‘Scream 7’ tops worldwide box office with $97m franchise-best debut; ‘Wuthering Heights’ nears $200m

Worldwide box office: February 20-22

Credit: Comscore. All figures are estimates.

Seventh ‘Scream’ film boosted by premium formats

Paramount and Gary Barber’s Spyglass Pictures are celebrating a franchise-best launch for Scream 7, with an estimated $97.2m worldwide – $64.1m for North America plus $33.1m across 52 international markets.

That was enough to land top of the worldwide box office chart, knocking aside Chinese title Pegasus 3 in its second week of play.

For comparison, Scream VI launched in March 2023 with $44.5m in North America, plus $22.6m in 53 international markets, combining for $67.1m worldwide. At the time, that debut represented a Scream franchise record.

The new film sees the return of franchise stalwart Neve Campbell, who sat out Scream VI because of a salary dispute, and also sees original Scream scribe Kevin Williamson in the director’s chair.

Scream 7 is the first in the series to open in Imax and ScreenX, and also played other premium large formats including Dolby Vision, 4DX, D-Box, Lumma and MX4D. In North America, the premium formats collectively accounted for 40% of the gross. Globally, Imax delivered $7.1m on Scream 7.

Among international markets, UK/Ireland led with an estimated $5.3m, 28% above Scream VI. Next come France (an estimated $4.2m), Mexico ($3.0m), Australia ($2.5m), Germany ($2.4m), Brazil ($2.3m), Italy ($1.8m) and Spain ($1.4m). The film topped the weekend box office in all these markets except France, where Pathe’s local hit Marsupilami continues to rule the roost.

Scream 7 is chasing the $166.6m lifetime total of 2023’s Scream VI. Among the earlier four films, the biggest remains the original Scream, which reached $173.0m worldwide in 1996, including $103.0m in North America. These figures are not adjusted for inflation.

The seven films have collectively grossed more than $1bn worldwide, and that total should rise to around $1.1bn by the end of Scream 7’s run. Scream ranks fifth in horror franchises globally, after The Conjuring ($2.3bn), Alien ($2.0bn), Resident Evil ($1.3bn) and It ($1.2bn).

‘Wuthering Heights’ closes in on $200m total

Warner Bros and MRC’s Wuthering Heights added an estimated $22.6m globally in its third weekend session, taking the total so far to $192.0m – $72.3m in North America and a strong $119.7m across 78 international markets. Emerald Fennell’s film should hit $200m by the middle of this week.

Among international markets, UK/Ireland – home to the film’s Yorkshire setting – remains far out in front with $28.3m so far, ahead of Italy, surprisingly strong with $11.5m. Next comes Australia ($11.1m), which is home to the film’s lead actors Margot Robbie and Jacob Elordi.

Mexico ($8.0m), Germany ($6.5m) and Spain ($6.4m) all rank ahead of France ($4.5m), which is just ahead of Poland ($4.3m).

The weekend saw Wuthering Heights rank third at the worldwide box office, just below Chinese hit Pegasus 3. In fourth place is Sony Pictures Animation’s GOAT, which added another estimated $21.3m worldwide, and has now reached $130.5m. UK/Ireland leads among international markets, with $16.1m so far. Yet to release are key markets Australia, China, Saudi Arabia and South Korea.

Chinese films continue hold on top 10 chart

Films released in China for the Lunar New Year holiday continue their strong presence in the worldwide weekend top 10 chart, led by car racing comedy Pegasus 3, which added an estimated $50.4m in its second weekend of play, and has now reached $543.7m.

Period martial arts epic Blades Of The Guardians comes next, just below GOAT in the top 10 chart, and is now at $166.9m. Zhang Yimou’s thriller Scare Out, family animation Boonie Bears: The Hidden Protector and Hong Kong comedy Night King all likewise remain in the top 10 chart.

Also in the chart is South Korean historical drama The King’s Warden (aka The Man Who Lives With The King), which added an estimated $15.1m at the weekend and has now reached a powerful $54.8m. Jang Hang-jun’s film, distributed in its home market by Showbox, explores the life of the deposed teenage King Danjong during his exile to Gangwon Province in 1457.

Concert film ‘EPiC’ hits $14m total

Universal’s EPiC: Elvis Presley In Concert has expanded in its second weekend of play from what was an initial Imax-only platform (except in Australia, where it had already opened wide). The result is the film has entered the top 10 chart with estimated worldwide weekend takings of $8.7m – although that number includes the Imax previews in international markets. Worldwide total is $14.4m, including Neon’s release in North America ($7.8m to date).

UK/Ireland delivered an estimated $2.5m including $1m in Imax previews – the third-biggest opening ever for a documentary in the territory, behind One Direction: This Is Us and Michael Jackson: This Is It.

In Australia, EPiC, directed by Baz Luhrmann, has reached $1.9m after two weekends of play. Both Italy and Japan release the film in May.

• ‘Scream 7’ scores franchise record $64.1m at North American box office