Scream 7

• 1. Introduction

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  Scream 7, the 2026 slasher film directed by Kevin Williamson, begins in Woodsboro with a rumor. Two fans of the in-story Stab movies, Scott and Madison, visit Stu Macher's house after hearing he may have survived having a television dropped on his head. Ghostface kills them both and sets the house on fire.

  That opening poses a puzzle the rest of the film has to answer. Who is really behind the mask, and why does the killer want Sidney Prescott's daughter Tatum?

  The questions off screen are just as pressing. The seventh film in the series reached theaters after losing its directors, one of its leads, and much of its original plan. How did it get made, and what did audiences, critics and protesters make of it?

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• 2. A Quiet Life Interrupted

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  In Pine Grove, Indiana, Sidney Prescott runs a coffeehouse and is married to the police chief, Mark Evans. Her teenage daughter Tatum is named after Sidney's late best friend, Tatum Riley.

  The calm ends with a call from Ghostface, who asks for a videocall and shows the face of an aged, scarred Stu. He says he is coming for Tatum, who is rehearsing at a theater. Sidney arrives with the police, but Ghostface has already killed Tatum's friends Hannah and Aaron and runs.

  Later that night, Ghostface emerges from Sidney's attic and knocks Mark unconscious. Sidney takes Tatum into a safe room and escapes by its alternate exit. Gale Weathers and her assistants, Mindy and Chad Meeks-Martin, run down the pursuing killer with a vehicle. Unmasked, he is Karl Gibbs, a murderer who escaped from a nearby mental institution and had bought coffee from Sidney earlier.

  Sidney visits that institution. Its supervisor, Marco Davis, says Stu is a recently released John Doe who remembered nothing from before Woodsboro and lived in the room next to Karl's. Marco Davis will matter again before the night ends.

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• 3. Faces Behind Stu

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  A live television interview with Gale becomes Sidney's bait for Stu, while Tatum meets her boyfriend Ben Brown and her friends Chloe and Lucas at a tavern. At home, Mark is ambushed and stabbed repeatedly. When the interview ends, Stu phones Sidney to say he is outside the tavern.

  In Ben's car, Tatum finds a laptop running a test to deepfake his face into Stu's. She knocks Ben out and runs. Ghostface kills Chloe and Lucas, injures the Meeks twins, and chases Tatum through the streets. Ben finds her, but Ghostface kills him. Tatum reaches the coffeehouse and, following Sidney's instructions by phone, takes a gun from her office. She shoots Ghostface from behind a wall, only to find a second Ghostface at the front door.

  Then a televised message from Stu shows him changing his appearance into Nancy Loomis and Roman Bridger, both earlier Ghostface killers. He becomes Dewey Riley, Gale's late ex-husband, as well. Stu says the night is returning to how the original Woodsboro killings began, with a person forced to watch a captive loved one at home.

  Sidney finds Tatum tied to a chair with Ghostface holding a knife at her. He is Marco, and he says his past work in information technology let him create the character of Stu. Mark is dragged in wounded, and the second Ghostface is unmasked as Sidney's neighbor, Jessica Bowden.

  Jessica had read Sidney's autobiography and decided that Sidney succeeded because she killed those who tormented her. That belief led Jessica to murder her abusive husband, and her son Lucas, whom she thought too much like his father. When Sidney vanished from public life and missed the New York City killings, Jessica was disappointed. She found out where Sidney had moved and spent time at the mental institution, where she met Marco. Her plan was to repeat the traumatic events that made Sidney a final girl, so Tatum would become the new Sidney.

  Mark cuts Tatum free, and she attacks Jessica while Sidney shoots Marco dead. Jessica flees, and she and Sidney fight until Tatum shoots Jessica. When Jessica attacks again, Sidney and Tatum both shoot her repeatedly in the head. Mark goes to the hospital, Sidney thanks Gale for having her back, and Sidney tells Tatum about her namesake. With Gale's blessing, Mindy gives an impromptu news report on the night's events.

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• 4. Exits and Firings

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  At the premiere of Scream VI in 2023, co-director Matt Bettinelli-Olpin said, "We want to be watching Scream movies whether we're involved or not for the rest of our lives." By August 2023 he and co-director Tyler Gillett had left the seventh film because of scheduling conflicts with their movie Abigail (2024). Christopher Landon was hired in their place. That same month, pre-production was suspended because of the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike.

  On the 21st of November 2023, it was reported that Melissa Barrera, who played Sam Carpenter in the two previous films, had been fired. The reason given was her pro-Palestinian social media posts about the Gaza war. Spyglass claimed the posts were antisemitic, and Barrera denied that.

  The following day, Deadline Hollywood reported that Jenna Ortega would not return as Tara Carpenter because of her starring role in the second season of the Netflix series Wednesday. In an April 2025 interview, Ortega disputed that account. She said, "The Melissa stuff was happening, and it was all kind of falling apart." She added that without that team of directors and those people, leaving seemed like the right career move at the time.

  In December 2023, Landon announced that he had exited weeks earlier. He felt that without Barrera the film he signed on to direct no longer existed. Although he had no part in the studio's actions, some of Barrera's fans harassed him online. He later said, "The head of security at various studios and the FBI had to examine the threats."

  The production then planned a creative retooling, with the aim of bringing back franchise veterans such as Neve Campbell. Patrick Dempsey, who played Mark Kincaid in Scream 3 (2000), was also a target. The writing changes cost around $500,000 in rewrites.

  The budget was $45 million before prints and advertising, co-financed 50/50 by Spyglass Media Group and Paramount Pictures. The ownership of Paramount was shifting too. In July 2024, Skydance Media, led by David Ellison, reached a deal to merge with Paramount Global, and the merger was completed in August 2025, shortly after production wrapped. Paramount Pictures also installed Dana Goldberg and Josh Greenstein as co-chairs and Josh Goldstine as head of marketing. Scream 7 was the first film that new team distributed and marketed.

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• 5. Rebuilding the Cast

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  Neve Campbell had declined to appear in Scream VI because of a pay dispute with the film's producers. In December 2022, Bettinelli-Olpin and Gillett had said they hoped to bring Sidney Prescott back in later sequels. In March 2024, Campbell posted on Instagram that she would return as Sidney. She also confirmed that Kevin Williamson, a writer and producer of earlier Scream films, would direct from a script by Guy Busick, based on a story by Busick and James Vanderbilt. Her colleagues, including David Arquette, supported her return.

  Later that month, Courteney Cox and Patrick Dempsey were reported to be in talks to return as Gale Weathers and Mark Kincaid. Reports put Campbell's pay at $7 million and Cox's at $2 million. Dempsey later said that scheduling conflicts and the California wildfires kept him from joining.

  By November, Isabel May had been cast as Sidney's daughter. In December, Celeste O'Connor, Asa Germann, Mckenna Grace, Sam Rechner and Anna Camp joined in undisclosed roles, and Mason Gooding and Cox signed on. January 2025 brought the news that Roger L. Jackson would return as the voice of Ghostface, along with Jasmin Savoy Brown. Joel McHale was cast as Sidney's husband, and Mark Consuelos joined in an undisclosed role. Matthew Lillard and Scott Foley were cast as well, the actors who had played Stu Macher in Scream (1996) and Roman Bridger in Scream 3. Ethan Embry followed in February.

  In March 2025, David Arquette was confirmed to reprise Dewey Riley, a character killed in Scream (2022). Michelle Randolph and Jimmy Tatro were announced with him. Arquette was surprised that news of his return leaked, since it was meant to be a surprise rather than a spoiler. Tim Simons was revealed as part of the cast in October 2025.

  In December 2025, Skeet Ulrich revealed that he was originally supposed to return as Billy Loomis, as part of a three-film arc. After Barrera's firing and the retooling, he was no longer set to appear.

  Mckenna Grace revealed that she first auditioned for Sidney's daughter Tatum but was given the role of Hannah instead. She also appears on the film's soundtrack, featured on a song by Ice Nine Kills.

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• 6. Camera and Score

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  Principal photography began in Atlanta, Georgia, on the 7th of January 2025 and concluded on the 12th of March. According to Campbell, filming had been scheduled for September 2024, then slipped to December 2024 because of scheduling issues.

  Kevin Williamson has revealed that test audiences saw an alternate ending that was cut from the final film. It revealed that the Stu Macher character was actually still alive.

  Marco Beltrami scored the film, returning from the first four installments. In late August 2025, he said on Instagram that he and an orchestra had finished the score in Budapest. He shared snippets that included new pieces titled "What's in a Name" and "School Drama." Other excerpts featured the franchise's classic piece "Sidney's Lament" and an orchestral reinvention of it called "Mrs. Evans Lament."

  Five original songs fill out the soundtrack. They include "Rearranging Scars" by Sueco, "Criminal" by Jessie Murph, and "The Kill" by Stella Lefty. The set runs from Ice Nine Kills with "Twisting the Knife" to Don Toliver with "Creepin."

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• 7. Numbers and Notices

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  Scream 7 premiered at the Paramount Pictures studio lot in Los Angeles on the 25th of February 2026. It opened in the United States on the 27th, including in IMAX, a first for the series. A digital release followed on the 31st of March 2026, with over 40 minutes of bonus content such as deleted scenes and behind-the-scenes material. Disc editions on DVD, 4K Ultra HD and Blu-ray were scheduled for the 16th of June 2026.

  CinemaScore audiences gave the film a "B-", tied with Scream 4 for the lowest grade in the series. In the PostTrak poll, 61% said they would definitely recommend it. Benjamin Lee of The Guardian gave it three stars out of five and called it "a scrappy, passably entertaining new chapter." William Bibbiani of TheWrap wrote, "There are no bad Scream movies (yet)," and then called this the worst of them. Brian Tallerico of RogerEbert.com was harsher, writing, "Every aspect of Scream 7 feels rushed and shallow."

  On the 5th of February 2026, Deadline Hollywood reported that the film was on track for an opening weekend in the mid-$30 million range. That would have placed it behind Scream VI, which opened to $44.4 million domestically. By release week, estimates had risen to $40 million. Thursday night previews earned $7.8 million, a franchise record, and weekend estimates climbed to $59 million.

  The film opened to $63.6 million, the largest opening in the franchise. Adjusted for ticket price inflation, it still trailed Scream 2 and Scream 3. In its second weekend it dropped 74% and made $17.3 million.

  The final tally was $122 million in the United States and Canada and $92 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $214 million. That made it the highest-grossing film of the series and the second highest-grossing slasher film in unadjusted dollars. It was also the seventh highest-grossing film of 2026, and the highest-grossing launch ever for a horror movie released in February.

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• 8. Boycott and Lawsuit

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  In December 2023, the musician Sad13 released a song titled "Boycott Scream 7." It answered calls to boycott the film that began circulating on social media after Barrera's dismissal. The boycott was first organized by grassroots Scream fans. It was later supported by the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement, Film Workers for Palestine, CodePink, the Democratic Socialists of America and other organizations.

  The Los Angeles premiere was protested by pro-Palestinian demonstrators organized by Entertainment Labor for Palestine, CodePink LA and the Los Angeles chapter of Jewish Voice for Peace. Variety estimated about 25 protesters, while TheWrap reported "dozens."

  A legal fight surrounded the film's most recognizable prop. Ahead of release, Paramount Pictures and Spyglass filed a lawsuit against Alterian Ghost Factory, which had threatened litigation after claiming ownership of the Ghostface mask. In May 2026, Paramount and Alterian resolved their dispute and dismissed their lawsuits against each other.

  By the time Scream 7 reached theaters, an eighth film was reportedly in development, and Campbell had said she was interested in making it. On the 31st of March 2026, it was announced that Lilla Zuckerman and Nora Zuckerman would write the script for Scream 8, with Paramount and Spyglass confirming the film was already in development.

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