A new horror movie is getting a wide release after good searches spiked by 2000% following the trailer’s release. 2025 has been a scarily good year for the horror genre. Not only have there been many high-profile releases, such as Final Destination: Bloodlines and 28 Years Later, but the year also saw the releases of innovative independent films.

The horror genre has a market share of 9.86% in 2024, with only 54 films released. This year, on the other hand, nearly doubled last year’s figure. The horror genre, which has 40 films released so far, has a 15% market share. One of the Top 5 highest-grossing movies this year is an original horror flick.

Good Boy Is Getting A Wide Theatrical Run After Viral Trailer

Good Boy stars director Ben Leonberg’s Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever, Indy, as the тιтular dog, who encounters paranormal activities after moving into a long-vacated family house with his owner and best friend, Todd.

On August 18, Independent Film Company and Shudder dropped the first trailer for Good Boy. Since then, it has racked up 1 million views. The term, “Does the dog die in Good Boy,” also trended on Google Search, with potential viewers flooding the search engine looking for a spoiler to avoid triggers.

The indie film was picked up by IFC and Shudder after its world premiere at the 2025 SXSW Film & TV Festival in March. Now, after the phenomenal reaction to the trailer and the 2000% Google Search spike, IFC has expanded Good Boy‘s theatrical run from limited to a full wide release. Coming to the theaters on October 3, the 72-minute horror movie is told entirely from the тιтular dog, Good Boy’s point of view.

What This Means For Good Boy’s Upcoming Release

From an indie film that stars the director’s dog as the protagonist, Good Boy is officially going to enter the compeтιтive space as a high-potential horror movie with a wide theatrical run. This no doubt gives the horror movie a better fighting chance at the box office.

The edgy movie generated a lot of interest after its world premiere. It currently has a 95% Rotten Tomatoes score from 20 reviews, including RogerEbert.com, IndieWire, and The Hollywood Reporter. ScreenRant‘s review of Good Boy highlighted the movie as being “a fun genre exercise with an adorable protagonist,” though admitted that it does play into tropes at times.

This year has seen a surge of interest in experimental and original horror movies. At the time of writing, Sinners is the highest-grossing horror movie this year, followed by Final Destination: Bloodline, Weapons, and 28 Years Later. Among them, only Final Destination: Bloodline fits into the traditional model of a horror sequel. Based on the current trend, Good Boy has a good chance of success.