When Ghostface returns to the big screen, the knife-wielding masked murderer is primed to make a box office killing. “Scream 7,” the latest installment in the long-running horror franchise, is tracking a scary-good debut of $45 million to $50 million in North America. Those estimates would deliver a series-best kickoff, underscoring Paramount and Spyglass’ success in reviving a property that only 10 years ago was deader than one of the notorious slasher’s many victims.
Yet the journey back to theaters has been tumultuous, with a dramatic firing and high-profile cast and creative exits that required a major revamp of the script — and prompted a vocal backlash from fans.
In late 2023, Melissa Barrera, the star of 2022’s “Scream” reboot and 2023’s “Scream VI,” was fired from the seventh installment by Spyglass over social media messages the production company deemed antisemitic. After war broke out in Gaza that year, Barrera reshared a post accusing…