Scream knocks down Spider-Man, who continues to rise in the record books

NEW YORK – After a month at the no. 1, “Spider-Man: No Coming Home” was eventually overtaken at the box office. Paramount Pictures’ “Scream” reboot debuted with $30.6 million in ticket sales over the weekend, according to studio estimates on Sunday.

“Scream,” a self-proclaimed “requel” that is both the franchise’s fifth film and a reboot introducing a new, younger cast, led all releases over Martin Luther King Jr.’s holiday weekend. Paramount predicts it will total $35 million, including Monday’s receipts. “Scream,” which cost about $24 million to make, added another $18 million in 50 international markets.

This has allowed for a solid revival for the self-aware slasher franchise. The rights to the “Scream” films, once a reliable cash cow for Harvey and Bob Weinstein’s Miramax films, have been acquired by Spyglass Media Group, which produced the new film with Paramount. This “Scream”, directed by Matt Bettinello-Olpin and Tyler Gillett, was the first not directed by Wes Craven, died in 2015. It features original “Scream” cast members Neve Campbell, Courteney Cox and David Arquette alongside new additions Melissa Barrera, Jenna Ortega and Jack Quaid.

Most notably, “Scream” is the first box office hit in a year that Hollywood hopes will see a return to weekly stability in theaters. January is usually a quiet time at the box office, but the rise of the omicron variant in COVID-19 has further upended release plans for some winter movies.

“All of our traditional metrics were pointing to a solid opening, but like I kept telling people: we’re still here and it’s very difficult to determine what’s actually going to happen,” said Chris Aronson, head of distribution at Paramount. “Now we’re open, people have seen the movie and we’re on the move. Hopefully this will become another building block in rebuilding the business and bringing it back to some semblance of normality.”

Meanwhile, “Spider-Man: No Way Home” slipped to second place but continued to climb the record books.

“No Way Home” grossed $20.8 million in its fifth weekend of release. Sony Pictures predicts that with an additional $5.2 million on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, “No Way Home” will reach a domestic running total of $703.9 million on Monday, edging out “Black Panther” and rising to fourth place all time. That puts it behind only “Avatar” ($760 million), “Avengers: Endgame” ($858 million), and “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” ($936 million). Globally, “No Way Home” grossed $1.6 billion.

Universal Images’ “Sing 2” landed in third place in its fourth weekend with $8.3 million over the three-day weekend. The animated sequel grossed $122.1 million domestically and $96.3 million internationally.

While “Scream”’s debut might be celebrated by Paramount, which postponed most of its best releases from 2021 to 2022 (films including “Top Gun: Maverick” and “Mission Impossible 7”), its performances also characterized the current box office realities. Superhero films and genre films that appeal to younger audiences have rebounded to near pre-pandemic levels, unlike older films.

“Scream,” which received largely favorable reviews (81% new on Rotten Tomatoes) and a B+ CinemaScore from audiences, fared better than the last episode, 2011’s “Scream 4.” with $19.3 million. Audiences for the new “Scream” were 42% under 25, Sony said. But any success must take advantage of diverse demographics, and “Scream” also appealed to fans of the franchise’s early entries. Some 23% of ticket buyers were over 35.

The only other new movie widely released over the weekend was “Belle,” Mamoru Hosoda’s critically acclaimed anime riff on “Beauty and the Beast”. It debuted with $1.6 million in 1,326 theaters.

1. “Scream,” $30.6 million.

2. “Spider-Man: No Way Home,” $20.8 million.

3. “Sing 2,” $8.3 million.

4. “The 355”, $2.3 million.

5. “The King’s Man,” $2.3 million.

6. “Belle,” $1.6 million.

7. “American Underdog,” $1.6 million.

8. “West Side Story”, $948,000.

9. “Licorice Pizza,” $880,000.

10. “The Matrix Resurrections,” $815,000.