Ghostface hit the Big Apple and the result was the franchise’s biggest opening weekend yet. Scream 6 earned $44.5 million in its first weekend of release, nearly $10 million more than the series’ previous high of $34 million with Scream 3 back in 2000. This is the second movie in the new era of Scream, which has a cast that’s now led by Wednesday star Jenna Ortega and In the Heights’ Melissa Barrera.
It’s both funny and fitting for Scream 6 to jump to the front of the series’ highest earners as the new installment of the notoriously meta slasher series this time digs into what it means for a film to up the ante and become a bigger franchise. On top of that, Scream 6 also leans heavily on the series’ past, bringing in tons of references to the previous Ghostface murders and even old costumes and characters. But even with all the franchise history on display, it seems that Scream still has some fresh life left in it with these impressive numbers.
While the first four movies in the series were directed by Wes Craven, the directing team of Radio Silence (Ready or Not) took over the franchise with the 2022 Scream (aka Scream 5). The team returned for Scream 6, and while there’s no word yet on future entries in the series, it certainly wouldn’t be a surprise given this latest installment’s success.