1. The “boycott” didn’t sink the film. Obviously the results speak for themselves, it will be the highest grossing in the series unadjusted for inflation. That’s an accomplishment no matter what way you slice it.
2. Neve Campbell returning as the lead was a big draw. That’s how you ended up with a record opening, the move brought a lot of hype with it.
3. Could the film have done even better with both Neve Campbell *and* Melissa Barrera and Jenna Ortega as leads? I’d argue probably. The audience for Scream 7 was older (largest demo was 25-34, vs 18-24 for Scream VI), and less Hispanic/Latino (30% vs 38% last time) and Asian (3% vs 12% last time); Caucasian audiences were about the same (39% vs 38% last time), but it drew more Black audiences (20% vs 12% last time). Having Neve is nice, but it stands to reason that having Melissa and Jenna as well would only have an additive effect. It’s not like anyone is like “I was gonna see it for Neve, but if Melissa is in it, I won’t anymore”. Maybe that effect is on the margins (it won’t turn a $63M opening into a $100M opening), but more is more.
4. The biggest problem is that the film just wasn’t very good. A franchise-worst critics score can be overcome (and it was, at least on opening weekend), but in this case, audiences weren’t thrilled about it either, as evidenced by the Cinemascore, PostTrak, and Rotten Tomatoes Verified Audience Score being lower than the last film and/or at franchise-worst levels. That’s how you ended up with a second weekend drop of -73.3%, a number of this magnitude is more than just “It’s fan driven and they all came out right away” (that would be more like a low 60s drop). A bad Scream 7 demolished the franchise opening weekend record but will end up with a modest lead as the highest grossing film in the franchise. But a good Scream 7 with the same opening would have been the highest grossing film in the franchise by a significant margin.
5. Now, does Scream 7 being poorly received matter from a pure profitability standpoint? No, it made its money already on opening weekend. But it can be damaging to the franchise in the long term (see: Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice), especially if the next film is also not up to par. The last two films restored the health of the franchise, and that allowed Scream 7 to soar, especially with the added draw of Neve Campbell’s big return. But they have to make a better film next time.
chichris on
Right on par with Scream 6.
chetcherry on
Settled right around VI’s third weekend. Good results this weekend. Stabilised well.
nicolasb51942003 on
Good hold, and same third weekend as the last one. VI will be surpassed in the coming days.
Icy_Smoke_733 on
Great numbers, and the worldwide gross will be even better. $200m is a lock.
Ghostface is failproof, simply because the character is *too* iconic to mainstream audiences.
Witty-Jacket-9464 on
Amazing legs. $130M finale run
PhantomHazardo on
2nd slasher to make over $200m+ unadjusted.
cireh88 on
Good hold – 51%!
$200MM worldwide would be the cherry on top – let’s go! 🍒
Shellyman_Studios on
W Scream.
BikeFull9182 on
A splendid result for all the parties involved. Excited for a fresh direction in the eighth installment.
[deleted] on
[removed]
SignatureOrdinary456 on
Passes Scream VI on Tuesday 🔥
Never-Give-Up100 on
Now let’s just get a tighter script for 8 and we cooking!
DaKingaDaNorth on
So basically the reality is that losing IMAX inflated the second weekend drop and after the big opening it basically stabilized around Scream 6 levels
ObiwanSchrute on
As a big Scream fan I hated this film and it ruined my perfect track record of liking each film glad it did well and glad there will be another but a fresh voice is needed desperately
15 Comments
I think several things are true about Scream 7.
1. The “boycott” didn’t sink the film. Obviously the results speak for themselves, it will be the highest grossing in the series unadjusted for inflation. That’s an accomplishment no matter what way you slice it.
2. Neve Campbell returning as the lead was a big draw. That’s how you ended up with a record opening, the move brought a lot of hype with it.
3. Could the film have done even better with both Neve Campbell *and* Melissa Barrera and Jenna Ortega as leads? I’d argue probably. The audience for Scream 7 was older (largest demo was 25-34, vs 18-24 for Scream VI), and less Hispanic/Latino (30% vs 38% last time) and Asian (3% vs 12% last time); Caucasian audiences were about the same (39% vs 38% last time), but it drew more Black audiences (20% vs 12% last time). Having Neve is nice, but it stands to reason that having Melissa and Jenna as well would only have an additive effect. It’s not like anyone is like “I was gonna see it for Neve, but if Melissa is in it, I won’t anymore”. Maybe that effect is on the margins (it won’t turn a $63M opening into a $100M opening), but more is more.
4. The biggest problem is that the film just wasn’t very good. A franchise-worst critics score can be overcome (and it was, at least on opening weekend), but in this case, audiences weren’t thrilled about it either, as evidenced by the Cinemascore, PostTrak, and Rotten Tomatoes Verified Audience Score being lower than the last film and/or at franchise-worst levels. That’s how you ended up with a second weekend drop of -73.3%, a number of this magnitude is more than just “It’s fan driven and they all came out right away” (that would be more like a low 60s drop). A bad Scream 7 demolished the franchise opening weekend record but will end up with a modest lead as the highest grossing film in the franchise. But a good Scream 7 with the same opening would have been the highest grossing film in the franchise by a significant margin.
5. Now, does Scream 7 being poorly received matter from a pure profitability standpoint? No, it made its money already on opening weekend. But it can be damaging to the franchise in the long term (see: Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice), especially if the next film is also not up to par. The last two films restored the health of the franchise, and that allowed Scream 7 to soar, especially with the added draw of Neve Campbell’s big return. But they have to make a better film next time.
Right on par with Scream 6.
Settled right around VI’s third weekend. Good results this weekend. Stabilised well.
Good hold, and same third weekend as the last one. VI will be surpassed in the coming days.
Great numbers, and the worldwide gross will be even better. $200m is a lock.
Ghostface is failproof, simply because the character is *too* iconic to mainstream audiences.
Amazing legs. $130M finale run
2nd slasher to make over $200m+ unadjusted.
Good hold – 51%!
$200MM worldwide would be the cherry on top – let’s go! 🍒
W Scream.
A splendid result for all the parties involved. Excited for a fresh direction in the eighth installment.
[removed]
Passes Scream VI on Tuesday 🔥
Now let’s just get a tighter script for 8 and we cooking!
So basically the reality is that losing IMAX inflated the second weekend drop and after the big opening it basically stabilized around Scream 6 levels
As a big Scream fan I hated this film and it ruined my perfect track record of liking each film glad it did well and glad there will be another but a fresh voice is needed desperately