The sixth instalment in the Scream franchise cut a path to the no. 1 position at the box office last weekend, knocking out Creed III.
The Paramount slasher landed at $2.6 million from 424 screens, or $2.9 million with previews.
That’s well ahead of the fifth instalment, Scream, which opened to $1.8 million in January 2022, at the height of the first Omicron outbreak.
Scream VI picks up where the last film left off, following the survivors of the Ghostface killings – Sam (Melissa Barrera), Tara (Jenna Ortega), Mindy (Brown), and Chad (Mason Gooding) – as they leave Woodsboro behind and start a fresh chapter in New York City.
Franchise staple Courteney Cox returns as Gale Weathers, though this marks the first instalment not to feature Neve Campbell as Sidney Prescott. The actress declined to return after receiving an offer she felt “did not equate to the value I have brought to the franchise.”
Stateside, Scream VI had a franchise best opening at $US44.5 million, and in international markets, including Australia, made $US22.6 million, which was also a record.
Despite being bested by Ghostface, Creed III held well in its second weekend, dropping only 39 per cent to $2.1 million, advancing to $6.2 million.
The weekend’s other key new release was Sony sci-fi thriller 65, starring Adam Driver as an astronaut who crash-lands onto an Earth of 65 million years ago.
In US/Canada, it premiered to $US12.3 million, slightly ahead of projections. In Australia the film was received better, pro-rata, earning $1.9 million from 304 screens.
David Simpson tells IF 65 was an unexpected performer, doing “surprisingly well”.
The weekend also saw the release of Universal’s Woody Harrelson-starrer Champions, which rang up $466,441 from 233 screens, or $547,748 with previews.
For Majestic Cinemas, the basketball comedy was a winner, with CEO Kieren Dell telling IF it and 65 were not far behind Scream VI at its sites.
“Champions in particular seemed to resonate well with our regional and older audiences,” he says.
Mindblowing Films saw success with Tu Jhoothi Main Makkar, a Hindi-language rom-com. Directed by Luv Ranjan, it debuted to $251,590 from just 77 screens. Its screen average of $3,267 was only bested in the top 10 by Scream VI, Creed III and 65.
Of the Australian titles to release last weekend, made-for-IMAX documentary Shackleton: The Greatest Story of Survival, directed by Bobbi Hansel and Caspar Mazzotti, had a positive debut. It took home $87,330 from 77 screens for Kismet, or $90,966 with previews, coming in at no. 16.
For Sydney’s Hayden Orpheum Picture Palace, it was the weekend’s top performer, with the cinema also nabbing the best result nationally. GM Alex Temesvari tells IF it “over-performed massively on only two sessions.”
Numero figures put the top 20 titles at $9.4 million, or up 7 per cent on the previous. While the box office started the year ahead of 2022 thanks primarily to Avatar: The Way of Water, the last few weekends have started to see pace slow.
After four weekends, Disney/Marvel’s Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania looks to be running out of steam, adding $760,404 to move to $14.7 million.
Cocaine Bear, in its third frame for Universal, also looks to be coming down, taking $496,531 to advance to $3.7 million.
After collecting $261,350 in its 13th, Avatar: The Way of Water now stands at $93.16 million. That puts the Disney film ever so close to surpassing Top Gun: Maverick ($93.32 million) to become the third highest grossing film of all time in Australia.
Crunchyroll’s Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – To the Swordsmith Village had quite the second weekend tumble, dropping 73 per cent to $202,897, putting it at $1.1 million overall.
Rounding out the top 10 was Universal’s Puss in Boots: The Last Wish, now at $21.5 million after 11 weekends.
Looking ahead, exhibitors should get a welcome boost from Warner Bros./DC actioner Shazam! Fury of the Gods from Thursday, with John Wick: Chapter 4 to follow the weekend after. Simpson also reports promising previews for Bill Nighy starrer Living, which is being distributed by Transmission.
There should also be a bump from some of the Oscar-winning titles. For Melbourne’s Cinema Nova, Everything Everyday All At Once is poised to become its second biggest film of all time after playing for almost a year.
Cinema Nova CEO Kristian Connelly tells IF the film’s Best Picture win was “a true win for cinema”, noting its diverse cast complete with queer and genre themes marks “the true future of cinema rather than a rehash of a war that occurred over a century ago.”
“We’re thrilled with the result. Everything Everywhere winning was a delightful outcome for diversity and the experience of going to the cinema – watching a film at home is no match for the big screen experience, which I feel the academy has recognised with today’s outcome.”