‘Scream 7’ Roars To Record Decibels With Franchise-Best $97M+ Global Debut – Box Office Update

SUNDAY AM: Refresh for updated chart and more analysis The David Ellison owned Paramount can claim the first big No. 1 opening of the year for an MPA title as Spyglass’ Scream 7 roars to a franchise best opening of the year with a $64.1M domestic opening and $97.2M opening worldwide. $33M of that was minted abroad in 52 markets, repping 90% of the foreign footprint, +35% from Scream VI in like-for-like markets.

“This historic, franchise record-breaking box office performance is a testament to the enduring legacy created by our director Kevin Williamson 30 years ago, led by the incomparable Neve Campbell, breakout star Isabel May, legacy stalwart Courteney Cox and the entire cast. We applaud everyone at Paramount Pictures, especially Josh Greenstein and Dana Goldberg, who have been tremendously supportive since day one and were committed to making Scream 7 a priority tentpole for the studio, alongside Josh Goldstine who designed a bold marketing campaign and Shaun Barber who eventized the theatrical release with premium formats and a franchise-first, in IMAX. We are proud to celebrate the success of the seventh installment with our good friends and producing partners William Sherak, James Vanderbilt and Paul Neinstein at Project X. We are truly grateful to audiences around the world who enthusiastically showed up to theaters, ready for another thrilling Ghostface experience,” said Gary Barber, Chairman and CEO, Spyglass Media Group. As we told you Spyglass and Paramount co-financed the movie 50/50 for a net $45M production cost before P&A.

While all premium and Imax screens delivered 40% of the domestic box office, Imax alone did $7.1M around the world for Scream 7, $5.5M stateside at 412 auditoriums and $1.6M abroad from 326 hubs.

Broken down, Scream 7 grossed $22M in Europe, +33% ahead of Scream VI, $7.7M in Latin America, +45% ahead of the previous chapter and $3.4M in Asia Pacific, +28% from part 6.

The UK led all offshore territories for the Kevin Williamson movie with a No. 1 $5.3M at 596 sites, which was the biggest opening for the franchise, a Paramount horror movie, and a horror pic YTD, +28% over Scream VI.

France with $4.2M opened in No. 2 at 431 theaters, however, it also repped the biggest horror opening YTD, +2% above Scream VI.

Moviegoers weren’t discouraged to go to the movies despite the cartel atrocities earlier in the week in Mexico where the Neve Campbell movie did $3M at 870 cinemas, +34% over Scream VI, and record debut for series and YTD.

Other No. 1s, and franchise best and horror 2026 debut highs included Australia ($2.5M at 291 theaters, +20% Over Scream VI), Germany ($2.4M plus previews at 494 sites, +30% above Scream VI), Brazil ($2.3M including previews from 775 sites, +19% from Scream 6 and the biggest opening of the year), Italy ($1.8M at 358 cinemas (+90% over Scream VI and the biggest Paramount horror opening ever), Spain ($1.4M at 304 sites, +61% above Scream VI), Netherlands ($600K at 99 sites, +12% above Scream VI), Belgium ($525K at 80 sites, +22% above Scream VI), Colombia ($517K at 226 sites, +80% above Scream VI and also the biggest opening of the year there), Argentina ($489K at 220 also the biggest opening of the year, +74% above Scream VI and biggest Paramount horror bow ever), Peru ($447K at 109 sites, +83% above Scream VI)

Singapore, Malaysia, and Hong Kong release next week. 

Sunday AM domestic weekend figures:

2. GOAT (Sony) 3,707 (-156) theaters, Fri $2.6M (-32%) Sat $5.5M Sun $3.7M, 3-day $12M (-29%), Total $73.9M/Wk 3

3. Wuthering Heights (WB) 3,221 (-461), Fri $2.2M (-53%), 3-day $6.5M (-53%), Total $71.9M/Wk 3

4. Twenty One Pilots: More Than We Ever Imagined – Live in Mexico City (Traf) 833 theaters, Fri $2.1M, Sat $1.2M Sun $1M 3-day $4.3M/Wk 1

5. EPiC: Elvis Presley in Concert (NEON) 1,903 (+1688) theaters, Fri $1.1M (-21%) Sat $1.3M Sun $1M, 3-day $3.5M (+9%), Total $7.8M/Wk 2
Great hold here by the King, granted there was a big boost in screens.

6. Crime 101 (AMZ) 2,607 (-554) theaters, Fri $934K Sat $1.5M Sun $938K , 3-day $3.4M (-38%), Total $30M/Wk 3

7. I Can Only Imagine 2 (LG) 3,105 theaters, Fri $900K (-76%) Sat $1.35M Sun $880K 3-day $3.1M (-60%), Total $13.2M/Wk 2

8. Send Help (20th) 2,500 (-300) theaters, Fri $758K (-38%) Sat $1.3M Sun $762K 3-day $2.82M (-36%), Total $59.9M/Wk 5

9. How to Make a Killing (A24) 1,726 (+101) theaters, Fri $452K Sat $645K Sun $464K 3-day $1.56M (-55%) Total $6.2M/Wk 2

10 Zootopia 2 (Dis) 1,350 (-470) theaters, Fri $277K (-43%) Sat $730K Sun $431K3-day $1.43M (-35%), Total $425.8M/Wk 14

SATURDAY AM: Paramount-Spyglass’ Scream 7 is still shouting toward a $60M weekend in North America, maybe more if word of mouth can keep up. That’s the best opening the 30-year old franchise has ever seen. Definite recommend on PostTrak stands at 61% which is very good for any movie, but it’s lower than the 74% of Scream VI which starred Jenna Ortega and Melissa Barrera. What’s clear, the absence of that duo hasn’t hurt ticket sales. Scream on its old guard of Neve Campbell and Courteney Cox prevails. In Screen Engine/Comscore PostTrak exits, 56% came to the movie because it’s part of a franchise they love, 30% came for the cast.

Scream 7 also saw the best opening day/previews for the franchise at $28.8M. Rivals are predicting a mid-$60M opening, but that all depends on whether Saturday can withstand a -20% decline against that $28.8M. Presales were heavy with 53% of the audience buying their tickets within the last week or a week ago. So hopefully, there’s more walk-up today. Scream 7 is propelling the weekend to an estimated $110.3M for all titles, which is +103% over the same weekend a year ago.

CinemaScore is a B-, which is lower than Scream VI‘s B+ and on par with 2011’s Scream 4 (which was a low point for the franchise; that pic opening to $18.6M and finaling at $38.1M domestic, $97.2M WW). A B+ CinemaScore is the highest ever achieved by any Scream movie and that grade also went to the original 1996 movie, and its 1997 sequel, Scream 2.

For Scream VI, it was the 18-24 crowd who were the biggest at 41% and this time it was 25-34 demo at 32%. Hispanic and Latino is slightly lighter this time around at 30% (but still strong) versus Scream VI‘s 38%. Caucasian was 39%, a much stronger turnout from Black moviegoers at 20% (compared to Scream VI‘s 12%), with Asian American at 3% (down from VI‘s 12%).

PLFs and Imax are driving 40% of the weekend with seventhquel playing evenly, everywhere in the country. The Regal Times Square in NYC is the top grossing location with just over $70K through yesterday. There’s a great excitement from rival studios over the movie’s over-performance, one exclaiming “Nostalgia + young = $$$$$$$” while another exclaims there’s a “Neve-aissance” going on with the actress also popping on the Netflix series The Lincoln Lawyer.

It’s clear, given the young skewing demo, the marketing campaign leaned more on social than linear. iSpot shows only $6M being spent for Scream 7 spots in a very targeted campaign that included NFL, NBA, SportsCenter and Men’s College Basketball. Also, remember Paramount booked that lucrative pre-game Super Bowl spot for Scream 7.

Cox gets in on the weekend fun:

Elsewhere in the top 10, Trafalgar has a Twenty-One Pilots concert movie, Twenty One Pilots: More Than We Ever Imagined – Live in Mexico City. Pic is playing some Imax screens and did an estimated $2.1M on Friday with an eye on $3.6M for the weekend in fourth place at 833 locations. Top performing markets include Salt Lake City, Philly, Phoenix, Orlando, Denver, Tampa, Detroit, Cleveland, Nashville and more.

The top 10 as of Saturday AM:

1. Scream 7 (Par) 3,540 theaters, Fri $28.8M, 3-day $60M/Wk 1
2. GOAT (Sony) 3,707 (-156) theaters, Fri $2.6M (-32%), 3-day $11.75M (-30%), Total $73.7M/Wk 3
3. Wuthering Heights (WB) 3,221 (-461), Fri $2.2M (-53%), 3-day $7M (-50%), Total $72.3M/Wk 3
   The current global running cume is $177.3M from 79 markets, led by UK with $26.3M. Europe is holding well at -40%. Overall global weekend is looking like $23M on its way to global cume of $192M+.
4. Twenty One Pilots: More Than We Ever Imagined – Live in Mexico City (Traf) 833 theaters, Fri $2.1M, 3-day $3.6M/Wk 1
5. EPiC: Elvis Presley in Concert (NEON) 1,903 (+1688) theaters, Fri $1.1M (-21%), 3-day $3.4M (+6%), Total $7.7M/Wk 2
6. Crime 101 (AMZ) 2,607 (-554) theaters, Fri $920K (-40%), 3-day $3.3M (-39%), Total $29.9M/Wk 3
7. I Can Only Imagine 2 (LG) 3,105 theaters, Fri $900K (-76%), 3-day $3.1M (-60%), Total $13.2M/Wk 2
8. Send Help (20th) 2,500 (-300) theaters, Fri $758K (-38%) 3-day $2.8M (-36%), Total $59.9M/Wk 5
9. How to Make a Killing (A24) 1,726 (+101) theaters, Fri $443K (-42%), 3-day $1.5M (-54%) Total $5.6M/Wk 2
10. Zootopia 2 (Dis) 1,350 (-470) theaters, Fri $277K (-43%), 3-day $1.27M (-42%), Total $425.6M/Wk 14

UPDATED FRIDAY MIDDAY: David Ellison can celebrate another win this weekend in addition to taking pole position with Warner Bros and that’s that Scream 7 is heading to a franchise opening record of $59M after a $28M Friday that includes previews. What the? Nope, no head-scratching needed. Give the Scream fans what they want: Neve Campbell and the franchise’s original architect Kevin Williamson in the director’s chair. Now some rivals are seeing well over $60M for the weekend, but the caution here stems from the front-loadness of horror pics.

Previous opening record was 2023’s Scream VI with $44.4M domestic. The Spyglass co-production was put into motion by the previous Paramount Brian Robbins administration, however, the current admin under marketing czar Josh Goldstine takes the win for the franchise opening record.

And as an extra bonus today, the PSKY stock is up post following news of Warner Bros’ realizing Paramount’s superior offer with $13.51 at the time of this post, +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.

RELATED: Where to Watch All The ‘Scream’ Films: Streaming Guide

We’ll have more updates as they come.

UPDATED Friday AM after Thursday PM EXCLUSIVE: Scream 7 preview figures came in higher Friday with $7.8 million, which as we told you last night is a franchise record. The question now is how frontloaded will it be.

The 2022 Spyglass/Paramount revival Scream did $13.3M in previews/first Friday, which was 44% of its three-day total ($30M) — granted that came during a four-day MLK weekend ($33.8M).

In 2023, Scream VI posted a $19.2M combined previews/first Friday, repping 43% of that pic’s $44.4M opening (a franchise record start).

According to RelishMix, prerelease social media universe stats on Scream 7 at 264.5 million are running 11% above horror-franchise norms across TikTok, Facebook, X, YouTube and Instagram combined. At the same time, they are behind Scream VI‘s 360.5M social media reach by 27%. Neve Campbell is active on social, bringing 672,000 fans, while Courteney Cox stands by in pre-activation mode with her 20.7M fans.

Conversation is mixed-positive per RelishMix, the better word of mouth due to Campbell’s return as the franchise’s spine, rather than just a cameo.

“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 says. “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. Examples: ‘So glad Neve Campbell is back. It’s not really a Scream movie if she isn’t in it!’ and ‘I love how Sydney and Ghostface are becoming the new generation of Laurie and Michael Myers.’ Also: ‘Best film series ever!’ and ‘This trailer has absolutely sold me… I’m going opening night.’

this week’s top 5:

1. GOAT (Sony) 3,863 theaters Wk $20.66M (-50%), Total $62M/Wk 2
2. Wuthering Heights (WB) 3,682 theaters, Wk $19.5M (-57%), Total $65.3M/Wk 2
3. I Can Only Imagine 2 (LG) 3,105 theaters, Wk $10.1M/Wk 1
4. Crime 101 (AMZ) 3,161 theaters, Wk $7.7M (-59%), Total $26.6M/Wk 2
5. Send Help (20TH) 2,800 theaters, Wk $6.1M (-49%), Total $57.1M/Wk 4

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). Paramount didn’t return request for comment.

All of Scream 7‘s money is from tonight, starting with a 6 p.m. fan preview on premium screens with extra content and tchotchkes followed by broader previews at 6:30 p.m. Scream 7 won’t be playing in 3D like the 2023 title, but instead will be booked in Imax and ScreenX auditoriums for the first time in the horror franchise’s history. The seventhquel is also playing D-Box and premium large-format screens.

Critics are far more severe on Scream 7 than the recent Radio Silence reboots at 38% Rotten, and an audience score of 79%. Scream VI was 77% certified fresh with critics and 90% with audiences, while 2022’s Scream was 76% with critics and 82% with audiences.

What’s the appeal of Scream 7? Why, original franchise scribe, Kevin Williamson, who is directing for the first time on the 30-year horror series. The action has Neve Campbell’s Sidney Prescott back in Pine Grove with her daughter (Isabel May) in tow. They’re both being threatened by Ghostface killers.

Radio Silence (Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett) produce this time around after helming the 2022 reboot Scream and 2023’s Scream VI. Courtney Cox’s Gale Weathers is among other Scream dramatis personae are back for part seven.

Scream 7 is the only wide major studio entry this weekend. The pic cost a net $45M before P&A, co-financed 50-50 between Spyglass and Paramount. The six previous Scream movies have grossed a combined worldwide total of $908.5M.

Scream 7 is playing 52 offshore territories this weekend including Australia, Brazil, France, Germany, Italy, Mexico, Spain and the UK.