Paramount’s Scream VI retained a spot in the top five of the domestic box office this weekend — its fifth — and passed a major milestone. With $103.8 million in the bank domestically, Scream VI is now the highest-grossing installment in the long-running horror franchise. The record was previously held by the first Scream, which was released in 1996.
The first Scream movie concluded its domestic run with just over $103 million over two decades ago. By comparison, Scream 2 made $101 million in 1997, Scream 3 made $89 million in the year 2000, Scream 4 did $38 million in 2011, and the fifth Scream made $81 million last year. Globally, Scream VI is on the verge of passing $160 million, which puts it just behind Scream 3’s $161 million lifetime gross. As per the norm, all numbers are unadjusted for inflation.
The franchise’s biggest film at the worldwide box office remains the first Scream, which made $173 million. Scream 2 made $172 million, the fifth Scream did $138 million, and Scream 4 finished with a franchise-low $95 million. Collectively, the Scream film series has now grossed over $900 million at the global box office, and more than $517 million domestically.
The franchise is known for its meta humor and clever subversion of slasher movie tropes. It has also produced one of horror cinema’s most enduring characters, the masked killer Ghostface. While the first four films were directed by series overlord Wes Craven — the great horror filmmaker passed away in 2015 — directors Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett, collectively known as Radio Silence, took over with the fifth film. Also titled Scream, the movie successfully reawakened interest in the series with its sharp commentary on sequel culture and elevated horror.
After the success of Scream 5, Bettinelli-Olpin and Gillett immediately set to work on the sixth film, which takes the action outside the fictional town of Woodsboro for the first time in the franchise’s history, and marks the series’ first entry to not feature mainstay star Neve Campbell. The film debuted in March to positive response from critics and fans. Collider’s own Ross Bonaime wrote in his review, “Scream VI finds a way to both honor and revel in the past, while creating a path forward for a new generation.”
Paramount's Comeback is Complete
Scream VI marks yet another win for Paramount, which was struggling some years ago with change in management and its biggest franchises — Transformers and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, to name just a couple — faltering financially. But the studio staged a remarkable return to form last year, with Sonic the Hedgehog 2, Smile, The Lost City, Jackass Forever, and of course, Top Gun: Maverick. This year, Paramount has the hotly anticipated Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning Part One to look forward to.
Starring Melissa Barrera, Courteney Cox, Jenna Ortega, Jasmin Savoy Brown, Mason Gooding, and Hayden Panettiere, Scream VI is playing in theaters. You can watch our interview with the Radio Silence duo here, and stay tuned to Collider for more updates.