Why Are Vampires Losing Popularity in Modern Media?

Introduction

Vampires have long been a staple of popular culture, captivating audiences with their blend of horror, romance, and intrigue. However, as the genre evolves and new narratives emerge, the question arises: are vampires becoming a dull relic of the past? In recent years, the box office struggles of vampire-themed projects and the waning excitement of audiences suggest that the allure of these immortal beings may be fading. In this article, author Robin Brown will explore the current landscape of vampire media, examining the factors contributing to their decline in popularity and the challenge faced by creators in revitalizing this iconic figure for a modern world. From Robert Eggers’ much-anticipated “Nosferatu” to the impact of cultural shifts, we seek to uncover whether vampires are truly boring now or if there’s still potential for a thrilling renaissance in their story.

Are Vampires Boring Now?

I recently read Jim Mcleod’s article on this site Are We in the Age of Comedy or Horror Vampires? and it occurred to me that perhaps we are in neither.

Of the projects cited by Jim, all of them have underperformed at the Box Office. Of the streaming shows What We Do In The Shadows has run its course and is ending this year, and Mike Flanagan’s Midnight Mass, despite stellar reviews, came out three years ago and we haven’t seen its like since.

A lot seems to hinge on Robert Eggers’ Nosferatu, coming out on Christmas Day.

Jim appears confident in this new film but I will be contrary and disagree. Whilst Robert Eggers is undoubtedly one of the most exciting horror filmmakers working today, his films have not yet cracked the mainstream box office.

His biggest success is still 2015’s The Witch, nearly ten years ago, which earned $40million at the box office. A fabulous return on a $4million budget and it has undoubtedly gone on to make even more in the home release markets. But I would argue it still didn’t crack the mainstream. Two years earlier, The Purge made over $90million from a $3million budget and spawned a sprawling franchise. A year later in 2016, Fede Alvarez’s Don’t Breathe made over $150million from only $10million.

Eggers’ other films unfortunately failed at enticing mainstream audiences as well. In fairness, The Lighthouse is more of an arthouse film but The Northman certainly flopped at the box office, only turning a profit in the home release markets, hardly the goal for a $70-90million budget movie.

The point I’m trying to make is that Robert Eggers’ horror, whilst incredible, is not the type of horror that has been making the big bucks at the theaters. This is worrisome for Dracula and his chums, who could really do with a big win after the recent underperformances from the likes of Abigail and Renfield. 

But I think this all speaks to a larger issue:

vampires are boring now. Has Twilight taken the bite out of their fear factor? Has over a hundred years of films, television and books finally caught up with the immortal blood suckers? Or has the real world – where actual sexual predators are constantly making the news – made the vampire redundant? 

The numbers at the box office seem to suggest that vampires don’t have the pull they once enjoyed. Robert Eggers’ Nosferatu, with its stacked cast, high production value and genre recognition, is the best shot the vampire has to stake (pun intended) its relevance in modern media, but I’m not holding my breath.

Of successful Christmas Day releases cited by the Looper article The Highest Grossing Christmas Day Opening Movie Releases Ever, only one of them is even close to being a horror film. Unfortunately for us horror fans, this film is 2007’s Alien vs. Predator: Requiem and it would go on to fail at the box office.

In conclusion, I think the vampire is in a real slump. Its horror offerings have failed to spark real interest and its efforts at comedy haven’t fared much better. What I think the genre needs is a fresh, modern take on the vampire. What does an immortal, blood-sucking spawn from Hell have to offer our modern world? 

Oh! Look at that! An upcoming release called Vampire Metropolis that offers a fresh, modern take on the vampires we all know and love!

Vampire Metropolis by Robin Brown

Hi, I’m Caiden, I look nineteen but I’m actually a two-hundred-year-old vampire… and I’ve just been kicked out of a plane and dropped into a walled-off prison city for the world’s fantasy creatures. Welcome to Vampire City! A sprawling metropolis of segregated boroughs, desperate poverty and tyrannical vampire overlords who feed upon their lowly subjects to lay claim to them.

In my time here, I’ll work with a couragous leader of rag tag elves, an ambitious warrior vampire looking to climb the heirarchy, street-wise goblins only after a quick buck, a hapless halfling who has found themselves up a certain creek without a certain paddle, and finally a young and headstrong vampire girl called Alma, who doesn’t feel like a vampire, and who incredibly can’t be fed upon by those tyrannical vampire overlords I mentioned earlier.

She might just be the key to changing this modern, run-down metropolis into a better place for everyone. Or she might not. Depends on what I do next, I suppose.

BIO
Robin Brown is releasing his debut urban fantasy novel VAMPIRE METROPOLIS in 2025 with Wild Ink Publishing. He has had several short stories published in recent Dragon Soul Press anthologies and he won a flash fiction competition from Crystal Lake Publishing and his story will feature in their upcoming anthology release Hotel Macabre Vol. 1: Tales of Horror.

Robin started writing as a young boy because his Dad’s old computer could barely play Minesweeper. Despite purchasing a modern gaming computer to play Minesweeper today, it turns out Robin is terrible at it and doesn’t understand the rules anyway, so he’s taken up writing again.

He is over twelve thousand days old and lives somewhere in Manchester, England. He is genuinely not a hundred percent sure exactly where.

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