Scream 7

Source: Paramount Pictures

‘Scream 7’

The popping of champagne corks that reportedly went on in David Ellison’s C-suite to celebrate the $110bn merger deal with Warner Bros Discovery augured well for Scream 7 and the horror delivered with the best opening weekend in the 30-year franchise on an estimated $64.1m.

In Paramount’s first number one in a year since Novocaine, the story of Ghostface’s latest exploits arrived in 3,540 cinemas for a decent $18,107 average and also delivered a record for a horror franchise at this stage.

By comparison, box office analyst FranchiseRe noted that the seventh Alien film arrived on $51m in June 2012, which may be lower than Scream 7 in raw numbers but translates to $72.3m when adjusted for inflation. Saw 3D debuted to $22.5m in October 2010 ($33.5m in real terms) and Texas Chainsaw 3D earned $21.7m in Jan 2013 ($30.7m when adjusted for inflation).

EntTelligence reported approximately 4.2m people went to see Scream 7, and there was a 2D-3D breakdown of 85%-15%. There was a 65%-35% standard-premium split compared to 78%-22% for Scream 6, which opened on $44.4m in March 2023 and finished on $108.4m. 

Paramount was not entirely on the hook for Scream 7, which was co-financed by Gary Barber’s Spyglass Pictures. The series’ original scream queen Neve Campbell returned alongside Courtenay Cox and Isabel May and fans turned out in what is likely to be a front-loaded attendance profile given the nature of genre.

The film’s release was laden with controversy and protestors gathered outside the Paramount lot before last week’s premiere. Mexican actor Melissa Barrera was fired from the film after Spyglass deemed her posts on Gaza antisemitic. Jenna Ortega and original directed Christopher Landon also walked. Kevin Williamson stepped in as director.

Sony Pictures Animation’s Goat ranked second in its third weekend as $12m from 3,707 marked a solid 29% drop and boosted the cumulative tally to $73.5m. Emerald Fennell’s Wuthering Heights ranked third in its session on $6.9m for Warner Bros after a 50% fall for $72.3m.

Rounding out the top five were two other new arrivals. Concert film Twenty One Pilots: More Than We Ever Imagined opened through Trafalgar Releasing on $3.7m in 836 sites, followed by Neon’s release of Baz Luhrmann’s EPiC: Elvis Presley In Concert at number five on $3.5m from 1,940.

Comscore reported a $110.8m three-day weekend that puts year-to-date box office on $1.2bn, tracking 9.4% ahead of 2025 by the same stage.

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