A sixth installment of the horror-thriller franchise Scream is due to hit American cinemas on March 10 and Scream VI is predicted to break a 23-year-old franchise record at the box office. According to Deadline, box office projections estimate that Scream VI will open with $37 million domestically. The current franchise record is held by Scream 3, which opened with a $34.7 million box office return upon its release in 2000.
The popular horror franchise returned to cinemas in 2022 after an 11-year absence with Scream—which borrowed its title from the 1996 original film directed by the late Wes Craven—and saw a strong box office return amidst the pandemic of $140 million worldwide off the back of a $30 million three-day opening domestically. That film returned to the first installment's location of Woodsboro, as many of the original cast returned to be terrorized by franchise killer Ghostface once again 25 years later. The strong performance of 2022's Scream goes some way to explaining the positive projections for the upcoming sixth installment along with the fact that a returning cast member from that film—namely Jenna Ortega—is now an international superstar thanks to her lead role in the smash-hit Netflix series Wednesday.
What is Scream VI About?
Stepping away from the suburbs of Woodsboro, Ghostface is now using chilling phone calls and knife slashing to wreak havoc and murder in New York City. Ortega returns as Tara Carpenter alongside returning Melissa Barrera as her sister Sam. Both of them are survivors of Ghostface's last rampage in Woodsboro but now find themselves being pursued by the iconic killer in NYC. Also returning from the previous movie are Jasmin Savoy Brown and Mason Gooding, along with franchise mainstays Courtney Cox and Roger Jackson bringing his iconic voice to the role of Ghostface. Another familiar face from earlier in the franchise returns in the form of Hayden Panettiere's Kirby Reed last seen in Scream IV. New cast members include Dermot Mulroney, Samara Weaving, and Liana Liberato. Directors of the last film, Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett, have returned to helm this latest meta-murder spree as have writers James Vanderbilt and Guy Busick.
Scream (2022) made a killing at the box office and by returning with the same winning formula before behind and in front of the camera, plus upping the stakes by taking the setting to New York, it's no wonder that Scream VI looks set to take the franchise to new heights at the box office. Scream VI arrives in theaters on March 10, 2023. To get ready for Ghostface's reign of terror the Big Apple, check out the trailer below.