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NEW YORK<\/strong> \u2013 \u201cScream\u201d is still making a killing. <\/p>\n Thirty years after the original slasher movie opened in theaters, \u201cScream 7\u201d<\/a> debuted with a franchise-best $64.1 million, according to studio estimates Sunday. The bigger-than-expected opening is a win for Paramount, which on Friday announced its acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery. <\/a><\/p>\n In a so-far sluggish 2026 at the box office, \u201cScream 7\u201d managed the best debut of the year, easily displacing last weekend\u2019s champ, the Stephen Curry-produced animated film \u201cGOAT,\u201d<\/a> from Sony Pictures. <\/p>\n \u201cScream 7,\u201d which cost $45 million to make, got a boost from the return of Neve Campbell, as Sidney Prescott. The actor sat out 2023\u2019s \u201cScream VI,\u201d but was drawn back for the seventh film by a reported $7 million payday. Original cast members Courteney Cox, David Arquette and Matthew Lillard also co-star. <\/p>\n \u201cScream VI\u201d had set a new high (not accounting for inflation) for the franchise with a $44.4 million launch. That film starred Melissa Barrera and Jenna Ortega, along with series regulars. But in 2023, Barrera was dropped from the seventh film<\/a> by the film\u2019s production company, Spyglass Media Group, after making comments on the Israel-Hamas war<\/a> that some deemed antisemitic. Ortega subsequently dropped out of the film. <\/p>\n Kevin Williamson, who wrote the 1996 original and many of the following chapters, stepped into direct, retooling the film around Campbell and company. In the film, Sidney and her 17-year-old daughter are haunted by Ghostface in the suburban community of Pine Grove. <\/p>\n Reviews were poor (34% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes) and audience scores (a \u201cB-\u201d CinemaScore) also weren\u2019t great. <\/p>\n But the overperformance of \u201cScream 7″ gave Paramount more to celebrate on a potentially historic weekend for the studio. On Friday, its parent company, Paramount Skydance, announced its intention to merge with Warner Bros. Discovery after Netflix dropped out of negotiations. The deal, which forms a Hollywood colossus<\/a> and remakes the media landscape, awaits regulatory approval. <\/p>\n \u201cScream 7\u201d benefited significantly from IMAX screens and premium format screens, something no previous \u201cScream\u201d movie had on opening. The movie added $33.1 million overseas. <\/p>\n