One of the A24 of the year horror movies It received a mixed response from audiences, despite winning over critics. A24 is an independent entertainment company that rose to prominence throughout the 2010s and has become more or less synonymous with an eccentric brand of low-budget cinema. Its releases span many genres and levels of critical and commercial response, including the science fiction action film Everything everywhere at the same timewhich won the Oscar for Best Picture, and the dystopian war drama Civil Warwhich is the most expensive project, with a budget of US$50 million and raised US$126.1 million worldwide.
A24 horror films are among the most notorious in the company’s production. Many have been successful with both critics and audiences, including Talk to meTi West X trilogy and Ari Aster Hereditary and Summer solstice. However, others have given the company a reputation for misrepresenting dark dramas as having more horrific elements than they actually receive, with projects that have received this blame – fairly or unfairly – including The Witch, Arrives at nightand The Blackcoat’s Daughter.
Heretic is leaving audiences with mixed feelings
Critics have made it certified fresh on Rotten Tomatoes
Heretic Audience reviews were more mixed than critics. The new horror thriller, starring Hugh Grant as a man who challenges the faith of two young Mormon missionaries he imprisons in his home, was loved by critics, earning a Certified Fresh score from 93% of critics on Rotten Tomatoes. This is the highest score achieved by an A24 horror film in 2024, surpassing I saw the TV glow (84%), MaXXXine (72%) and The front room (42%).
Despite its overwhelming critical reception, Hereticpublic response was more mixed. On CinemaScoreAudiences gave the film a C+, which is about normal for an A24 horror film (Hereditary also received a C+), but still pretty average compared to other new horror releases, including The substance (B), Don’t speak badly (B+), Smile 2 (Band Terrifying 3 (B). On Rotten tomatoesthe aggregate audience score during the opening weekend is also significantly more mixed at 78%.
Our take on the heretical public response
The A24 horror movie is still a hit
While the Heretic launch behaved like many other A24 horror movies due to having a worse audience reaction than the critical reception, the film still performs very well. Its audience score on Rotten Tomatoes may not be high enough to be Verified Hot, but it’s still well beyond the 60% threshold after which a film is considered Fresh. Plus, its $10 million-plus opening weekend is probably more than enough to turn a profit given its smaller budget, so it’s not suffering in the face of its mixed reaction.
Source: CinemaScore & Rotten tomatoes