The horror franchise continues to haunt the box office, as ‘Scream 7’ slashed its way to the top on Friday, dethroning last week’s chart-topper ‘Wuthering Heights’.
The seventh instalment of the long-running slasher series earned an impressive $28.8 million from 3,540 theatres across North America on its opening day. Paramount and Spyglass are now eyeing a $60 million opening weekend, which would mark the franchise’s biggest debut to date.
Returning to the screen is Neve Campbell as Sidney Prescott, who attempts to settle into a quiet life in the small town of Pine Grove with her daughter, only to find Ghostface threatening to destroy everything.
Campbell reunites with original cast members Courteney Cox, David Arquette and Matthew Lillard, alongside new additions Isabel May, Jasmin Savoy Brown, Mason Gooding, Anna Camp, Joel McHale and Mckenna Grace.
The road to Scream 7 was far from smooth. The production faced multiple setbacks, including the departures of stars Melissa Barrera and Jenna Ortega, a shakeup in the creative team, and the return of original Scream writer Kevin Williamson as director, replacing Christopher Landon.
Paramount and Spyglass also reportedly paid $7 million to secure Campbell’s return after her absence from Scream 6 due to a pay dispute.
Following Scream 7, Sony’s animated family feature GOAT claimed second place with $2.6 million on Friday, projected to reach $11.7 million by the end of the weekend and $73 million domestically over its three-week run.
In third, Emerald Fennell’s literary adaptation Wuthering Heights earned an estimated $2.2 million on its third Friday, with a predicted $7 million total by Sunday, bringing its North American run to $72 million.
Concert fans turned out in droves for ‘Twenty One Pilots: More Than We Ever Imagined’, which grossed $2.1 million from just 770 theatres, capturing the band’s Mexico City show for a projected $3.5 million weekend total.
Rounding out the top five was Amazon MGM’s ‘Crime 101’, which opened with $920,107 on Friday and is expected to total $3.34 million by Sunday, bringing its domestic run close to $30 million.
