Sunday Scaries: The Early Precursors Have Been Very Kind to Horror

The Sunday Scaries are upon us once again! Yes, as the weekend concludes, most of us feel an oncoming sense of anticipatory dread about the week ahead. Anxiety about work manifests itself into a feeling that’s known as the Sunday Scaries. However, we at Awards Radar are here to combat that, by taking back the name. Now, we want you think about a horror-centric piece on the site when you hear the term. So, let us continue on with another installment of the Awards Radar Sunday Scaries! Today, we’re noticing how horror has shown up more than usual during the early part of the precursor season…

We’re in the thick of awards season, with the first wave of precursors happening pretty much daily. In most years, horror barely even sniffs this portion of the season, let alone when it gets time to talk Academy Awards. 2025, however, is proving to be very different, with a pair of fright flicks looking to really make their marks in the race.

A lot of this is due to Sinners, obviously, as the movie has been in absolute sensation, both critically and commercially, as well as now with the precursors. Aside from One Battle After Another, nothing has even come close to the consistent run of citations Ryan Coogler‘s work has received. Shortly after the film’s release, I wrote here about its awards chances, where I cited my rave review (here) in saying the following:

In a just world, Sinners would be an Oscar contender above and below the line. Now, being an early year release, as well as being an expensive film that may struggle to make back its money, will prove challenging. Still, the movie should be up for Best Picture, Best Director/Best Original Screenplay for Coogler, Best Actor for Jordan, Best Production Design, Best Cinematography, Best Costume Design, Best Film Editing, Best Makeup & Hairstyling, Best Sound, Best Original Score, Best Visual Effects, and the newest category of Best Casting. Yes, the flick is just that good.

Weapons is the other horror title that’s been racking up the accolades. A large portion of the mentions have been in Best Supporting Actress for Amy Madigan, but occasionally other aspects of Zach Cregger‘s movie are highlighted. Sinners always felt like it had the air of prestige, while Weapons has been a more organic Oscar campaign. In fact, I wrote about just that aspect of it here, which could result in Madigan not just contending for Supporting Actress, but perhaps becoming the frontrunner.

Both titles are Warner Bros. releases, interestingly, and while we won’t get into the other reason we’ve been talking about WB lately, handling both titles is noteworthy. They supported auteurs and were rewarded with acclaim, money, and now awards. A previous Sunday Scaries piece here got into just that very topic.

We shall see if both films continue to do this well as the precursor season continues, but if it holds, horror could have a major showing at the Academy Awards. Sinners is threatening to lead the nominations while Weapons is looking to lock up an acting citation. Scary movies leading the Oscar charge. Imagine that!

Stay tuned for another Sunday Scaries installment next week!