Box Office Report for the Week of March 1

It’s a big week for the cinemas, as they’ve had their biggest opening of the year with Kevin Williamson‘s Scream 7. As much as the film was marred by controversy following Melissa Barrera‘s firing and an extensive creative overhaul that saw Neve Campbell return to the role of Sidney Prescott, the movie’s success in making tons of money and breaking records for the Scream franchise was entirely predictable.

Of course, there was a boycott campaign against the film after Barrera was fired on social media, which made a lot of noise, even after Spyglass went ahead with Scream 7 despite its core cast and crew leaving the project. However, as it is true time and again, the internet (and, in this case, Twitter) is not indicative of real life, and most moviegoers genuinely have no idea of the behind-the-scenes controversy behind the film.

That said, anecdotal evidence may not be as reliable as solid data, but there is no doubt: the Scream franchise has always been lucrative. The chances of Scream 7 underperforming or outright bombing in its opening week were low, even with major fan uproar over Barrera’s firing and a boycott campaign. Bringing back Campbell, despite her absence in the sixth film, paved the way for a new generation of cast members who were going to shatter records. And it did.

The film grossed $64.1 million domestically in its opening weekend, with a global total of $97.2 million. The biggest opening of the year so far, with the movie having a modest budget of $45 million. One will have to see how the second-week drop-off plays out, as Scream 7 has not been well received by critics and currently sits at 34% on Rotten Tomatoes. Word of mouth from audiences has been mixed, though social media discourse has grown increasingly toxic toward this film, making it difficult for anyone to sift through genuinely positive or critical reactions.

It was also a great weekend for concert films, as Baz Luhrmann‘s EPIC: Elvis Presley in Concert opened wide, after a platform IMAX release last week, and its tally rose to 9%, with $3.5 million this weekend. Meanwhile, Twenty One Pilots: More Than We Ever Imagined managed to crack the top five of the domestic box office, with a $3.7 million opening in only 836 theatres, including limited IMAX showings. Concert films are always great moneymakers, and this weekend was no different.

That said, many challenges now face cinemas with the impending Paramount-Warner Bros. transaction. For now, there is no need to hit the panic button, since the deal has not been finalized, but cinema owners are right to be concerned about another massive monopoly that could leave venues with less choice for consumers and fewer films released each year. Where this is going is quite uncertain but here’s hoping the movies will once again prevail, as they always do…

Here is the full list of the top ten films of the weekend:

1. Scream 7 (Paramount): $64.1M – 3,540 theatres
2. GOAT  (Sony): $12.0M (-29%) – 3,707 theatres
3. Wuthering Heights (Warner Bros.): $6.9M (-50%) – 3,221 theatres
4. Twenty One Pilots: More Than We Ever Imagined (Trafalgar Releasing): $3.7M – 836 theatres
5. EPIC: Elvis Presley in Concert (NEON): $3.5M (+9%) – 1,940 theatres
6. Crime 101 (Amazon MGM Studios): $3.4M (-38%) – 2,607 theatres
7. I Can Only Imagine 2 (Lionsgate): $3.1M (-60%) – 3,105 theatres
8. Send Help (Disney): $2.8M (-36%) – 2,500 theatres
9. How to Make a Killing (A24): $1.5M (-49%) – 1,726 theatres
10. Zootopia 2 (Disney): $1.4M (-35%) – 1,350 theatres

Source: Comscore