With Scream 7 now playing in theaters, we figured it was time to put together the ultimate and definitive ranking of the entire Scream franchise. But that simply wouldn’t be possible by just polling members of the Bloody Disgusting team. That would be OUR ranking rather than YOUR ranking, and it could hardly be considered definitive with a handful of people taking part.
So instead we opened it up to you, the readers of Bloody Disgusting. For the past week, we’ve been asking you to submit your own personal ranking of all seven Scream movies using a simple drag-and-drop form we created, and we’re thrilled to report that over 3,000 of you took part. We now feel comfortable saying that the data we have our hands allows us to create a truly definitive ranking of the Scream saga, from Wes Craven’s original slasher classic straight through to Neve Campbell’s return as Sidney Prescott in the polarizing latest installment.
Every individual ranking we received from February 27 – March 4 has been collected together to form ONE list that combines them all together, and we now present that to you.
Read on for Bloody Disgusting’s Ultimate Scream Franchise Ranking!
Bloody Disgusting’s Ultimate Scream Franchise Ranking is presented by G FUEL’s GHOST FACE JUMP SCARE. Immerse yourself in the knife-wielding horror of the iconic slasher and get a taste for the adrenaline-fueled fear that makes you feel like you’re running for your life!
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7) Scream 7
Well, we did say Scream 7 was proving to be quite polarizing. Original Scream writer Kevin Williamson’s first time directing a Scream movie just achieved the highest box office opening weekend in the franchise’s history, but it’s also the franchise’s lowest rated movie on Rotten Tomatoes at just 31%. After tabulating over 3,000 franchise rankings submitted by the readers of Bloody Disgusting, Scream 7 has been clearly selected as the least favorite of the bunch.
The behind the scenes issues that plagued Scream 7 were numerous, with the firing of Melissa Barrera and the exit of Jenna Ortega leading to a last minute franchise overhaul that returned the focus back to Neve Campbell’s Sidney Prescott. It’s not the movie it was originally intended to be, and while it’s proving to be a monster hit at the box office, the largely negative reviews are impossible to deny. Here’s hoping the eventual Scream 8 course corrects the ship.
6) Scream VI
The biggest surprise on this list may very well be Scream VI ranking so low, coming in at #6. Unlike Scream 7, Scream VI has a 77% Fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes, which is actually the third highest Rotten Tomatoes score for the entire franchise. Directed by Radio Silence, Scream VI is notably the only installment in the franchise to not feature Neve Campbell, with the focus being placed entirely on the newly-minted “Core Four.” Scream fans generally seemed to respond quite well to this one back in 2023, but perhaps time has dulled that passion a bit.
One of the biggest downsides of Scream VI was the weak Ghostface reveal, and it’s also possible that many fans have soured on the film due to the absence of Neve Campbell. No matter how you slice it, Scream VI has been selected as the second weakest installment, with this list suggesting that the franchise has lost some of its mojo in the past few years.
Then again, we’ve had that same conversation before…
5) Scream 3
In any year other than 2026, most fans probably would’ve agreed that Wes Craven’s Scream 3 was the weakest installment, so it’s certainly no surprise to see it ranked so low on this list. It also has the saga’s second lowest Rotten Tomatoes score with a rotten 45%, indicating that Scream 3 has been the black sheep of the franchise dating back to its release in 2000.
The first installment to not be written by Kevin Williamson – Ehren Kruger took over for this one – Scream 3 leaned into the meta approach of the franchise, with Sidney and the gang heading off to Hollywood during the filming of Stab 3, the third installment in the in-universe film franchise based on the Woodsboro murders. As we wrote here on Bloody Disgusting back in 2020, Scream 3 may be the most maligned sequel, but it’s still a fun Scooby-style slasher.
Personally speaking, I agree with that take.
4) Scream (2022)
The Scream film franchise had been dormant for eleven years when Scream 5 came along, and it was dauntingly the first installment to be mounted in the wake of Wes Craven’s passing. The filmmaking team known as Radio Silence took the helm for the legacy sequel, which brought back the original trilogy’s leading characters and mixed them together with a new batch of leads that would soon become known as the “Core Four.” Tackling toxic fandom, among other things, Scream 5 had something new to say, and it successfully revived a franchise that was seemingly without its captain. It ended up becoming a huge hit at the box office and earning rave reviews from fans and critics, revitalizing the brand for a new generation of horror fans.
Whether you’d prefer the franchise focus on Sidney and the original gang or Sam and her friend group, Scream (2022) managed to satisfy both camps, so it comes as no big surprise that the readers of Bloody Disgusting are in agreement about it being one of the better Scream films.
But you just can’t top a Scream movie directed by Wes Craven, as we’ll soon see…
3) Scream 4
The Scream film franchise had been dormant for eleven years when Scream 4 came along (deja vu, anyone?), and the big news there was that franchise architects Kevin Williamson and Wes Craven were reuniting for this one. It sadly ended up being the final film directed by Craven, but he went out with a strong reminder of why he was one of the best in the game. Providing ahead-of-its-time commentary on social media fame and franchise legacy sequels, Scream 4 had something fresh to say about the state of the horror genre and the world at large, and it’s one installment that has become even more appreciated as the years have gone by.
Scream 4 introduced fresh characters like Kirby Reed and Jill Roberts that ended up becoming new franchise favorites, and it’s also home to one of the franchise’s all-time best Ghostface reveals. The film unfortunately wasn’t enough of a hit in theaters at the time to allow for Kevin Williamson to execute his original plan of using it as the launchpad for a brand new trilogy, but Scream 4 will likely forever stand the test of time as one of the best Scream sequels.
2) Scream 2
Here’s an interesting fun fact. The Scream movie with the highest score on Rotten Tomatoes? It’s not the original classic, it’s actually Wes Craven’s Scream 2 at 83% Fresh! Released just one year after Scream introduced the world to Ghostface and his meta rules, Kevin Williamson and Wes Craven reunited for Scream 2, a sequel that slashed into the bloody heart of, well, sequels.
Despite the quick turnaround that gave Williamson and Craven little time to plan for the franchise’s expansion, Scream 2 proved that the original movie was anything but a fluke, and we have the second installment to thank for ensuring that Scream wasn’t just a couple movies but a full-blown franchise. The film earned $172 million in 1997, almost the very same box office total of its predecessor one year prior, and the film has clearly held up in the years since.
Even seven movies deep, most Scream fans agree that the first and second films are the cream of the crop for this particular franchise. On this list, Scream 2 is second only to the original!
1) Scream (1996)
Of course, the winner of Bloody Disgusting’s Definitive Ranking of the Scream Franchise is Wes Craven’s Scream, which simply has not been topped in the 30 years since it helped usher in a whole new breed of horror movie. While not the first self-referential horror movie to put a meta twist on the genre – Craven beat himself to the punch a couple years prior with New Nightmare! – it’s certainly the most accessible, successful, and downright best to ever do it.
Even 30 years later, there are very few horror movies that are a cut above the original Scream, and it’s clear you guys agree with that assessment. It’s the film that started it all, from turning a simple Halloween mask into a decades-spanning horror icon to establishing characters like Sidney, Billy, Stu, Tatum, and Randy that still rank high among the most beloved in the genre’s history. Scream wasn’t just another slasher movie, it was a horror movie that was in on the joke, and for many fans, it has been an entry point into all that the horror genre has to offer.
There’s a reason the franchise is still embracing the iconic nostalgia of that original meta slasher even 30 years later, with Kevin Williamson’s Scream 7 absolutely chock full of reverence for the horror classic he and the late Wes Craven masterminded together all those years ago. It’s not just the best Scream movie, it’s one of the best horror movies of all time.
30 years… 7 movies… nothing beats the original.
Bloody Disgusting’s Ultimate Scream Franchise Ranking is presented by G FUEL’s GHOST FACE JUMP SCARE. Immerse yourself in the knife-wielding horror of the iconic slasher and get a taste for the adrenaline-fueled fear that makes you feel like you’re running for your life!
Use code BLOODYDISGUSTING to slash 30% off!
