Will There Be a Scream 8? How New Movie Sets Up Another Sequel

Ever since 2022’s Scream, the fifth in the series, premiered to generally positive reviews and major box office success, the slasher franchise has found itself with renewed life more than at any other point in its existence. Even the success of the first Scream movie, leading to the original trilogy, hasn’t been matched by the speed at which the new films have been produced and released, let alone the box office that all of them have managed to bring together. Despite the controversy that has popped up due to behind-the-scenes decisions, Scream is a train that won’t stop.

All of that would be true about the Scream series even before this weekend’s release of Scream 7, but now that the film series has had its biggest opening weekend of all time, there’s nothing that will stop another killer from putting on a Ghostface mask on the big screen any time soon. As a result, we have to ask, will Scream 8 happen? The answer is almost certainly yes, but that response comes exclusively from the monetary side of the franchise’s success. Instead, we have to consider what potential gas is left in the tank for the series moving forward, and the two plot threads from Scream 7 that seem to be setting up the next movie. Spoilers for Scream 7 will follow.

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On the whole, Scream 7 is largely a self-contained movie. Though references are made to the other sequels in the series, and returning cast members from across the franchise return, it’s largely true. That said, two elements of the plot seem like clear markers for where the series is headed. The first is, of course, the introduction of Sidney’s oldest daughter, Tatum. At the end of the film, Tatum has not only come to terms with her mother’s past but has also become a part of it herself after surviving an encounter with three Ghostface killers. As a result, one clear place the series could go with Scream 8 is how Sidney and her daughter will continue to navigate the world (and the psychos they attract).

The second key piece of Scream 7 that seems to be hinting at what’s to come comes in the final credits. As the credits roll, Courtney Cox’s Gale Weathers allows Jasmin Savoy Brown’s Mindy Meeks-Martin to take center stage and deliver a news broadcast about the events of the film. Knowing this, the series seems to be positioning Mindy and Chad as characters who could appear in any setting, even if there are no characters present that they actually know.

Scream 7 has one big problem, though: the big unmasking of the killer. Even though this ties into two of the sequels in surprising ways, the reveal has been met with major criticism from fans for being the weakest motivation of the entire series. As a result, Scream 8 will almost certainly pivot to either a connection to a returning character or something a little stronger. Given that a series producer told Variety filming could begin this fall, though, hopefully, they already have some ideas.

Scream 7 has made over $96.7 million globally as of this writing, already eclipsing the entire box office run for 2011’s Scream 4 and putting it on the path to potentially becoming the highest-grossing film in the series. Even if the movie has a 65% drop off in its second weekend, which would be a lot, it will be on track to outgross 2022’s Scream in about ten days. Given the film had a reported $45 million production budget, the movie has already made money.

As a result, the future of Scream is clear; it doesn’t matter who the next Ghostface is, and it doesn’t really matter which returning cast members they can lock down. A new film is going to happen simply because the economics make it clear that there is an eager audience that will show up. Despite being the lowest-rated film in the series, it’s also on track to make more money than any other. Ironically, the entire history of horror movies has confirmed this, giving Scream more in common with the films it has been making fun of than they ever thought they’d have.