The Scream series, one of the most pre-eminent horror franchises, returned last month with its seventh main instalment. As it enters its fourth decade, it seems that the series is showing no signs of slowing down.
Following the excellent performance of Scream 7 at the box office, where it grossed over $97 million worldwide in its opening weekend, it’s widely assumed that there will be another entry in the franchise.
Even though Scream 7’s opening weekend performance is actually the best in the series’ history, a follow-up is yet to be officially greenlit – though creator Kevin Williamson has already intimated that a sequel would come.
“[We have] a lot of ideas,” he told Variety. “If this film is successful and there’s an audience for it, you know we’ll make it because, [firstly], I think the studio would like to make it.”
“[Secondly], we the people who make these movies would love to make it because they’re a blast to make and they’re so much fun,” added Williamson, who directed and co-wrote Scream 7.
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Executive producer Marianne Maddalena also weighed in on the matter, sharing that filming for the next instalment could begin as early as this year. Either way, we’ll have to wait for official confirmation.
Even if the eighth film is made, Courteney Cox was more bullish about the prospect of reprising her role as Gale Weathers, telling Variety: “I think everyone should want to do another Scream. It’s fun and it’s great. I don’t think I can make the next one, but we’ll see.”
Scream 7 saw Neve Campbell reprise her role as Sidney Prescott after being absent from 2023’s Scream VI, but it hasn’t proved to be a happy return – at least critically – as the film is the worst-reviewed in the franchise’s history.
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At the time of writing, the horror has an approval rating of 32% from 148 reviews on Rotten Tomatoes, which is markedly lower than the 45% score that 2000’s Scream 3 – the only other entry to not have a ‘fresh’ rating – received.
In Digital Spy’s two-star review of the film, we called it a “bland re-tread”, adding: “While you might be entertained by the ending, it’s hard to imagine you going back for seconds when the central mystery is so poorly developed.”
Scream 7 is in cinemas now.
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Reporter, Digital Spy George is a freelance writer who specialises in Movies and TV. After graduating with a degree in Film Studies and Journalism from De Montfort University, in which he analysed the early works of Richard Linklater for his dissertation, he wrote for several websites for GRV Media. Â His film tastes vary from blockbusters like Mission: Impossible and John Wick to international directors such as Paolo Sorrentino and Hirokazu Kore-eda, and has attended both the London and Berlin film festivals.
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