The seventh installment’s domestic debut of $64 million eclipses the next-highest premiere gross in the franchise by $20 million.

Scream 7 slashes its way to franchise-best $97 million in astounding premiere at the global box office

The seventh installment's domestic debut of $64 million eclipses the next-highest premiere gross in the franchise by $20 million.

By Ryan Coleman

Ryan Coleman

Ryan Coleman is a news writer for with previous work in MUBI Notebook, Slant, and the LA Review of Books.

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March 1, 2026 6:37 p.m. ET

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'Scream 7' from Paramount Pictures. Credit:

- *Scream 7 *opened to a remarkable $64 million at the domestic box office with $97.2 million abroad.

- Those figures represent a franchise best, eclipsing runner-up *Scream 6*'s premiere earnings by $20 million.

- Next week's big release set to challenge *Scream 7 *for box office supremacy is Maggie Gyllenhaal's *Bride of Frankenstein* reimagining, *The Bride*.

The *Scream** *franchise is back, and more lethal than ever.

*Scream 7* ripped into theaters this weekend with a staggering $64 million domestic debut and $97.2 million globally, per box office tracker Comscore.

Those figures are impressive in their own rights amid a box office landscape that has yet to yield any major hits for 2026. But there are numerous ways of slicing and dicing *Scream 7*'s premiere performance that show just how blood-curdling a coup writer-director Kevin Williamson and producer Spyglass Media Group have pulled off.

Not only do *Scream 7*'s domestic and global opening figures represent the best of the franchise to date, they also far outpace the series' previous top earner.

Neve Campbell and Courteney Cox star in Scream 7.

*Scream 6 *opened in 2023 to $44.4 million domestically. That figure itself was a huge improvement at the time on *Scream 3*'s record-breaking $34.7 million from 2000. *Scream 7*'s domestic tally alone of $64 million actually matches what its predecessor scooped up around the world just three years ago.

The film also surpassed the previous weeks' projections, which pegged *Scream 7 *to a max gross of $60 million in its opening weekend.

Another impressive facet of *Scream 7*'s success is the years of controversy the film emerges from. After *Scream 6*'s successful open in 2023, star Melissa Barrera was fired from the franchise after posting supportively of Palestinians amid Israel's ongoing war on the country. Her costar, Jenna Ortega then dropped out, and Christopher Landon, who was originally tapped to direct *Scream 7*, also jumped ship, saying it "all came tumbling down" after Barrera's firing.

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The rest of the domestic leaderboard this weekend is dominated by films well into their release cycles. Steph Curry's animated basketball flick *GOAT *scooped up $12 million after three weeks in theaters, making for a $74 million domestic gross thus far, and $130.4 million globally.

*GOAT *secured the No. 2 spot under *Scream 7* and above the weekend's bronze medal winner, *Wuthering Heights*. The windswept romantic drama earned $6.9 million, also in its third week, for a domestic total of $72.3 million and global haul of $192 million.

*Zootopia 2*, meanwhile, continues to walk on the longest legs in recent box office history, hanging on for dear life to the domestic leaderboard in the 10th spot with a $1.4 million week 14 take. The film's stunning domestic earnings to this point now stand at $425.8 million, with $1.85 billion globally.

Scream 7's lead on next week's box office race seems fairly well secured. But one big new release has the potential to give it good competition, despite its angling toward the art house crowd.

Maggie Gyllenhaal's feminist *Frankenstein* reimagining, *The Bride*, comes to life next weekend. The film starring Jessie Buckley and Christian Bale is likely going to have a tough time drawing comparable crowds to a blood-soaked slasher. But the film has been the beneficiary of a sizable marketing campaign, and will be aided by Buckley's star shining brighter than ever as this year's Best Actress frontrunner for her performance in *Hamnet*.

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