The sixth time may be the charm: “Scream VI” is heading toward what could be a franchise-high opening at the box office this weekend. The Paramount and Spyglass Media slasher movie made $5.7 million at the domestic box office in Thursday previews. It’s expanding from 3,125 domestic theaters to 3,675 on Friday.

Nearly 27 years after the first “Scream” movie terrified moviegoers, the franchise is still going strong, thanks to last year’s reboot, or “requel,” also titled “Scream.” The 2022 “Scream” pulled in $3.5 million in Thursday previews in January 2022 before scaring up a solid $30 million opening weekend. “Scream 3,” released in 2000, years before some of the younger stars of the newest movie were born, holds the record for the franchise’s highest opening weekend with $34 million.

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“Scream VI” is looking to take the crown from its earlier predecessor with an estimated debut between $35 million to $40 million this weekend. The sixth installment brings back the surviving stars from last year’s movie, including Jenna Ortega, Melissa Barrera, Mason Gooding and Jasmin Savoy Brown, plus Courteney Cox, who plays the longstanding “Scream” star Gale Weathers. “Scream VI” relocates the Ghostface murders from Woodsboro, Calif., to New York City, with a new cast of college-aged characters trying their best to not be stabbed repeatedly by the masked killer.

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Tyler Gillett and Matt Bettinelli-Olpin return from 2022’s “Scream” to direct the latest installment, as do writers Guy Busick and James Vanderbilt. Last year’s horror ended its box office run with $81 million domestically and $137 million worldwide, all from a $25 million budget. “Scream VI” bumped up its price tag to $33 million, which, combined with positive reviews and clever, viral marketing, could bode well for the sequel.

Also staying in the box office ring this weekend is Michael B. Jordan’s “Creed III,” which dominated last week with a franchise-record $58 million launch. Also premiering this weekend are Adam Driver’s sci-fi, dinosaur action movie “65,” which earned $1.225 million in previews, and Woody Harrelson’s basketball comedy “Champions.”

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