‘Scream’ Takes Top Spot at Box Office

Marvel and Disney’s Spider-Man: No Way Home has been dominating the box offices for about as long as it’s been out. The film has been so popular, it’s managed about a month of complete domination, with no other recently-released films coming within spitting distance of its absolute victory. Of course, even the best movies can’t stand at the top of the box office forever. Once everyone’s seen it and the discourse winds its way down, other movies will gradually take their place. What’s slightly surprising, though, is the film that has ultimately knocked Spider-Man off his perch.

The new installment of the Scream franchise of horror slasher movies (which is not a reboot, despite its lack of a number or subtitle) has swiped the top spot at the box office from Spider-Man with a $30.6 million weekend debut. Not only is that an impressive profit and substantial feat, it also defies expectations; film industry analysts were only expecting Scream to turn a debut profit of around $25 million, which them movie beat by a good $5 million and change.

Box Office: ‘Scream’ Unseats ‘Spider-Man: No Way Home’ With $34 Million Holiday Haul https://t.co/40Rn816wa3

— Variety (@Variety) January 17, 2022

Some have been surprised by the film’s rousing success, especially since January is usually a bit of a mediocre month for movies, not to mention the whole, y’know, pandemic thing. Nostalgia is likely a major factor; the new Scream brought back several prominent members of the original film’s cast, including Neve Campbell and Courtney Cox. The film has also been received by critics fairly well, currently maintaining a 75% fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes, which is a step up from some of the recent horror reboots like Halloween Kills.

Hopefully, this success is the herald of a return to at least partial normalcy for the film industry, which has spent the past two years in an awkward and confusing state due to the pandemic.