis writes: "It is genuinely bananas that The Substance got nominated for a Best Picture Oscar and I hope they use a section from the last 20 minutes of the movie as the clip they show when they announce the nominees during the broadcast."

What The Substance's Best Picture Nomination Means For Horror

Why The Demi Moore Horror Movie Probably Won't Win

The Substance may have earned a Best Picture nomination, but it arguably doesn't have a great chance at winning. The acclaimed Emilia Pérezjust earned a record-breaking 13 nominations and has been a widely celebrated, though also very controversial, movie. Films like Anora, The Brutalist, and Wicked are also all widely seen as more likely candidates to win. Where The Substance stands the best chance to win is Best Makeup and Hairstyling, but Moore also has a shot at Best Actress.

Even though The Substance seems unlikely to actually win, it's still a major accomplishment that it was nominated. The Oscars have historically been hesitant to nominate genre movies, with sci-fi also suffering in this regard. The nomination for The Substance could be a sign that the Oscars will become more welcoming to genre movies in the future, but the fact that it stands basically no chance of taking home the statue suggests there's still a long way to go.

Source: Various (see above)