Scream 4 Movie Box Office: Latest Wes Craven Horror Franchise Entry Slashes Chances for More Sequels

Scream 4 movie with Anna Paquin and Kristen Bell: Several name actors make brief appearances in Wes Craven’s latest entry in the Scream franchise – which has turned out to be a box office flop. Paquin and Bell are seen in the horror movie sequel within the horror movie sequel.

Scream 4 movie box office: Wes Craven horror franchise should finally come to an end after latest entry flops domestically

April 15–17 weekend box office (cont.): Trailing Carlos Saldanha’s far more successful Rio, Wes Craven’s horror thriller Scream 4 opened with $18.7 million from 3,305 North American (U.S. and Canada only) theaters according to final studio figures found at boxofficemojo.com.

That’s about $600,000 less than distributor Dimension Films’ Sunday estimates (Scream 4 was the only title among the Top Twelve to be down on Saturday) and $10 million less than pundits had been expecting.

For comparison’s sake: Also directed by Wes Craven, Dimension Films’ Scream 3 opened with $34.7 million from 3,467 locations in February 2000 – that’s 11 years ago – ending its run with $89.1 million domestically, in addition to $72.7 million internationally. Worldwide total: $161.8 million. Budget: $40 million.

Even without taking inflation into account, it’s clear that Scream 4 – also budgeted at a reported $40 million (as always, not including marketing and distribution expenses) – is a outright flop when compared to its predecessor.

Internationally, Scream 4 also trailed Rio, earning an estimated $18 million. It did top the box office chart in the United Kingdom and came in second (after Rio) in France and Brazil.

Scream 4 movie cast

Scream 4 brings back the horrific voice of Roger L. Jackson as Ghostface, along with the horrified visages of Neve Campbell, Courteney Cox, and David Arquette as they try to survive/disentangle the mystery behind the latest Woodsboro High killing spree.

Also in the cast: Hayden Panettiere, Kristen Bell, Rory Culkin, Heather Graham, Adam Brody, Erik Knudsen, Dane Farwell, Nico Tortorella, Emma Roberts (Eric Roberts’ daughter, Julia Roberts’ niece), Oscar winner Anna Paquin (The Piano, 1993), and two-time nominee Mary McDonnell (Dances with Wolves, 1990; Passion Fish, 1992).

Global disappointment

Update: Wes Craven’s Scream 4 ultimately collected a mediocre $38.2 million domestically and a barely acceptable $59 million internationally. Worldwide total: $97.2 million (including $92,000 from a 2012 Ecuador rerelease) – or hardly enough for the horror thriller to break even at the box office alone.

Its top international markets were France ($9.8 million), the United Kingdom/Ireland ($9.1 million), Brazil ($4.6 million), Germany ($4.5 million), Australia ($4.4 million), and Russia/CIS ($4.1 million).

Top Five movies

Rounding out the Top Five movies on this past weekend’s domestic box office chart were:

• At no. 3, Tim Hill’s live-action/animated fantasy adventure Hop grossed $10.7 million (blame it on Rio: Hop was down a hefty 50 percent on its third weekend). Cume: $82.2 million. Cast: James Marsden and the voice of Russell Brand (whose box office dud Arthur was no. 6, with $6.8 million, down 45 percent on its second weekend).
• At no. 4, Joe Wright’s action thriller Hanna grossed $7.28 million (down 41 percent on its second weekend). Cume: $23.3 million. Cast: Saoirse Ronan, Cate Blanchett, and Eric Bana.
• At no. 5, Sean McNamara’s “inspirational” Christian drama Soul Surfer grossed $7.27 million (down a relatively modest 31 percent on its second weekend). Cume: $19.9 million. Cast: AnnaSophia Robb, Helen Hunt, and Dennis Quaid.

”Scream 4 Movie Box Office” endnotes

More Scream sequels

Nearly 11 years after Scream 4, Tyler Gillett and Matt Bettinelli-Olpin’s Scream came out in January 2022. The cast includes Melissa Barrera, Kyle Gallner, and Mason Gooding, along with Scream franchise veterans Neve Campbell, Courteney Cox, and David Arquette. Roger L. Jackson was also back as the voice of Ghostface.

Gillett and Bettinelli-Olpin’s Scream VI is slated for release in March 2023.

Also this past weekend, Robert Redford’s historical drama The Conspirator, starring James McAvoy and Robin Wright, opened with disappointing figures. Faring even worse, Paul Johansson’s critically excoriated Atlas Shrugged: Part I is an unmitigated box office disaster. Taylor Schilling and Grant Bowler star.

Unless otherwise noted, “Scream 4 Movie Box Office: Latest Wes Craven Horror Franchise Entry Slashes Chances for More Sequels” box office information via Box Office Mojo. Budget info – which should be taken with a grain of salt – via BOM and/or other sources (e.g., the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, Screen Daily, The Hollywood Reporter, Variety, Deadline.com, etc.).

Comments about Scream 4 and other titles being hits/profitable or flops/money-losers at the box office (see paragraph below) are based on the available data about their production budget, additional marketing and distribution expenses (as a general rule of thumb, around 50 percent of the production cost), and worldwide gross (as a general rule of thumb when it comes to the Hollywood studios, around 50–55 percent of the domestic gross and 40 percent of the international gross goes to the distributing/producing companies).

Bear in mind that data regarding rebates, domestic/international sales/pre-sales, and other credits and/or contractual details that help to alleviate/split production costs and apportion revenues are oftentimes unavailable, and that reported international grosses may be incomplete (i.e., not every territory is fully – or even partially – accounted for).

Also bear in mind that ancillary revenues (domestic/global television rights, home video sales, streaming, merchandising, etc.) can represent anywhere between 40–70 percent of a movie’s total take. However, these revenues and their apportionment are only infrequently made public.

Anna Paquin and Kristen Bell Scream 4 movie image: Gemma La Mana | Dimension Films.

“Scream 4 Movie Box Office: Latest Wes Craven Horror Franchise Entry Slashes Chances for More Sequels” last updated in January 2023.