Scream 7 Just Pulled Off A Box Office First For The Long-Running Horror Franchise

Audiences still very much enjoy watching Neve Campbell's Sidney Prescott mix it up with Ghostface, it seems. Not that this was in doubt in light of how well "Scream" (2022) did at the box office, although "Scream VI" proved the franchise doesn't necessarily need Sidney anymore. Nevertheless, Campbell's return after her absence in that sequel helped position "Scream 7" as an event movie for horror fans. As a result, the movie has ascended to heights never before seen by this long-running horror property, commercially speaking.

"Scream 7" added another $2.6 million domestically over the weekend to go with $3.7 million internationally in its fifth weekend. With that, the sequel has now earned $118.6 million domestically along with $85.4 million internationally for a grand running total of $204 million worldwide. It's, for now, the only "Scream" movie to ever cross the $200 million mark globally.

Director Wes Craven's original 1996 slasher genre-saving "Scream" was the previous highest-grossing entry in this franchise with $173 million worldwide (unadjusted for inflation), with "Scream 2" right on its heels at $172 million and change. Now, though, it's not particularly close, as writer/director Kevin Williamson's seventh installment is standing tall above the rest.

The latest entry in the slasher property picks up with Sidney, who has built a life for herself and her family in a quiet town. But when a new Ghostface surfaces and directly targets her daughter Tatum (Isabel May), Sidney is forced to face the horrors of her past once again. Matthew Lillard, Courteney Cox, Jasmin Savory Brown, Mason Gooding, Joel McHale, and McKenna Grace also star.

"Scream 7" dominated the box office on its opening weekend with $97 million globally, a record for the franchise as well. However, it dropped a hefty 73% domestically in its second frame, with word-of-mouth not particularly great for the sequel. Even so, it has picked up a bit of steam overseas and, after that initial drop, has recovered, holding pretty well week-to-week since.

The sequel's success isn't terribly surprising on the surface since we're talking about a very rare $1 billion horror franchise. That said, critics were hard on this one. It holds a lousy 31% critical rating on Rotten Tomatoes, and /Film's own Jeremy Mathai wrote that "Scream 7" puts "the slasher series on life support" in his review. Audiences, broadly speaking, have enjoyed it more, though, with the film's RT audience rating sitting at 75%. It's not great, but it's good enough in this case.

Overall, the success of "Scream 7" at the box office has assured a future for the franchise. It's a matter of when, not if, Paramount Pictures moves forward with "Scream 8." The thing it needs to consider, however, is that "Scream 7" wasn't a well-received as the two sequels right before it. As such, Paramount should keep the next installment's budget in check as an insurance policy (in case there's a decline in interest).

Either way, "Scream 7" is likely going to wind up being one of the highest-grossing horror movies of 2026, when all's said and done. It's a victory lap for a franchise that's celebrating its 30th anniversary this year. Ghostface has died many times over now, but they still have a lot of life left in them.

"Scream 7" is currently in theaters.