Just in time for Halloween, Tinder and Peacock are launching a new way for daters to find a boo. After seeing a 42% increase in users talking about scary movies on their Tinder bios, “Horror Movies” will now officially be available as an Interest that can be added to Tinder profiles.

Based on this trend, Peacock and Tinder surveyed singles and found that horror may be the way to daters’ hearts with nearly two-thirds (63%) of respondents agreeing that watching horror movies together is a great date activity. And almost half (49%) agreed that a shared interest in horror movies can indicate a deeper compatibility between partners. It seems those that scream together stay together.

Horror Movies

Horror reigns supreme

Horror (69%) was the second-favorite genre to watch on a date, just behind comedy (71%), with respondents 1.5x more likely to choose a horror film over a rom-com (44%). The responses show that the way to our hearts is more Michael Myers than Nancy Meyers. Literally. Halloween took the top spot for horror movie franchises to watch with a date followed by Leatherface (The Texas Chainsaw Massacre) and everyone’s favorite evil doll (Chucky). Rounding out the list are The Purge and Saw in the fourth and fifth slots, respectively.

Fans can find these top horror franchises and more in a new dedicated “For You and Your Boo” date night collection starting Oct 5. Peacock is home to more than 500 Halloween Horror titles.

Love is in the scare

Respondents felt that the greatest benefits of watching a horror or scary movie with a date were creating an opportunity to get physically closer/cuddle (51%), sharing a thrilling experience (46%), enjoying a sense of excitement and adrenaline (46%), and breaking the ice in a fun and unconventional way (43%). Now that’s what we call gore-play.

Third time’s the chill

While 74% of respondents said that they’d be open to seeing a horror movie on the first date (aka love at first fright), it turns out the third date is the most common for watching a horror movie together. Though 33% of respondents also said that the date number didn’t necessarily matter — it seems anytime is a good time to scream someone off of their feet.

Looking for a boo

Singles have been taking to Tinder to find a plus-one for a spooky binge with mentions of “scary movie” (+42%) and “spooky movie” (+204%)1 spiking on Tinder profile bios during the month of October. To give these users a new way to connect this Boo Season, Tinder is introducing a new “Horror Movies” Interest badge to the app that can be added to their profiles.

Here’s how users can add the new Horror Movies Interest to their profile:

  • Open Tinder and tap the Profile icon
  • Tap on the pencil icon to edit your profile
  • Scroll down to Interest and search for Horror Movies
  • Tap to add it to your profile

In addition to giving daters the opportunity to proudly state their horror fandom, Tinder users will also be eligible for an exclusive Peacock offer in-app available from Oct 4 to Oct 31.

Exclusive Screamings

To help singles in the US share in the scares IRL, Tinder, and Peacock are also hosting the ultimate horror movie date night in New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago on none other than Friday, Oct 13. Tinder users will be able to RSVP for their city’s scary soiree through in-app notifications on Tinder beginning Oct 4.

Peacock and Match Group, parent company of Tinder, announced a broad partnership earlier this year to leverage Peacock’s programming and Match Group’s digital technology to bring people together and make meaningful connections. And now, they’re offering daters everything they need to get through Boo Season this year.

*Methodology
An online survey was conducted in Sept 2023 to understand the preferences and perceptions of U.S. residents regarding dating and horror film choices. Insights were gathered on the dating dynamics, horror film preferences, and the interplay between these aspects among 1,000 U.S. participants.

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