So much for the Rotten Tomatoes.. the bad reviews.. the critics be damned. SCREAM 7 has made enough money that people are now clamoring for a SCREAM 8!
The film is expected to scare up around $60 million by the end of the weekend, far surpassing Scream VI’s franchise best opening weekend of $44 million.
Scream 7 also saw the best opening day/previews for the franchise at $28.8M.
Pre-sale tickets happening before review embargo was lifted most likely helped.
Pre-sales were heavy with 53% of the audience buying their tickets within the last week or a week ago..
The long-anticipated next installment in the legendary franchise has arrived, and as expected, the reactions are all over the place.
Critics? Not impressed. Early reviews have been rough — some calling it excessive, others saying it leans too heavily into shock value. Fans? A very different story.
Rotten Tomatoes is hovering around 77% from audience scores, which tells you everything you need to know about the divide. Horror has always been that genre where critics and fans rarely sit at the same lunch table. And honestly… when have they ever fully agreed on Scream?
Financially, though? This thing came out swinging. The film already pulled in $7.8 million, which is reportedly a franchise record for that particular preview window. It’s now poised to land somewhere between $40–50 million by the end of the weekend.
That’s not nostalgia money. That’s “we showed up” money. Now here’s the part that matters. A big opening doesn’t automatically mean the movie is good. We’ve all seen horror films open hot and disappear faster than a teenager in the third act.
But it also doesn’t mean it’s bad. People have been clamoring for more brutality. More gore. More risk. For years, fans said the franchise was getting too safe, too self-aware, too polished. Well… from what’s being said, they got their wish.
The question now isn’t whether it delivers blood. It’s whether it delivers staying power. Will people still be talking about it in three weeks? Will it spark debate? Will it create a new iconic scene? Or will it simply be remembered as “the gory one”?
Opening weekends are adrenaline. Longevity is legacy. And that’s something you can’t measure in a Friday night number.
For now, it’s a Scream 7 weekend. And whether you’re going for the kills, the chaos, or just to see if Ghostface still has that magic… the only real verdict comes after the crowd leaves the theater and the conversation begins. Let’s see if this one sticks.
Dozens of pro-Palestine protesters marched outside the Los Angeles premiere for Scream 7 on Wednesday night.
Some demonstrators could be seen waving Palestinian flags, while others were holding signs that read “Cancel Paramount+” and “Stand For Free Speech Boycott Scream 7.” The group could also be heard chanting “Boycott Scream 7” and “Free, free, free Palestine,” while some played drums and trumpets.
The premiere took place at the Paramount Studios lot; however, the protests could only be faintly heard from the red carpet, where the film’s stars, like Neve Campbell and Courteney Cox, were posing for photos.
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About 25 demonstrators were seen positioned around the lot with flags, drums and bullhorns. They were heard chanting phrases like “Paramount, Paramount, what do you say?” and “Palestine will live forever!”
The protest was led by Entertainment Labor for Palestine, CODEPINK LA, Musicians for Palestine, and Jewish Voice for Peace-Los Angeles. The activists on the scene were also pro-Melissa Barrera, the actress who has been vocal in her support for Palestine.
In November 2023, Spyglass Media Group slashed Barrera from reprising her role in the seventh installment of the film after she expressed support for Palestinians in the Israel-Hamas war. The production company behind the film said in a statement that they had “zero tolerance for antisemitism or the incitement of hate in any form” and dropped her.
A group of pro-Palestinian protesters march outside of the LA premiere of Scream 7 tonight in front of the Paramount lot pic.twitter.com/i5umQH7uQf
Deadline is splashing and exclusive about the upcoming SCREAM 7: Ortega out!
More..
Jenna Ortega, who was heralded to be a huge draw in getting Scream VI to the horror franchise’s best opening grosses ever at $44.4M stateside, $67M global, isn’t expected to return for the newest film..
According to DEADLINE, the departure has ‘nothing to do with the fallout from Melissa Barrera‘s firing yesterday by Spyglass Media over that actress’ social media repostings on the Hamas-Israel conflict’; nor does it have to do with the actress asking for an end to her Scream contract. Ortega and Barrera played sisters in 2022’s Scream and this year’s Scream VI respectively as Tara and Sam Carpenter
BLOODY DISGUSTING first reported this news today followed by the Hollywood Reporter..
Spyglass “has tapped Christopher Landon, a scary movie stalwart whose credits include the Happy Death Day movies as well as body-switching horror-comedy Freaky, to direct the seventh installment of the long-running franchise.” Scream and Scream VI directors Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett (Radio Silence) will remain on board as executive producers, as will Chad Villella.
At this point it is assumed but there is no official word yet on who will be writing Scream 7, but THR reports that Melissa Barrera and Mason Gooding are expected to return.
Of course this is all this contingent on Hollywood actually coming back soon from a writers strike..
