Paramount/Spyglass’ “Scream 7” isn’t just going to break the horror franchise’s opening weekend record … it’s going to shatter it. After earning $28.8 million on opening day — including $7.8 million from Thursday previews — the slasher film is headed for a $60 million-plus opening weekend from 3,540 locations.
Industry estimates have the film, which sees Neve Campbell return as series protagonist Sidney Prescott, earning as much as $66.5 million this weekend, blowing past the previous franchise record of $44.5 million earned by “Scream VI” in 2023.
“Scream 7” is the result of a major pivot by Paramount and Spyglass after Melissa Barrera, the star of the previous two installments, was fired by the latter over posts she made in support of Palestinians killed by Israel’s military attacks on Gaza in late 2023. Kevin Williamson, writer of the original 1996 Wes Craven film took over as director on this project while Campbell, who sat out “Scream VI” over a pay dispute, returned for this installment focused on her character.
This strong opening weekend is a great start for Paramount, which sports a franchise-heavy 2026 slate with sequels for series like “Jackass,” “Angry Birds,” “Scary Movie” and “Paw Patrol.” But the one blemish for “Scream 7” is that audience metrics aren’t as strong as for the previous two films that successfully revived “Scream” and introduced it to a new generation.
While “Scream 5” and “Scream VI” both earned a B+ from opening night audiences on CinemaScore, this installment earned a B-. Rotten Tomatoes scores stand at 33% critics and 78% audience compared to 77% and 90% respectively for “Scream VI.”
We will see if those lower scores lead to a more frontloaded theatrical run as “Scream 7” chases the $166 million global total of its predecessor. But the film should be a box office success against its $45 million budget split by Paramount and Spyglass.
