Scream Reviews: Our Verdict on Every Film in the Series

In my opinion, Scream (1996) is the best of the seven Scream films and Scream 3 is the weakest, with the rest falling in between, and the verdicts run in release order from the original to the newest. None of them reveal a killer, so you can read them before you watch. If you want the full set in one place, the Scream movies hub links every film, and Scream movies in order shows the sequence to follow.

Scream 1996: the best of the series. Scream (1996), directed by Wes Craven, is the one I would hand to anybody asking whether Scream is worth watching. The opening is the reason, because Casey Becker takes a phone call that starts as chat about scary films and turns into a game she cannot win. Across its 112 minutes the film stays in Woodsboro, California, letting Sidney Prescott (Neve Campbell), a TV reporter, a deputy and a group of friends circle a masked killer. It is funny, but the funny never cancels the fear. On the money side, it earned about $173 million worldwide on a budget of roughly $15 million, according to The Numbers, so yes, it did very well.

Scream 2: the best sequel. Scream 2 (1997), also directed by Wes Craven, opens at an early screening of Stab, a film based on the Woodsboro murders, and the set piece at that screening is the best sequel opening in the series, in my opinion. Sidney is now a student at Windsor College in Ohio, and the film asks what a sequel owes its audience, then answers, to my mind, by raising the tension. At 120 minutes it runs long, but the cast is stacked, with Courteney Cox, David Arquette, Jerry O'Connell, Timothy Olyphant and Laurie Metcalf. If you only plan to watch two, make it this one and the original.

Scream 3: the weakest of the originals. Scream 3 (2000), directed by Wes Craven, moves the series to Hollywood, where a studio is shooting Stab 3 and a new Ghostface starts working through the cast. The studio setting gives the film plenty of ideas, but, as a thriller, it loses the closeness that made the first two so tense. It earned about $162 million worldwide on a $40 million budget, a respectable result that still sits below both earlier films. Perhaps it deserves a rewatch as a snapshot of its era, but I rank it last of the first four.

Scream 4: the sharpest sequel idea. Scream 4 (2011), directed by Wes Craven, brings Sidney home to Woodsboro fifteen years later to promote a self help book, just as two local girls are murdered. The film has real fun with remakes, reboots and the internet, and its young cast (Emma Roberts, Hayden Panettiere, Rory Culkin) gives the old guard something to push against. It was also the series' weakest earner, with about $97 million worldwide on a $40 million budget. Paradoxically, that makes it the most underrated entry, and it reads better today than it did in 2011.

Scream 2022: a confident restart. Scream (2022), directed by Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett, is the film that handed the series to a new generation. Tara Carpenter (Jenna Ortega) survives the opening attack, and her estranged sister Sam Carpenter (Melissa Barrera) returns to Woodsboro. Composer Brian Tyler replaced Marco Beltrami on the score, and the film mixes the old and new casts well. I think it is a sturdy legacy sequel that respects the original without leaning on it too hard. It earned about $138 million worldwide on a $24 million budget, according to Box Office Mojo.

Scream 6: the nastiest of the lot. Scream VI (2023), directed by Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett, takes the Carpenter sisters and the Meeks-Martin twins to New York City, and the attacks follow them across the city. It is the most violent and the most kinetic film in the series, with set pieces that feel built for a bigger canvas. Hayden Panettiere returns as Kirby Reed, now an FBI agent, and Neve Campbell stayed out of this one after a pay dispute, as reported by Good Morning America. It earned about $167 million worldwide on a $35 million budget, according to Box Office Mojo.

Scream 7: bigger than people expect. Scream 7 (2026), directed by Kevin Williamson, brings back Neve Campbell as Sidney Prescott, now Sidney Evans, with a teenage daughter named Tatum (Isabel May) and a quiet life far from Woodsboro. A new Ghostface returns to Woodsboro and turns attention toward Tatum, which pulls Sidney, Courteney Cox as Gale Weathers and Jasmin Savoy Brown as Mindy back in. It is the highest grossing film in the series, with more than $213 million worldwide on a $45 million budget, according to The Numbers. My view is that it earns its place, even if it is not the best.

There is no review of Scream 8 because the film has not been made. It is in development, with Spyglass behind it, and no studio or trade source has announced a release date, a director or a cast. The latest on the story sits on the Scream 8 page, and the Scream 8 trailer page will carry any footage once it exists.

Scream is worth watching if you like horror that talks back to the audience, and the original Scream (1996) is the best starting point. If you want a modern cast and a faster pace, start with Scream (2022), then continue with Scream VI (2023) and Scream 7 (2026). Is the new Scream movie good? In my opinion, Scream 7 (2026) is, even though it is not the best of the seven. Newcomers do not need the first four films to follow the later ones, but the emotional payoff of Sidney Prescott's arc in the latest film lands harder if you have seen them. For where each film streams, see where to watch Scream, and for the money, see the Scream box office page.

If you want the whole series in order of quality, the Scream movies ranked page does exactly that, with a case for every placement. The Scream cast, Scream characters, Scream timeline, Scream soundtrack and Scream merchandise pages cover the rest. Fans who care about the masks and the mystery can also read about Ghostface, the Ghostface killers (spoilers) and the Scream rules.