Movies
Wes Craven on the Future Of ‘Scream’
It’s not news that Kevin Williamson had written Scream 4 as the beginning of a new trilogy, with plans already sketched out for the next two films. But after seeing the latest entry, I’m left scratching my head as to where they could go with it. I really hope this new cycle doesn’t burn itself out as quickly as the last one; there was nothing left to poke fun at by the time Scream 3 rolled around.
Wes Craven recently sat down and revealed some non-news about the continuation of the franchise – if it’s even fast-tracked given the poor reception of Scream 4 – which you can find past the break due to spoilers.
Given the secretive nature of Scream 4‘s storyline, don’t expect anyone to give away any huge plot points this time around either – also, it hasn’t been confirmed that it’s completely written yet either, so presumably no one even knows at this point. Craven tossed this nugget of info out there during a recent junket, which everyone who saw the latest entry will respond to with a resounding, “Well… duh.”
“I imagine the core characters will continue. I suspect they’ll be with us until the end, because they just are the heart and soul of the movie and especially since we tend to kill off most of the other people. They’ll be with us. There will be some continuation of the drama of Sidney Prescott’s family and the ghosts that haunt it.”
Movies
‘Abigail’ on Track for a Better Opening Weekend Than Universal’s Previous Two Vampire Attempts
In the wake of Leigh Whannell’s Invisible Man back in 2020, Universal has been struggling to achieve further box office success with their Universal Monsters brand. Even in the early days of the pandemic, Invisible Man scared up $144 million at the worldwide box office, while last year’s Universal Monsters: Dracula movies The Last Voyage of the Demeter and Renfield didn’t even approach that number when you COMBINE their individual box office hauls.
The horror-comedy Renfield came along first in April 2023, ending its run with just $26 million. The period piece Last Voyage of the Demeter ended its own run with a mere $21 million.
But Universal is trying again with their ballerina vampire movie Abigail this weekend, the latest bloodbath directed by the filmmakers known as Radio Silence (Ready or Not, Scream).
Unlike Demeter and Renfield, the early reviews for Abigail are incredibly strong, with our own Meagan Navarro calling the film “savagely inventive in terms of its vampiric gore,” ultimately “offering a thrill ride with sharp, pointy teeth.” Read her full review here.
That early buzz – coupled with some excellent trailers – should drive Abigail to moderate box office success, the film already scaring up $1 million in Thursday previews last night. Variety notes that Abigail is currently on track to enjoy a $12 million – $15 million opening weekend, which would smash Renfield ($8 million) and Demeter’s ($6 million) opening weekends.
Working to Abigail‘s advantage is the film’s reported $28 million production budget, making it a more affordable box office bet for Universal than the two aforementioned movies.
Stay tuned for more box office reporting in the coming days.
In Abigail, “After a group of would-be criminals kidnap the 12-year-old ballerina daughter of a powerful underworld figure, all they have to do to collect a $50 million ransom is watch the girl overnight. In an isolated mansion, the captors start to dwindle, one by one, and they discover, to their mounting horror, that they’re locked inside with no normal little girl.”
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