Scary Movie: 'Scream 7' Shrieking To Franchise-Best $59M Debut

The latest scary movie, Scream 7, is poised for a franchise-opening record of $59M after a $28M Friday that included previews, industry tallies show. David Ellison, Neve Campbell and the franchise’s original architect Kevin Williamson are cited as key elements driving the turnout.

Early Friday and preview figures

UPDATED FRIDAY MIDDAY: Scream 7 is heading to a franchise opening record of $59M after a $28M Friday that includes previews. UPDATED Friday AM after Thursday PM EXCLUSIVE: Scream 7 preview figures came in higher Friday with $7. 8 million, which is a franchise record. PREVIOUSLY, EXCLUSIVE: After becoming the lead bidder for Warner Bros Discovery, Paramount is capping off a great Thursday with $7. 5 million in previews for the Spyglass co-production Scream 7, which would rep a franchise record. Scream VI previously posted franchise records for previews ($5. 7M), ahead of a three-day domestic opening ($44. 4M) and global debut ($66. 4M).

Franchise comparisons and front-load risk

The previous opening record was 2023’s Scream VI with $44. 4M domestic. The 2022 Spyglass/Paramount revival Scream did $13. 3M in previews/first Friday, which represented 44% of its three-day total ($30M) — that release came during a four-day MLK weekend ($33. 8M). In 2023, Scream VI posted a $19. 2M combined previews/first Friday, representing 43% of that picture’s $44. 4M opening. The question now is how frontloaded Scream 7 will be, with some rivals projected at well over $60M for the weekend but caution noted because of the front-loadness of horror pictures.

Spyglass, Paramount and studio context

The Spyglass co-production was put into motion by the previous Paramount Brian Robbins administration; the current administration under marketing czar Josh Goldstine takes the win for the franchise opening record. Paramount didn’t return request for — unclear in the provided context.

Market reaction and stock movement

As an extra bonus, the PSKY stock is up post following news of Warner Bros’ realizing Paramount’s superior offer, trading at $13. 51 at the time of this post, up 21% (+21%). Given the big opening for Scream 7, the entire weekend looks to be well ahead of the same frame a year ago (Feb. finale/beginning of March) which did $54. 4M per Box Office Mojo.

Social reach and audience conversation

RelishMix finds prerelease social media universe stats on Scream 7 at 264. 5 million, running 11% above horror-franchise norms across TikTok, Facebook, X, YouTube and Instagram combined; those numbers remain behind Scream VI’s 360. 5M social media reach by 27%. Neve Campbell is active on social, bringing 672, 000 fans, while Courteney Cox is in pre-activation mode with her 20. 7M fans. Conversation is mixed-positive per RelishMix, with better word of mouth attributed to Campbell’s return as the franchise’s spine rather than just a cameo.

RelishMix on nostalgia and Sidney

RelishMix says, “The hype is nostalgia-with-teeth, with people treating Sidney like horror royalty and the trailer like proof the series still knows its own rules. ” RelishMix adds: “Fans are cheering while also acknowledging Sidney’s life is basically a permanent caller ID jump-scare. There’s also genuine craft-appreciation for franchise iconography and the ‘back where it started’ vibe, plus nerdy deep-cuts that compare it to Halloween style final-girl mythology. ” RelishMix cites audience examples: “So glad Neve Campbell is back. It’s not really a Scream movie if she isn’t in it!”; “I love how Sydney and Ghostface are becoming the new generation of Laurie and Michael Myers. ”; “Best film series ever!”; and “This trailer has absolutely sold me… I’m going opening night. ”

Creative team and opening sequence

Kevin Williamson earned his first screenplay credit in 1996 for Scream and went on to pen Scream 2 and Scream 4. For Scream 7, Williamson teamed on the screenplay with James Vanderbilt and Guy Busick, who penned Scream 5 and Scream VI, and Williamson takes the helm as director for this entry. The film restores Neve Campbell’s Sidney Prescott to the center of the story after a run in which Sidney was a supporting character in Scream 4 and Scream 5 (which was confusingly titled Scream) and absent in Scream VI. Scream 7 opens with a fiery sequence teased in trailers and immediately signals a different tone in its first kills.

Key characters and opening set piece

The film introduces Scott (Jimmy Tatro), a devoted “Stab head” who brings his girlfriend Madison (Michelle Randolph) to stay at Stu Macher’s house, now an “experience destination” decked with Stab memorabilia and crime-scene details including outlines of where the killers fell dead and plaques about who got killed where. Out the gate, Williamson’s influence shows in the cracking dialogue between a quarreling couple at a taboo Airbnb. Scott’s fatal mistake is chasing nostalgia; the Macher house murders at the start of Scream 7 are not merely fan service but a statement: don’t get stuck in the past. Madison, in a pink hoodie with long blonde hair, subverts the “dumb blonde” expectation but still dies, setting the film’s standard. The opening kills are described as more vicious than those in Scream and more in line with the graphic violence associated with the torture-porn trend that followed Scream 3’s release — a trend that helped push the franchise into an 11-year fallow period. The review notes, RIP Randy, as an early lesson in franchise fatalism.

Closing: Scream 7’s combination of preview strength, franchise nostalgia centered on Neve Campbell and Kevin Williamson’s return to the director’s chair has produced a $28M Friday and preview figures that point to a $59M opening; how frontloaded the run will be remains the central box-office question going into the weekend.