Ghostface is back. “Scream 7,” the latest installment, is currently tracking to open with a franchise-best $50M weekend in North America.
I would tamp down any expectations you might have for this movie—that’s all I’ll say. Oh, and don’t expect reviews to pop up until tomorrow, afternoon, which is around when Thursday previews are set to begin.
Back in November 2023, Melissa Barrera, a then-rising actress, was fired from “Scream VII” for resharing a story on Instagram that accused Israel of “genocide and ethnic cleansing,” and another about distorting “the Holocaust to boost the Israeli arms industry.” Shortly after, her co-star Jenna Ortega also dropped out, citing a “scheduling conflict,” and then the final nail in the coffin: Christopher Landon exited as director.
For some reason, Spyglass thought it would be a good idea to get franchise veteran Kevin Williamson to take over directing duties on the seventh film. Guy Busick, a writer on the prior two installments, co-wrote the screenplay with him. Sources tell Variety that rewrites cost producers $500,000. Neve Campbell was hired to return to the franchise, earning $7M for the acting gig, while Courteney Cox got $2M to return. The film’s budget is said to be around $45M.
This won’t be the end of the franchise either. Variety’s sources suggest plans are already in place for “Scream 8.” Not that surprising when you take into account the mid-level budget and how much it’s about to make this weekend.
Was bringing back Williamson a good idea? I’ll let the reviews speak for the film. He wrote the first two “Scream” movies and has only directed one film in his career (“Teaching Mrs. Tingle”). Twenty-seven years later, “Scream 7” will be his sophomore effort. His other screenwriting credits include “I Know What You Did Last Summer” (1997), “The Faculty,” and “Cursed.”
That said, this write-up is coming from someone who isn’t the biggest fan of this franchise—the last “Scream” movie I “liked” was the fourth one, released in 2011. They’re stretching this nearly four-decade-old franchise to its absolute commercial limits. Sure, there’s still creative runway, but there also seems to be a large audience craving the nostalgia, which apparently will now be stretched out with an upcoming eighth instalment.
Just five Cannes competition titles still seek U.S. distribution, four of them subpar, all French. The fifth, and easily the best film still without US studio attachment, is Ira Sachs’ “The Man I Love.”