So, let’s start with a bit of a disclaimer: yes, the Internet has its byzantine ways of getting folks unnerved about what works and what doesn’t, and about what is the right bit of historical context, while gurus will preach otherwise. And while we shall not call one another inept or ridiculous for voicing one’s opinion (which everyone is and remains entitled to), the facts remain that IPs (provided they are generally successful) will still sell, even if online pundits claim the atrocious.
If you want to be committed to the veracity of this sentiment, check the following times where online discourse couldn’t dismantle the likes of Batman & Robin, Star Wars: Rise of Skywalker, and Captain Marvel (the latter two both surpassed $1 billion globally). Folks will show up (and vice versa) depending on what they consider a “good” motion picture and whether it warrants your time to leave the homestead for a few hours to cool off and enjoy the ride. But, folks will tell you Snow White fell with a brobdingnagian thud thanks to Rachel Zegler’s voicing of displeasure with the 1937 original, anti-MAGA sentiments, and so forth. But the simple formula could be attributed to the fact that folks didn’t exactly care for another run-of-the-mill Disney live-action reboot (including this very writer!), coupled with negative reviews, nor for the idea of Zegler or Gal Gadot even being considered box-office draws. Politics might have its place, but if it’s a bad movie overall, who will spend the money?
So despite Melissa Barrera getting sacked from the latest sequel over posts criticizing the Israeli government’s military response to Hamas’ terrorist attacks back in late 2023, it didn’t have any impact on Scream 7‘s opening. Same with Jenna Ortega and director Christopher Landon leaving the project. A $64.1 million domestic debut and $97.2 million global debut, both of which are franchise records, have utterly eviscerated the talk that online discussions translate to real-world s***. Paramount sold this as a nostalgic return for Neve Campbell’s Sidney Prescott, and folks still wanted to see it. Politics didn’t win, same with real-world events. Did Johnny Depp’s allegations back in 2017 (which have now been cleared up due to the infamous trial) halt folks from seeing Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales? What about telling the kids no to seeing Coco at the time when John Lasseter was accused of workplace harassment? Or James Gunn’s producing role in Brightburn, when old, heinous posts resurfaced?
Yes, poor reviews and only a B- from CinemaScore aren’t exactly enthralling for legs, but most Scream titles have been relatively frontloaded. When factoring in legs based on its predecessors, it will probably earn $150-160 million in North America and potentially $250 million worldwide. Could we have gotten a better sequel to justify an eighth chapter? Indubitably, but this will still make money, and politics kind of goes out the window for the time being. Fun fact: this opening is higher than Final Destination: Bloodlines‘ $51 million, which came 14 years after the fifth installment underwhelmed, due to the poor performance of the fourth installment. Perhaps Scream 7 is riding the coattails of its past two entries to carry its weight this time, even if that statement comes with a wondrous bit of irony due to the production circumstances.
In other news related to the other holdovers, Sony Pictures’ GOAT earned $12 million in its third weekend; that’s a pretty good hold for the animated title, and it’s played well with younger demographics (similar to Scream 7). It’s already past $130 million worldwide, and has outearned Wuthering Heights domestically, which is climbing towards $200 million worldwide (not a blowout success a la Fifty Shades of Grey, but this shall do).
Great stuff to Epic: Elvis Presley in Concert expanding to 1,940 theaters and earning $3.5 million, bringing its domestic total to $7.825 million thus far. Crime 101 has passed $30 million domestically. I Can Only Imagine 2 earned $3.135 million in its second weekend. Send Help will be passing $90 million worldwide later this week. How to Make a Killing earned $1.562 million in its second weekend. Solo Mio will pass $25 million domestically on Tuesday/Wednesday.
Zootopia 2 has passed $1.85 billion worldwide and has also passed the domestic totals of A Minecraft Movie. Avatar: Fire and Ash has passed $1.475 billion worldwide; guess we’ll be ok for the fourth and fifth chapters, James Cameron.
Next weekend will see the releases of Hoppers, The Bride!, Youngblood, Protector, For Worse, Dolly, and Storm Rider: Legend of Hammerhead.
