Scream 7 Box Office Projected to Break Franchise Record in Opening Weekend

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While horror movies were incredibly successful in 2025, the genre has struggled to maintain that momentum in 2026. Though Sam Raimi’s Send Help received good reviews, it didn’t make a huge amount of money at the box office. 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple was a complete failure, and Psycho Killer was critically panned and didn’t attract many viewers. However, the release of Scream 7 this weekend could turn things around. Early predictions suggest the latest installment in the popular Scream series might even break some records.

Variety reports that Scream 7 is expected to bring in $44 to $50 million in North American theaters during its opening weekend. Even if it makes the lower end of that estimate, it would surpass the opening weekend earnings of Scream 6 ($44.4 million), making it the highest opening in the franchise’s history. If these projections hold true, Scream 7 will likely have the biggest opening weekend of any movie in the U.S. this year, exceeding the $32.8 million debut of Wuthering Heights.

Can Scream 7 Exceed Its Box Office Projections?

Last year’s scary movies all did surprisingly well in theaters, earning more money during their opening weekends than expected. For some, like Sinners and Weapons, positive buzz from viewers quickly spread and drew people to see them in cinemas. Even movies with less enthusiastic reviews, such as The Conjuring: Last Rites, benefited from established fan bases. Given the continued success of horror films despite changing moviegoing trends, it’s reasonable to ask whether Scream 7 will also outperform expectations.

The Scream movies have been consistently successful for over thirty years, with every film except Scream 4 earning more than $100 million worldwide. The latest installment, Scream VI, was the highest-grossing yet, bringing in $169 million. This strong history suggests Scream 7 is likely to do well. In fact, with few other major horror releases recently – Send Help came out a month ago – and Neve Campbell back in the cast, Scream 7 could potentially be a huge hit, even breaking records upon its release.

Okay, so I’m a little worried about Scream 7. The fact that we haven’t seen a Rotten Tomatoes score yet, and previews start tomorrow, February 26th, isn’t a great sign. Usually, when a studio holds back reviews this close to release, it’s because they’re trying to avoid bad buzz getting out. Now, they could be doing that to protect the big twists – a lot of the original cast is back, and they probably don’t want spoilers ruining the fun for fans. But still, it’s making me nervous! Once those reviews do drop, I’ll be watching closely. What people say will really matter, because if the movie disappoints, I can see a lot of folks just staying home instead of going to the theater.

The making of Scream 7 was unusually difficult. The film faced major behind-the-scenes changes after Melissa Barrera was fired and Jenna Ortega chose to leave the cast. This required the filmmakers to completely rethink their plans, and it’s still unclear how the movie will turn out. However, many classic films have overcome troubled productions, so there’s hope for Scream 7. With little competition from other new releases, fans are hoping it does well in theaters.

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2026-02-25 23:41