Scream builds on Spiderman’s Successes

 With Scream releasing right at a time where we’re seeing a resurgence from the Omicron variant, is a strong domestic box office too much to hope for? Apparently not, at least if the film’s booming opening weekend successes are anything to go by. Entertainment attorney Brandon Blake looks at what we can expect.


                                                          Brandon Blake


The Spiderman Boost

Q4 takings for the domestic box office have a lot to thank Spiderman: No Way Home for. Rocketing to the top position in a meteoric rise, there the spider has sat, dominating the entire industry, ever since. With the right momentum, Scream was well placed to topple its triumphant domination- and, in fact, has, taking an unexpectedly strong $35M over its opening weekend, nudging Spiderman out of first place for the first time since its release. 


Given that its predecessor, Scream 4, was something of a box office flop, that’s rather impressive. It’s been a decade since we’ve seen movement in the franchise, and moviegoers are being choosy about what they see. On the flip side, the franchise has, typically, resonated best with younger moviegoers, and that’s who is most willing to return to cinemas right now. In fact, we’ve seen the allure of tentpole horrors throughout the post-pandemic period, with Candyman, A Quiet Place 2, and Halloween Kills all taking over $20M in their opening weekend.

Luring Younger Audiences

For now, it remains a sound strategy to court younger audiences in-theater. While they’ve always been the dominant theater audience, the gap has only heightened with the pandemic. Plus, horrors are rarely expensive films to make, at least comparatively. This means turning that all-important net profit is exponentially easier. 


Is it ironic that a franchise well known for an opening weekend bust on its very first picture- the film was almost called an out-and-out failure- should have such a strong opening in the reboot? Just a little. Audiences didn’t respond well to the ‘new’ way the original Scream reinvented the horror genre, but it’s gone on to be a cult classic, even taking over $100M in the following weeks after its opening as word of mouth spread- 16 times the opening gross.

So far, the new Scream is looking good as the next candidate for the number 1 spot. Could it finally break Spiderman’s stranglehold on the box office? Blake & Wang P.A will be watching closely.

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