‘Scream VI’ to Scare Off ’65’ at Weekend Box Office

The masked killer Ghostface is back and he’s looking as terrifying as ever. Paramount and Spyglass’ Scream VI opens over Oscar weekend at the domestic box office, where it has a shot at a series-best $35 million-plus opening.

The previous Scream film, released in 2022, opened to $30 million domestically in a strong showing for the pandemic era. To set an overall franchise record, Scream VI will have to best the $34.7 million debut of Scream 3 in 2000.

The latest installment in the iconic slasher franchise follows survivors of the 2022 film as they leave Woodsboro for New York City. Unfortunately, the menacing Ghostface isn’t far behind. Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett, who helmed last year’s Scream, returned to direct.

Melissa Barrera, Jasmin Savoy Brown, Mason Gooding, Jenna Ortega, Hayden Panettiere (last seen in Scream 4) and Courteney Cox likewise return alongside franchise newbies Dermot Mulroney, Jack Champion, Henry Czerny, Liana Liberato Devyn Nekoda, Tony Revolori, Josh Segarra and Samara Weaving.

Sony’s sci-fi dinosaur offering 65 also opens this weekend, but it won’t be Scream VI‘s biggest competition. That title is reserved for MGM’s Creed III, which delivered a huge $58.4 million domestic start last weekend.

Directed by A Quiet Place writers Scott Beck and Bryan Woods, 65 stars Adam Driver as an astronaut who crash-lands on a mysterious planet, only to realize that he has become marooned on Earth 65 million years ago. With just a single opportunity for salvation, Mills and the sole other survivor, played by Ariana Greenblatt, must traverse an uncharted landscape infested with dinosaurs and other dangerous prehistoric beasts in a struggle for survival.

Despite its pedigree, 65 is only tracking to open in the $7 million to $9 million range and will have to compete with Scream VI for younger adults. At the same time, the Sony pic’s $45 million production budget wasn’t exorbitant — Scream VI cost even less, or $35 million, before marketing — and was co-financed by Bron and TSG.

The third nationwide release this weekend is Focus Features’ heartwarming sports comedy Champions, starring Woody Harrelson as a minor-league basketball coach who is ordered by the court to manage a team of disabled players. The movie is based on the 2018 award-winning Spanish film Campeones, which was released by Universal Pictures International. 

Champions, like 65, is looking at a start in the mid-teens.