Ghostface just carved out a massive new milestone.
With Scream 7 officially pushing the franchise past the $1 billion mark worldwide, the long-running slasher series has joined an incredibly exclusive group.
Despite currently sitting as the lowest-rated entry in the saga, the film delivered exactly where it counts for the studio: ticket sales. After pulling in around $100 million during its opening weekend against a lean $45 million budget, the Scream franchise has now crossed into billion-dollar territory.
That makes Scream only the sixth horror franchise in history to reach that box office milestone.
Here’s the company it now keeps:
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Alien
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Resident Evil
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It
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Saw
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The Conjuring Universe
Among them, The Conjuring Universe still rules the horror box office with more than $2 billion worldwide. But crossing the billion-dollar line at all is rare air for horror, and now Ghostface is officially in the room.
What makes this even more interesting is that Scream 7 wasn’t expected to open this big. Early projections estimated a $50 to $60 million debut. Instead, it nearly doubled that, becoming one of the strongest openings in franchise history and putting it on track to become the highest-grossing Scream movie ever.
So what drove audiences to show up in force?
For starters, the return of Neve Campbell as Sidney Prescott brought longtime fans back to theaters. Add in the unexpected return of Matthew Lillard, and suddenly curiosity spiked across the board.
Skeet Ulrich previously resurfaced as a mental manifestation in Scream 5 and 6, but Lillard’s comeback hits differently. The long-running fan theory surrounding Stu Macher has lingered for years, fueled by one persistent argument that Stu Macher didn’t get shot in the head.
There’s also the creative factor. Scream 7 is directed by Kevin Williamson, the writer who launched the original Scream back in 1996. Having him step into the director’s chair created a full-circle moment that clearly resonated with audiences.
Critically, the movie hasn’t fared as well. At the time of writing, Scream 7 holds a 31% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. The audience score tells a different story at 76%, suggesting fans are having a lot more fun with it than critics. And when you’re talking franchise filmmaking, audience enthusiasm is what keeps the machine running.
With these numbers, it’s hard to imagine the studio slowing down. If anything, the box office performance almost guarantees that Scream 8 will slice its way into theaters sooner rather than later.
Love it or hate it, Ghostface isn’t going anywhere. The billion-dollar club just got a little bloodier.
