Scream fans rejoice! Not only did Scream 7 open about $20 million more than we predicted earlier this week, but it also set a franchise record with a powerful $64.1 million opening. That beats the previous champ, Scream VI (weird how that one had a Roman numeral), by a wide margin, with it having opened to a then-potent $44.6 million. No wonder Paramount, a studio that’s been starved for consistent hits lately, is keen to keep this franchise going. I wouldn’t be surprised if, by mid-week, a Scream 8 is already greenlit, likely with Neve Campbell and writer-director Kevin Williamson returning.
As for this week’s holdovers, GOAT showed real staying power in second place, making another $12 million — a decline of only 29%. Its domestic gross is at $73.9 million now, although it has major competition for family audiences next weekend with Pixar’s Hoppers.
Emerald Fennell’s Wuthering Heights keeps losing steam, declining another 50% to $6.9 million in third place, with a $72.3 million domestic gross. While that’s a very good number for a literary adaptation, it seems unlikely to cross the century mark domestically, which has to be a disappointment for distributor Warner Bros., who were banking on it becoming more of a phenomenon than it ended up being.
Unexpectedly, two concert films took fourth and fifth place, with Twenty-One Pilots: More Than We Ever Imagined making a strong $3.72 million, while Baz Luhrmann’s EPiC: Elvis Presley in Concert has turned out to be a solid hit for NEON, making $3.5 million this weekend for a $7.8 million total.
Amazon/MGM’s Crime 101 came in sixth, with only about $3.4 million for a $30 million domestic total. That’s a pretty weak gross for a movie that cost at least $90 million, with star Chris Hemsworth untested as a box office attraction outside of the MCU.
The faith-based I Can Only Imagine 2 also took a harder fall than expected in week two, dropping a huge 60% to $3.1 million for a $13 million domestic total. It’s only going to make a fraction of the $83 million its predecessor made. The faith-based business is a lot more crowded now than it was when the first movie came out, with Angel Studios having cornered the market in some ways.
Sam Raimi’s Send Help continued to be the little blockbuster that could, making another $2.8 million for a solid $59.9 million domestic total.
At the same time, would-be superstar Glen Powell’s How to Make a Killing has proved to be a major dud, falling 49% to ninth place with $1.5 million (an embarrassing $905 per-screen average according to Comscore) for a $6.2 million domestic total.
Finally, Disney’s Zootopia 2 has started to wrap up its long run with $1.4 million, bringing it to a massive $425 million domestic total. According to Exhibitor Relations, 20th Century Studios’ Psycho Killer had one of the worst second weekends in history, losing 81% of its audience to gross only $300,000 for a $2.3 million total. Ouch.
Next weekend should be a good one at the box office, with Pixar’s Hoppers, Scream 7 in week two, and WB’s The Bride(a Frankenstein reimagining) jockeying for first place. Who will win? Let us know in the comments!
| # | MOVIE TITLE | WKND $ | TOTAL $ |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Scream 7 | $64.1 M | $64.1 M |
| 2 | GOAT | $12 M | $73.9 M |
| 3 | Wuthering Heights | $6.95 M | $72.3 M |
| 4 | Twenty-One Pilots: More Than We Ever Imagined | $3.7 M | $3.7 M |
| 5 | EPiC: Elvis Presley in Concert | $3.5 M | $7.8 M |
| 6 | Crime 101 | $3.4 M | $30 M |
| 7 | I Can Only Imagine 2 | $3.1 M | $13.2 M |
| 8 | Send Help | $2.82 M | $59.9 M |
| 9 | How to Make a Killing | $1.5 M | $6.2 M |
| 10 | Zootopia 2 | $1.4 M | $425.8 M |