Scream 6’s budget might be a problem for the meta-slasher sequel’s box office prospects, judging by the performance of Scream 4 and Scream 3.
While Scream 6 might be highly hyped, the Scream sequel’s budget proves that the movie risks repeating the franchise’s biggest box office mistake. The Scream movies are a financially successful series. From director Wes Craven’s 1996 original movie, which earned over $170 million on a budget of only $15 million, to last year’s surprise sleeper hit Scream 2022, the Scream series has always been a profitable franchise. However, not every sequel in the acclaimed slasher series has been as successful as its predecessors.
Both Scream 4 and Scream 3 (which originally used Scream 2022’s twist way earlier) earned less than their predecessors at the box office. In the case of Scream 3, this drop-off was not a major problem. The first two Scream movies earned around $170 million each, while Scream 3 made a little less with a gross of $160 million. However, Scream 4’s box office was a lot more of a dramatic fall, with the 2011 sequel only earning $97 million. This remains the worst box office performance in the franchise so far, and led to the Scream series lying dormant for over 10 years.
Scream 6’s Big Budget Could Be A Problem
While Scream 2022’s success reignited interest in the franchise, the news that series heroine Sidney Prescott won’t appear in Scream 6 was a major blow to the sequel. Not only that but, judging by the franchise’s history, Scream 6’s budget could also be a problem for the movie. Scream 6 cost $35 million, which is much more than Scream 2022’s $24 million or the original movie’s $14 million. The only other big-budget movies in the series were Scream 4 (which cost $40 million) and Scream 3 (which cost the same), and these sequels were also the franchise’s lowest-earning outings.
While Scream 4’s underperformance could be blamed on the long gap between sequels, both Scream 4 and Scream 3 used their bigger budgets to stage more high-concept, action-forward versions of the meta-slasher franchise’s formula. Already, Scream 6’s trailer made it clear that the sequel would be taking the same approach, with a shotgun-wielding Ghostface shooting up a bodega and the New York City setting promising more mass-scale carnage. This might spell trouble for the Scream franchise which (judging by its box office history) tends to fare better when the series sticks to smaller stories like the plots of Scream, Scream 2, and Scream 2022.
Scream 6’s Budget Makes A Sequel Problem Worse
Failing to bring back Sidney already ensured that Scream 6 divided the franchise’s fan base. However, spending an extra $10 million and still not securing the return of the series stars because of salary negotiations could be evidence of some misplaced priorities. If Scream 6 focuses on Jenna Ortega’s Tara and other new characters over returning franchise veterans, the sequel runs the risk of alienating fans of the original movies. As such, the Scream sequel could find that bad box office history will soon repeat itself for the meta-slasher franchise when the bigger-budget Scream 6 hits cinemas in March.
