Scary Movie stakes: Scream 7’s mixed reviews, Neve Campbell’s return and a weekend box-office push
Early reviews for Scream 7 arrived online as the franchise’s 30th anniversary approaches, and the new scary movie — co-written and directed by Kevin Williamson — reunites Neve Campbell with Sidney Prescott as a new Ghostface killer terrorizes her family and box-office projections place the weekend opening in the $40 million–$60 million range.
Scary Movie box-office forecast and weekend field
Paramount’s Scream 7 is expected to open near $45 million, with projections clustering anywhere from $40 million to $60 million, a haul that would challenge Scream VI’s $44. 4 million opening and give the 30-year-old series one of its strongest starts yet. The release arrives into a crowded late-winter slate where GOAT and Wuthering Heights traded jabs for the top spot the past two weekends; GOAT is projected to settle into second with about $12 million and Wuthering Heights about $6 million.
The rest of the projected Top 5 includes Lionsgate’s I Can Only Imagine 2 pacing for about $3. 5 million and Amazon MGM’s Crime 101 just over $3 million, with Disney’s Send Help projected around $2 million just outside the Top 5. Baz Luhrmann’s EPiC: Elvis Presley in Concert expands nationwide after a strong IMAX debut and is listed as the most likely wildcard. Limited openings this weekend include Dreams starring Jessica Chastain, Undercard featuring Wanda Sykes in her first leading dramatic role, and The Napa Boys.
Critics are split on Campbell and Williamson’s return
The first reviews are mixed. Christopher Campbell wrote on February 26, 2026, that critics offered divided praise for the film, with some calling it a comeback and others seeing a stale series searching for relevance. Voices range from Kristy Puchko writing that "The Scream franchise just got fun again… Scream 7 is a return to form" to Gregory Nussen calling it, "For fans of the franchise, Scream 7 will prove to be nothing but a waste of time. "
Other critics’ lines included: "Scream 7 proves sturdier than expected… enough to justify its existence, " "It may have taken 30 years for Williamson to finally get to steer his own ship, but with Scream 7, it proves well worth the wait. Fans will approve, " and "Scream 7 is far more engaging than any seventh film in a horror franchise has any right to be… a solid entry in a franchise that felt like it was beginning to lose its way. "
Less enthusiastic reactions appear as well: "It is an entertaining movie, but it isn’t unmissable, " "If you skip Scream 7, you’re not missing the best film in the franchise, " "Williamson has gone back to basics, but the result is a Scream sequel that, while it nods in the direction of being seductively convoluted, is really just… basic, " "A disappointing sequel in a saga that has never failed so evidently, " and "Scream 7 operates as an exercise in what those films are ironically lacking: horror filmmaking fundamentals. "
Some critics singled out strengths: "Campbell’s performance and some fresh kills are worthy of admission alone, " "This sequel makes terrific departures from the franchise’s weakest points, " "Where Scream 7 works best is in its intergenerational dynamic… The mother-daughter relationship provides emotional grounding amid the bloodshed, " and "It’s one heck of an apology to Neve Campbell. Almost every scene is about how important Sidney Prescott is. " One reviewer summed up the middle ground with, "Scream 7 may not be the best of the bunch, but it’s damn close. "
What’s in the movie: Williamson back at the helm
Kevin Williamson co-wrote and directed Scream 7; he earned his first screenplay credit in 1996 for Scream and later penned Scream 2 and Scream 4. For Scream 7 he teamed on the screenplay with James Vanderbilt and Guy Busick, who wrote the previous two entries. The film’s distributor is Paramount Pictures, its running time is one hour, 54 minutes, and it is rated R.
The plot resets the story around Sidney Prescott, largely sidelining the characters introduced in the last two films after the exits of Melissa Barrera and Jenna Ortega — a creative pivot that has divided fans. In Scream 7, a new Ghostface emerges in the town where Sidney has built a new life and her daughter becomes the next target.
How the film starts and who turns up
The opening sequence draws on franchise history and fan culture. Scott, played by Jimmy Tatro, is described as a devoted "Stab head" — a fan of the films-within-the-films — and his girlfriend Madison, played by Michelle Randolph, knows her horror movies but is less charmed by Scott’s idea to stay at Stu Macher’s house. That house has been turned into an "experience destination" with memorabilia, outlines of where killers fell and plaques marking who got killed where.
Reviewers note that the Macher house murders are both fan service and a thematic declaration not to get stuck in the past. Critics also say Williamson’s early kills in this film are more vicious than those in the original Scream and on par with the graphic violence that followed Scream 3; reviewers link that trend to why the franchise went fallow for 11 years. Madison is described in the film as wearing a pink hoodie with long blonde hair, someone who subverts the "dumb blonde" expectation and fights before still dying — a sequence reviewers say sets the standard for Scream 7.
Scream 7 currently sits at 42 percent on Rotten Tomatoes and 36 on Metacritic, labels reviewers call mixed to unfavorable. The next confirmed event is the film’s theatrical opening this weekend, when audiences will see whether box-office returns match the projected $40 million–$60 million range and how viewers respond to Neve Campbell’s return and Williamson’s take on Ghostface.
