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Scream (2022) backdrop
Franchise guide · by Callan Brooks

Scream Movies: All Seven Films and What Comes Next

The Scream movies are a horror franchise of seven films, from Scream (1996) to Scream 7 (2026), built around the masked Ghostface killer and survivors such as Sidney Prescott. There are no spin-offs, and Scream 8 is in development at Spyglass with no director and no release date.

Next: Scream 8 · date TBC
Image: TMDB

Every Scream Movie

How many Scream movies

What Are the Scream Movies About?

The Scream movies are a series of seven horror films in which a killer in a Ghostface costume hunts a group of friends, relatives and survivors, usually while the characters talk openly about the habits of scary movies. It is a franchise that treats its own genre as part of the plot, and that self awareness has carried it through three decades.

The story starts in Woodsboro, California. In Scream (1996), directed by Wes Craven, a teenager named Casey Becker is home alone when a stranger phones and turns a chat about scary films into a deadly game. The next morning the town is in shock, and attention moves to Sidney Prescott, whose mother was murdered a year earlier. Neve Campbell played Sidney, Courteney Cox played the pushy TV reporter Gale Weathers, and David Arquette played Deputy Dewey. Those three became the spine of the series.

Wes Craven directed the first four films: Scream (1996), Scream 2 (1997), Scream 3 (2000) and Scream 4 (2011). Scream 2 moved the action to Windsor College in Ohio, where a screening of Stab, a film based on the Woodsboro murders, becomes the first crime scene. Scream 3 moved to Hollywood, where a studio is shooting Stab 3, and Scream 4 brought Sidney back to Woodsboro fifteen years after the first killings to promote her self help book.

The series then changed hands. Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett directed Scream (2022) and Scream VI (2023). The first introduced Sam and Tara Carpenter, and the second took the survivors to New York City. Kevin Williamson directed Scream 7 (2026), which brought Neve Campbell back as Sidney, now going by Sidney Evans, with a teenage daughter named Tatum.

So, how many Scream movies are there? Seven theatrical films, and no spin-offs. The in-universe Stab films are fiction inside the story and not real releases. Every film is rated R in the US and MA 15+ in Australia, and six of the seven carry an 18 in the UK, with Scream 4 the only one rated 15 there. The full count sits on our how many scream movies page.

If you want the detail behind each entry, there are pages for the scream cast, the scream timeline, the scream soundtrack, the scream box office and the scream reviews. Collectors can head to scream merchandise, and anyone who wants the whodunit side of the series will find the ghostface killers and the scream rules spoiler flagged on their own pages.

The individual films each have a page: scream 1996, scream 2, scream 3, scream 4, scream 2022, scream 6 and scream 7.

Still from Scream (1996)
Scream (1996)

Scream Movies in Order: Where to Start

The Scream movies run in the same sequence whether you watch by release or by story, because every film follows directly on from the one before. That makes this one of the simpler franchises to approach, and the full guide sits on our scream movies in order page.

  1. Scream (1996), released in the US on December 20, 1996
  2. Scream 2, released December 12, 1997
  3. Scream 3, released February 4, 2000
  4. Scream 4, released April 15, 2011
  5. Scream (2022), released January 14, 2022
  6. Scream VI, released March 10, 2023
  7. Scream 7, released February 27, 2026

The 2022 film shares its title with the original, which is why a year always follows the name on this site. It is the fifth entry and picks the story up twenty five years after the first killings, with a new set of leads in Sam and Tara Carpenter alongside returning faces such as Gale Weathers, Dewey Riley and Sidney Prescott.

That being said, what is the best place to start? It could be argued that the sensible answer is Scream (1996), because almost every later film leans on its characters and its jokes, and Scream 2 through Scream 4 build on it directly. A viewer who wants only the newer cast could begin with Scream (2022), but the references to Billy Loomis and the original Woodsboro events will land far harder after the first film. Think of it like a long running television series: you can jump in at season five, but you will spend a lot of time asking who everyone is.

The gaps matter too. Four films arrive in the first fourteen years, then a pause of eleven years separates Scream 4 from Scream (2022). After that, Scream VI follows in March 2023, and Scream 7 arrives almost three years later in February 2026. If you are planning a marathon, the first three films make a tidy opening block, and Scream 4 is the natural bridge to the newer instalments.

Is There a Scream 8? What We Know So Far

Scream 8 is in development at Spyglass, with no director, no confirmed cast beyond one reported return, and no release date. The status is covered in full on the scream 8 page, and any footage will gather on the scream 8 trailer page.

The reporting so far is short but consistent. On March 31, 2026, TheWrap reported that Spyglass was developing an eighth Scream film, with Lilla Zuckerman and Nora Zuckerman writing. That report arrived about a month after Scream 7 reached theaters on February 27, 2026. The same story noted that there was no greenlight, no director and no release date at that point.

On November 2, 2026, TheWrap reported that Neve Campbell told the AP she will be in the film, and that a new director is to be hired. TheWrap also lists Kevin Williamson as a producer on the project, as reported. Those are the only cast and crew names attached, and all of them carry the label reported rather than confirmed.

One earlier claim needs a clear label as a rumor. In November 2025, a fan outlet claimed Scream 8 was greenlit, would shoot in Atlanta, would have Kevin Williamson directing and would release in early 2027. Later trade reporting contradicts that, so it stays unconfirmed. Until Spyglass or a trade paper gives a date, the release date for Scream 8 is to be confirmed.

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Scream 8

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Scream 8: status, cast and rumors

Who Are the Main Scream Characters?

Scream characters

The main Scream characters are Sidney Prescott, Gale Weathers and Dewey Riley from the original films, the Carpenter sisters from the newer ones, and Ghostface, who connects them all. The full list lives on our scream characters page, and the names you will meet first are introduced here.

Ghostface is the costume, not one person. The mask and the phone call that opens many of the films are the series signature, and Roger L. Jackson is credited as the Phone Voice in Scream (1996) and as The Voice in the later films. Who wears the mask each time is a spoiler, so those details are kept on the ghostface killers page.

Sidney Prescott is played by Neve Campbell and is the lead of the first four films. She returns in Scream (2022) and again in Scream 7, where she is credited as Sidney Evans. Neve Campbell did not appear in Scream VI, and reporting from Good Morning America linked her exit from that film to a pay dispute.

Gale Weathers, played by Courteney Cox, starts as an ambitious TV reporter in Scream (1996) and is a bestselling author by Scream VI. Dewey Riley is played by David Arquette and is a deputy in the original film. He appears in the casts of the first five films.

Sam Carpenter and Tara Carpenter, played by Melissa Barrera and Jenna Ortega, lead Scream (2022) and Scream VI. Kirby Reed is played by Hayden Panettiere in Scream 4 and Scream VI, where she is an FBI agent. Skeet Ulrich plays Billy Loomis, who is credited simply as Billy in Scream (1996), and Matthew Lillard plays Stu Macher, who is credited as Stuart in Scream (1996) and as Stu Macher in Scream 7.

Jasmin Savoy Brown and Mason Gooding play the twins Mindy and Chad Meeks-Martin, who appear in Scream (2022), Scream VI and Scream 7, and Jamie Kennedy plays Randy Meeks in the original run. Is the Scream movie a horror movie? Yes, though the characters spend as much time debating horror as surviving it.

Scream Music: Composers and Songs

Scream soundtrack

  1. Is This the End

    Written for the film

    Creed · Scream 3

    Plays over the end credits.

  2. Still Alive

    Written for the film

    Demi Lovato · Scream VI

    Sam drops a Ghostface mask and walks with Tara, and the song carries over the final moments into the end credits.

  3. Twisting the Knife

    Written for the film

    Ice Nine Kills, Mckenna Grace · Scream 7

    It plays during the end credits, right after Creepin.

  4. Creepin

    Written for the film

    Don Toliver · Scream 7

    It plays over the start of the end credits.

Facts

  • Still from Scream (1996)
    Scream (1996)
  • Still from Scream 2 (1997)
    Scream 2 (1997)
  • Still from Scream 3 (2000)
    Scream 3 (2000)
  • Still from Scream 4 (2011)
    Scream 4 (2011)
  • Still from Scream (2022)
    Scream (2022)
  • Still from Scream VI (2023)
    Scream VI (2023)
  • Still from Scream 7 (2026)
    Scream 7 (2026)

Where to Watch the Scream Movies

In the US, five of the seven Scream movies stream on Paramount+ or another subscription service, though availability changes and the details here were checked on November 3, 2026. The full table by country is on our where to watch scream page, with data from JustWatch via TMDB.

In the US, Scream (1996) is included with Hulu and Paramount+, and it also shows on HBO Max. Scream 2 is on Hulu and Paramount+, and Scream 3 is on Hulu, with Paramount+ available through channel add ons. Scream 4 is rent or buy only in the US. Scream (2022) is on Paramount+ and free with ads on Pluto TV. Scream VI is on Netflix and Paramount+, and Pluto TV lists it with ads as well. Scream 7 is on Amazon Prime Video in the US.

In the UK, the first four films are on Amazon Prime Video and Paramount+, Scream (2022) is on Paramount+ and Channel 4, and Scream 7 is on Paramount+, Sky Go and Now TV Cinema. Scream VI is rent or buy only there. In Australia, Paramount+ carries the full run from Scream (1996) through Scream 7, and Stan lists the first four films.

If a film is not on a service you pay for, the rent or buy shops at Apple TV, Amazon Video and YouTube cover most of the series in all three countries.

Still from Scream 7 (2026)
Scream 7 (2026)

Streaming availability data from JustWatch. Where to watch Scream by country.

Explore Scream

FAQs

How many Scream movies did they have?

There are seven Scream movies: Scream (1996), Scream 2, Scream 3, Scream 4, Scream (2022), Scream VI and Scream 7 (2026). There are no theatrical spin-offs, and an eighth film is in development at Spyglass.

Is there a Scream 7 movie?

Yes. Scream 7 was released in US theaters on February 27, 2026, directed by Kevin Williamson, with Neve Campbell returning as Sidney Prescott, who now goes by Sidney Evans. According to The Numbers it earned about $214 million worldwide on a $45 million budget.

Is the Scream movie a horror movie?

Yes, the Scream movies are horror films, rated R in the US, centered on a masked Ghostface killer. They also work as whodunits, because the survivors try to work out who is behind the mask in each film.

Which Ghostface was a girl?

Naming the killers would give away the twists, so the answer sits on the spoiler flagged ghostface killers page. Across the seven films the mask changes hands, and the identity of each wearer is the central mystery of each story.

Which Scream is scariest?

That is a matter of taste, and our ranked page gives the case film by film. For a factual marker, Scream 4 is the only entry rated 15 in the UK, while the other six films carry an 18.

Is there a Scream 8?

Scream 8 is in development at Spyglass, with Lilla Zuckerman and Nora Zuckerman reported as writers. As of November 3, 2026, there is no director and no release date, and Neve Campbell has said she will be in the film.

What is the correct order to watch the Scream movies?

Release order and story order are the same: Scream (1996), Scream 2, Scream 3, Scream 4, Scream (2022), Scream VI and Scream 7. The full guide is on the scream movies in order page.

Which Scream movie made the most money?

Scream 7 earned the most, about $214 million worldwide according to The Numbers. Scream 4 earned the least at about $97 million, according to Box Office Mojo. The seven films together total about $1.12 billion worldwide.