Scream 7 sets franchise record with $81.5m debut at North America box office

Franchise veterans Neve Campbell, Courteney Cox and David Arquette are back in the new film. Read more at straitstimes.com.

LOS ANGELES - Scream 7 slayed the competition at the North American box office, setting a franchise record with US$64.1 million (S$81.5 million) in its opening weekend, industry estimates showed on March 1.

Canadian actress Neve Campbell is back as original heroine Sidney Prescott in the Paramount film, the latest instalment in the 30-year-old slasher series featuring yet another Ghostface killer.

Franchise veterans Courteney Cox and David Arquette are also back in the new film. Its worldwide box office topped US$97 million, according to Exhibitor Relations.

It was the best-ever opening for a Scream film, according to data from Box Office Mojo.

“This is sensational business,” said analyst David Gross of Franchise Entertainment Research. “This audience knows these characters and story and that’s what they want to see.”

The killer opening for Scream 7 knocked Sony’s family-friendly animated film, GOAT, down to second place with US$12 million in ticket sales in the United States and Canada.