The film, released in time for Halloween 2025, received a positive review from Rotten Tomatoes with a 72% average score. Critics appreciated the thought-provoking narrative and chilling atmosphere.
Of all the genres that boasted theatrical triumph in 2025, none were more successful than horror. Final Destination: Bloodlines shocked the world by becoming the franchise's highest-grossing film; Emilie Blichfeldt's The Ugly Stepsister took Norway to the Oscars; Danny Boyle and writer Alex Garland returned to their iconic zombie franchise with 28 Years Later; Zach Cregger's Weapons became the genre's biggest breakout hit, and Ryan Coogler's Sinners defined the entire year of cinema.
Because of the vast array of success stories for horror in 2025, many have since fallen under the radar, despite proving hits themselves. One such film is Black Phone 2, the sequel to Scott Derrickson’s 2021 supernatural horror flick The Black Phone, which debuted in theaters in time for Halloween 2025.
Topping the box office charts on its opening weekend, Black Phone 2 started as it was meant to go on with a $27 million domestic haul that demolished some pretty uninspiring competition. In total, the film earned an impressive $132 million in global revenue, split between $77 million from U.S. theaters and a further $55 million from overseas markets. This total was earned against a reported budget of just $30 million.
So Black Phone 2 was a commercial success, but did it live up to the expectations of critics? On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the sequel earned a positive 72% average score, although this was sadly short of the 81% score of the original. Praised for being one of the most chilling movies of the year, critics praised the film's performances and thought-provoking narrative that explored some mature themes through skin-crawling scares.
Jeff Ewing scored the film 7/10 in his review for Collider, praising Derrickson by saying his"direction is, once again, quite inspired, full of interesting visuals and a host of good ideas.
" COLLIDER Collider · Quiz Collider Exclusive · Horror Survival Quiz Which Horror Villain Do You Have the Best Chance of Surviving? Jason Voorhees · Michael Myers · Freddy Krueger · Pennywise · Chucky Five killers. Five completely different ways to die — if you're not smart enough, fast enough, or self-aware enough to avoid it. Only one of them is the villain your particular set of instincts gives you a fighting chance against.
Eight questions will figure out which one. 🏕️Jason 🔪Michael 💤Freddy 🎈Pennywise 🪆Chucky TEST YOUR SURVIVAL → QUESTION 1 / 8INSTINCT 01 Something feels wrong. You can't explain it — you just know. What do you do?
First instincts are the difference between the survivor and the first act casualty. ALeave immediately. I don't need to understand a threat to respect it. BStay quiet and observe.
If I can see it, I can understand it. If I can understand it, I can avoid it. CStay awake. Whatever this is, I am not going to sleep until I feel safe again.
DConfront it directly. Fear grows in the dark — I'd rather know what I'm dealing with. ECheck everything, trust nothing. The threat might be closer than I think — and smaller.
NEXT QUESTION → QUESTION 2 / 8ENVIRONMENT 02 Where are you most likely to find yourself when things go wrong? Setting is everything in horror. Where you are determines which rules apply. ASomewhere remote — a cabin, a campsite, off the grid and away from people.
BA quiet suburban neighbourhood where nothing ever happens. Except tonight. CIn my own head — the most dangerous place of all, depending on what's already in there. DWherever children are — because something about this place attracts the worst things.
ESomewhere ordinary — a house, a toy store, a place where the last thing you'd expect is a threat. NEXT QUESTION → QUESTION 3 / 8STRENGTH 03 What is your most reliable survival asset? Every survivor has a quality the villain didn't account for. What's yours?
APhysical fitness — I can run, I can swim, I can outlast something that relies on brute persistence. BSpatial awareness — I always know the exits, the hiding spots, the fastest route out. CPsychological resilience — I've faced my worst fears before. They don't have the same power over me.
DEmotional steadiness — I don't panic. Panic is what gets you caught. EScepticism — I don't underestimate threats because of how they look. Size is irrelevant.
NEXT QUESTION → QUESTION 4 / 8FEAR 04 What kind of fear is hardest for you to fight through? Knowing your weakness is the first step to not dying because of it. AThe unstoppable — something that will not stop, cannot be reasoned with, and is always getting closer. BThe invisible — a threat I can feel but can't locate, watching from somewhere I can't see.
CThe psychological — something that uses my own mind and memories against me. DThe unknowable — something ancient, shapeless, that feeds on the fear itself. EThe mundane — a threat so ordinary-looking that no one will believe me until it's too late.
NEXT QUESTION → QUESTION 5 / 8GROUP 05 You're with a group when things start going wrong. What's your role? Horror movies are brutally clear about who survives group situations and who doesn't. AThe one who says"we need to leave" first — and means it, even when no one listens.
BThe one who stays quiet, watches the others, and figures out the pattern before anyone else does. CThe one who holds the group together when panic sets in — because someone has to. DThe one who asks the questions nobody wants to ask — because ignoring them gets people killed. EThe one who takes the threat seriously when everyone else is laughing it off.
NEXT QUESTION → QUESTION 6 / 8MISTAKE 06 What's the horror movie mistake you're most likely to make? Honest self-assessment is a survival skill. Denial is not. AGoing back for someone — I know I shouldn't, but I can't leave them behind.
BAssuming I'm safe once I've found a hiding spot. That's when it finds me. CFalling asleep when I absolutely cannot afford to. Exhaustion is its own enemy.
DLetting my curiosity override my instincts — I always need to understand what I'm dealing with. EDismissing the threat because of how it looks. That's exactly what it wants.
NEXT QUESTION → QUESTION 7 / 8ADVANTAGE 07 What's your best weapon against something that can't be stopped by conventional means? Every horror villain has a weakness. The survivors are always the ones who find it. AThe environment itself — I use the terrain, the water, the geography against it.
BPatience — I wait, I watch, and I strike at the one moment it doesn't expect. CLucidity — if I can stay in control of my own mind, it loses its primary weapon. DCourage — facing it directly, refusing to run, taking away the fear it feeds on. EImprovisation — I use whatever's at hand, however unconventional.
Creativity over brute force. NEXT QUESTION → QUESTION 8 / 8FINAL SCENE 08 It's the final scene. You're the last one standing. How did you make it?
The final survivor always has a reason. What's yours? AI kept moving. I never stopped, never hid for too long, never let it corner me.
BI figured out the pattern before anyone else did — and I used it against the thing following it. CI stayed awake, stayed lucid, and refused to give it the one thing it needed most. DI stopped being afraid of it. And the moment I did, everything changed.
EI took it seriously from the start — and I never once made the mistake of underestimating it. REVEAL MY VILLAIN → Your Survival Odds Have Been Calculated Your Best Chance Is Against… Your instincts, your strengths, and your particular way of thinking under pressure point to one villain you actually have a fighting chance against. Everyone else — good luck.
Camp Crystal Lake · Friday the 13th Jason Voorhees Jason is relentless, but he is also predictable — and that is the gap you would exploit. Haddonfield, Illinois · Halloween Michael Myers Michael watches before he moves. He is patient, methodical, and almost impossible to detect — until it's too late for anyone who isn't paying close enough attention.
Elm Street · A Nightmare on Elm Street Freddy Krueger Freddy wins by getting inside your head — using your own fears, your own memories, your own subconscious as weapons against you. That strategy requires a target who can be destabilised. Derry, Maine · It Pennywise Pennywise is ancient, shapeshifting, and feeds on terror — but it has one critical vulnerability: it cannot function against someone who genuinely stops being afraid of it.
Chicago · Child's Play Chucky Chucky's greatest advantage is that nobody takes him seriously until it's already too late. He exploits the gap between how something looks and what it actually is. ↻ RETAKE THE QUIZ 'Black Phone 2' Is a Streaming Hit The return of The Grabber and Finney is proving just as popular several months after its successful box office run.
A new arrival in the Netflix catalog on May 16, the sequel has become an instant hit, officially ranking as one of the ten most-streamed movies on the site in the U.S., at the time of writing. The title of the most-watched movie on Netflix goes to the animated hit GOAT. Black Phone 2 is streaming on Netflix.
Stay tuned to Collider for the latest streaming stories. 7 10 Black Phone 2 Like Follow Followed R Horror Thriller Release Date October 17, 2025 Runtime 114 Minutes Director Scott Derrickson Writers Scott Derrickson, Joe Hill, C. Robert Cargill Producers Jason Blum, C. Robert Cargill, Scott Derrickson 6 Images Close Cast See All Prequel The Black Phone Franchise Black Phone Powered by Expand Collapse
Black Phone 2 Horror Sequel Scott Derrickson Box Office Impressive Revenue Thought-Provoking Narrative Chilling Atmosphere Film
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