I scream, you scream, we all scream for Scream VI.
Well, that’s not entirely true. Probably not many reading (or writing) this blog were (ahem) dying for another Scream sequel. But judging by the weekend’s box-office estimates, plenty of people were. Scream VI earned an estimated $44.5 million in North America. Not only did it win the weekend’s box-office title, but it set a new high-water mark for the entire franchise, too.
Add in another $22.6 million from overseas, Scream VI collected a shout-worthy $67.1 million. Despite all the blood we see on screen, I don’t think the flick will finish in the red.
Scream VI took the title during a crowded weekend at the multiplex. Three new wide-release films were vying for attention, challenging a couple of strong holdovers.
One of those holdovers, Creed III, continues to impress in its box-office bout. It earned another $27.2 million this weekend, pushing its total to $101.4 million. It’s only the second film to be released in 2023 to cross the $100 million barrier.
Adam Driver’s new sci-fi film, 65, finished third with an underwhelming $12.3 million. That was followed by Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, which earned $7 million for fourth place. Quantumania’s total domestic gross stands at $198 million—just a few ice-cream scoops shy of $200 mil. Strong numbers by most metrics. But for a highly anticipated, wildly expensive Marvel movie? Not so much.
Cocaine Bear—fresh off a notable cameo at the Oscars last night—inhaled another $6.2 million to bring its own overall tally to $51.7 million. It finished fifth, nosing out No. 6 Jesus Revolution ($5.2 million) and No. 7 Champions ($5.15 million in its first weekend). Oh, and for those following Jesus Revolution’s overall take, it’s now earned $39.5 million in North America—making it the year’s ninth highest-grossing movie.
4 Responses
-The reviews for “Scream VI” was been generally good, and Bloody Disgusting (a website devoted to screen horror) gave it a glowing review. So last Saturday, having a few hours to kill before work, I decided to give it a shot. I shoulid have saved my money. Maybe I’m just too old to be the target audience. I mean, I was 36 when I saw the original film in the theater, and I enjoyed it. But I confess I haven’t kept up with the franchise. Now I’m 63, and I’ve learned my lesson. No more horror franchises for me. As far as horror flicks go, it was a pretty slick production. But the movie was so relentlessly self-referential and tried SO hard with the pop culture observations, that I found myself rolling my eyes.
ONE FINAL NOTE: Seated in the row in front of me at the theater were three adults, and seated between them was one little girl who could not have been more than 8 years old. Why would adults take a small child to a movie like this? Could they not afford a babysitter? And at a time when some parents are terrified that their little darlings might see a drag queen.
-I’m with you. For modern franchise films, the self-referentiality is the point. It allows big studios to rake in profits while winking at the audience and saying, “Hey, we all know this is derivative, let’s just have fun with it.” The fans who follow these franchises obsessively can spot all the in-jokes and cultural references, so they don’t feel like they’re being had. Instead of being offended at being fed recycled stories, they feel flattered that they “get it.”
The concept of the metaverse is the latest gimmick the studios are using to retell the same stories with new self-referential packaging. I hope audiences eventually wake up and realize they’re being played for suckers. If everything is a meta-commentary on everything else, there’s no room left for originality.
-Right? It’s pretty sick and selfish to bring a little one to one of those. Speaking of, I haven’t seen this one- because the last one was so graphic and gory. The first left a lot offscreen, not so nowadays. Thanks for the warning, I’ll skip it.
-“Cocaine Bear”
“nosing out”
I have no idea if that was intentional (I guess so, with “inhaled”), but I must say I laughed.
I don’t generally do horror movies or slasher films, but I’m not surprised these keep getting made. They’re cheap. Scream 6’s budget was almost the same amount The Passion and District 9 cost 20-odd and 15-odd years ago, respectively.
That being said, I’m absolutely with Chuck (and I felt the same way when I was watching Scorsese’s phenomenal “Silence” but saw children in the audience). Parents who are too often worrying about infinitely less harmful things shouldn’t be bringing children to movies like these.