The most controversial, most successful film in the Scream franchise is coming to streaming, and we’re incredibly conflicted about it. Paramount+ just announced that on May 28, it’ll be the exclusive place to first stream Scream 7, the 2026 blockbuster that made over $200 million worldwide. In the U.S. alone, it grossed over $120 million, making it the highest-grossing film in the franchise to date, not adjusted for inflation. And, if that was all the information you had on the movie, its coming to streaming would be a good thing. Who wouldn’t want to watch, or rewatch, a successful entry in an iconic horror franchise? Well, Scream 7 is a whole new beast. Of course, there was a ton of drama behind the scenes beforehand (which resulted in former Scream star Melissa Barrera calling its cast members “scabs”), but let’s put that aside for now. Judging the film only on its own merits, we felt it was an incredibly disappointing entry into the franchise. A film that lacked the point of view or cutting commentary that pretty much every single entry beforehand had. Meta pop culture commentary was Scream’s whole identity, and Scream 7 barely dipped its toe in it.
Now, yes. Once the killer is revealed, Scream 7 attempts to give the audience a bit of that secret ingredient. The film tells us it’s all been about some sort of celebrity worship, but you get the sense those implications were basically slapped on at the end. It’s not a clear, cohesive theme that’s seeded throughout the film. It just kind of happens at the end, and it’s a big miss.
