New Scream movie aims for 35 to 40 million opening weekend

We don’t usually pay a whole lot of attention to box office here on Arrow in the Head, but this seemed to be worth mentioning: according to IndieWire, industry insiders are predicting that the new Scream movie, which is set to reach theatres on January 14th, will have an opening weekend haul of 35 to 40 million. Here’s what they had to say about it:

It makes sense for Paramount to proceed with its January 14 release of its Scream reboot. The first new film in the franchise since 2011 is set for the usually lucrative four-day Martin Luther King holiday weekend. The studio faced similarly risky circumstances last May when it stuck to its plans for a Memorial Day debut for A Quiet Place Part 2. They were rewarded with what was then a pandemic-best $47 million opening ($57 million for four days).

Industry predictions for Scream are in the $35 million-$40 million range over four days. Its audience should be minimally impacted by omicron concerns: Although there are some closures in Canada, so far there have been no moves to limit U.S. theaters. Scream could result in $80 million or more by the month’s end.

This is especially good to hear because Scream 4 had an opening weekend of just $18.6 million and ended up with a worldwide haul of $95.9 million. The previous three films had earned 173 million, 172 million, and just under 162 million, so it was disappointing to see the fourth one fall short of 100 million. The eleven year break between Scream 3 and Scream 4 apparently didn’t make the general audience extremely eager to see more Scream, but add another eleven years between Scream 4 and the new Scream and now it looks like people are ready to support Ghostface on opening weekend again.

The Scream “legacy-quel” is coming to us from Ready or Not (watch it HERE) directors Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett. The screenplay was written by James Vanderbilt and Guy Busick. Vanderbilt also produced the film for Project X Entertainment, alongside Paul Neinstein and William Sherak. Chad Villella, Gary Barber, Peter Oillataguerre, Ron Lynch, Cathy Konrad, and Marianne Maddalena serve as executive producers alongside original Scream writer Kevin Williamson.

The film has the following synopsis:

Twenty-five years after a streak of brutal murders shocked the quiet town of Woodsboro, a new killer has donned the Ghostface mask and begins targeting a group of teenagers to resurrect secrets from the town’s deadly past.

You can read our set visit interview with the directors at THIS LINK, and our set visit interview with cast members HERE.

Returning franchise stars Neve Campbell, Courteney Cox, and David Arquette are joined in the cast by Scream 4‘s Marley Shelton and franchise newcomers Melissa Barrera, Jenna Ortega, Jack Quaid, Jasmin Savoy Brown, Dylan Minnette, Mason Gooding, Mikey Madison, Kyle Gallner, and Sonia Ammar.