Scream 7 Premiere: Melissa Barrera Reacts as scream 7 Is Met by Protest
At the world premiere held Wednesday at Paramount Studios, scream 7 was met by protesters outside the studio lot while the film’s stars walked the red carpet. Melissa Barrera responded on her Instagram Story with the message “I see you” and a heart emoji, and co-writer/director Kevin Williamson spoke to the demonstration as he walked the red carpet inside the lot.
Scream 7 Premiere Protest
“Free Palestine” protesters lined up outside the entrance to the lot, led by members of Entertainment Labor for Palestine, CodePink LA and Jewish Voice for Peace-Los Angeles. The demonstration was meant to call attention to what organizers described as the industry’s widespread silencing of pro-Palestinian voices and its whitewashing of Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza.
Barrera’s Instagram Response
More than two years after she was fired from the franchise for speaking up about the Israel-Hamas conflict, Melissa Barrera seemingly acknowledged the protesters. She wrote “I see you” on her Instagram Story with a heart emoji.
Firing, Exits and Rewrites
Spyglass fired Barrera in November 2023 over social media posts related to the Israel-Hamas conflict and the “atrocities being committed against Palestinians. ” The company explained it has “zero tolerance for antisemitism or the incitement of hate in any form, including false references to genocide, ethnic cleansing, Holocaust distortion or anything that flagrantly crosses the line into hate speech. ” After the first trailer for Scream 7 was released in October, fans began slamming the movie on social media and calling for a boycott.
Shortly after Barrera’s axing, her on-screen sister Jenna Ortega announced she wouldn’t return for Scream 7, citing scheduling conflicts with her hit Netflix series Wednesday, and later noted the sequel “was all kind of falling apart” without Barrera to play its new ‘final girl’ Sam Carpenter. Director Christopher Landon also left the project, saying he had received “highly aggressive and really scary” death threats targeting his children and that those threats were tied to Barrera’s firing, even though he did not make the decision to boot her.
At a creative crossroads, producers turned to franchise veteran Kevin Williamson to take over directing duties on the seventh film. Williamson and writer Guy Busick co-wrote the screenplay, which required a serious retooling after the departures. The script rewrite has been pegged at roughly $500, 000, a figure described as not a major expenditure for a franchise of this size.
Campbell’s Return and Pay
Neve Campbell was brought back in March 2024 to reprise her role as OG “final girl” Sidney Campbell, after previously sitting out Scream VI over a low pay offer. Elsewhere in the series materials Campbell is identified in her original role name as Sidney Prescott. The return of Campbell helped secure a major marketing hook: she negotiated a deal reported as nearly $7 million, a sizable raise and a notable salary for the horror genre, and Courteney Cox was awarded a $2 million payday.
Shawn Robbins, director of movie analytics at Fandango and founder of Box Office Theory, summed up Campbell’s value by saying, “Neve Campbell is to ‘Scream’ what Jamie Lee Curtis is for the ‘Halloween’ franchise, ” adding that “she’s a big draw, especially for older generations who grew up with the original films. ”
Cast, Plot and Future Talk
The latest slasher installment stars Neve Campbell, Courteney Cox, David Arquette, Scott Foley, Matthew Lillard, Jasmin Savoy Brown and Mason Gooding, and features newcomers Joel McHale, Isabel May, Celeste O’Connor, Asa Germann, Mckenna Grace, Sam Rechner, Michelle Randolph, Jimmy Tatro, Anna Camp, Mark Consuelos and Ethan Embry. In Scream 7, Sidney Prescott (Campbell) has built a quiet life for herself and her family, including husband Mark (Joel McHale) and daughter Tatum (Isabel May). But when a new Ghostface appears, she must go back into survivor mode to save her daughter, who becomes the killer’s next target.
At the world premiere on Wednesday, Williamson said he and Campbell had already been “spit-balling” ideas for the next installment while working on the current sequel. “When you’re sitting on the set at 3: 00 in the morning, you’re like, ‘Well, what would Scream 8 be about?’ And you just start spit-balling, ” Williamson explained. “And Neve had this great idea, and everyone seemed to run with it. So yeah, if this movie works and people want it, we’re here for the fans. So, if they want it, we’ll certainly give it to them. ” The film was described as premiering Friday in theaters.
Additional Coverage Notes
Tracking estimates for the North American debut of Scream 7 put its opening between $45 million and $50 million, which would represent a series-best kickoff. Scream VI previously earned $161 million at the global box office, the biggest haul since the first two installments. The publicity and production turmoil around this installment—firing, exits and a costly rewrite—have coincided with a vocal backlash from fans.
Unrelated coverage notes included that it has been nearly three years since Kuiper’s time with the A’s ended, and that the Jazz are already without Jaren Jackson Jr., Walker Kessler and Jusuf Nurkić for the rest of the season.
Closing: The Scream 7 premiere at Paramount Studios combined red-carpet celebration, protest and blunt discussion about the franchise’s recent turmoil, with Melissa Barrera’s Instagram message, major cast and creative shifts, a roughly $500, 000 rewrite and Neve Campbell’s high-profile return all part of the film’s current story.
