When Scream 7 was released a couple of weeks earlier, it had the lowest Rotten Tomatoes score in series history. No one could believe that despite the return of franchise veterans - Neve Campbell, Matthew Lillard, and David Arquette - the movie still managed to crash so hard critically. 

It almost seemed as if the fate of the movie was sealed and that audiences might reject the slasher sequel in the theaters, like Ghostface had finally lost his bloodthirsty charm and was ready to fade into oblivion. But then, the audience proved the critics wrong and flooded the theaters to see their favorite murderous menace.

Not only that, but now the movie has become the highest-grossing movie of the Scream franchise.

Scream 7 is expected to conclude its third weekend in theaters with a worldwide gross of $176.9 million. The movie has amassed $106 million from domestic theaters and an additional $70 million from international markets, according to Variety as of Sunday morning. As a result, it breaks an all-time record to become the highest-grossing feature in the seven-film Scream franchise and becomes the first sequel to ever surpass 1996's Scream and its $173 million worldwide.

The movie, which had a shaky path since the start of its journey, staring at the worst Rotten Tomatoes score (31%) in the franchise’s history, then miraculously opened to the franchise's biggest domestic debut ($63.6 million). Then again, it saw a low with the franchise's worst week two decline (-73.3%), and now is eying to edge past $180 million. 

At the domestic box office, though, it is still just the second-highest-grossing Scream film. It is Scream VI from 2023 that holds the crown for the current domestic record, having made $108.4 million in the entirety of its run. Nevertheless, the new movie is supposed to break the record by the end of its third week in theaters, judging by the speed at which it is going at the box office. And besides, the difference is just an extra $1.4 million, which should not be a problem.

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But what if the collections of the previous installments were adjusted for inflation? Would Scream 7 still be the highest-grossing film of the franchise?

To be fair, the film's all-time record only applies to the raw data. Scream 7 is the fifth-highest-grossing film on the adjusted ranking after accounting for inflation. The three films in the original Scream trilogy all made over $300 million worldwide, while Scream VI brought in $182.2 million. So, the inflation did change the game, even more than its worst Rotten Tomatoes score.

As far as the original trilogy is concerned, it would be difficult to surpass the $300 million mark, let alone surpass the adjusted $354.8 million of the original film. That said, it does not mean that the new sequel does not stand a chance. It has happened before and can happen again; all we need to do is keep faith in Ghostface.

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Do you think Scream 7 can surpass the adjusted total of the original movie? Drop your thoughts in the comments.