Melissa Barrera & Jenna Ortega’s “Scream VI” Breaks Franchise Record with $44.5 Million Opening Weekend

Posted on March 12, 2023 by Tom Castaneda

Melissa Barrera and Jenna Ortega are officially Scream queens…

The 32-year-old Mexican actress and singer and her 20-year-old Puerto Rican and Mexican American’s Scream VI collected $44.5 million in its opening weekend, a great start for Paramount and Spyglass Media’s long-running slasher film series.

The ticket sales were enough to top domestic box office charts over two newcomers, Sony’s prehistoric sci-fi thriller 65 and Focus Features’ heartwarming comedy Champions, as well as last weekend’s victor Creed III.

The initial haul for Scream VI is frighteningly strong for the sixth installment in a franchise. Not only did it greatly improve upon the start of last year’s hit reboot Scream, which scored with $30 million, but it crushed the series’ opening weekend record, previously set by 2000’s Scream 3 with $34 million. Scream VI cost $35 million, so it’ll easily turn a profit in its theatrical run.

“It’s extraordinary to have this type of result after six films,” says Chris Aronson, Paramount’s president of domestic distribution. “We blew away the opening of the last ‘Scream.’ That doesn’t happen.”

The R-rated “Scream VI” added another $22.6 million from 53 international markets, bringing its global tally to $67.1 million.

“Reviews and audience scores are very good, and international business should be solid,” says David A. Gross, who runs the film consulting firm Franchise Entertainment Research. “27 years after launching in 1996, the franchise is healthier than ever.”

Directed by Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett, Scream VI follows survivors of Ghostface’s murders as they leave Woodsboro behind for a fresh start in New York City. Courteney Cox, Barrera, Ortega and Hayden Panettiere return for the film, which is the first installment without Neve Campbell’s Sidney Prescott. The actor departed the film because she felt “the offer that was presented to me did not equate to the value I have brought to the franchise.

”Opening weekend audience members skewed slightly male (51%), while 71% were between the ages of 18-24.

Tony Revolori to Star in “Scream 6”

Posted on July 15, 2022 by Tom Castaneda

Tony Revolori is getting his scream on…

The 26-year-old Guatemalan American actor and Samara Weaving have been added to the cast of Scream 6.

Revolori and Weaving join an ensemble cast that includes Melissa Barrera, Jasmin Savoy Brown, Mason Gooding and Jenna Ortega, who toplined the fifth film in the franchise, along with Hayden Panettiere, Courteney Cox, Dermot Mulroney, Jack Champion, Liana Liberato, Devyn Nekoda, Josh Segarra and Henry Czerny.

The next installment in the horror franchise from Spyglass Media and Paramount Pictures will pick up with Sam (Barrera), Mindy (Brown), Chad (Gooding) and Tara (Ortega)—four survivors of the most recent batch of Ghostface killings—as they leave Woodsboro behind and start a fresh chapter.

Details as to the characters Weaving and Revolori will be playing have not been disclosed.

Radio Silence’s Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett, who helmed the last Scream film, return as directors. James Vanderbilt and Guy Busick co-wrote the screenplay.

Revolori is best known for his collaboration with Wes Anderson on films like The Grand Budapest, The French Dispatch and the upcoming Asteroid City, and for his role as Flash Thompson in the most recent trilogy of Spider-Man films.

He stars in the Apple series Servant and will soon be seen in the Disney+ series Willow.

Josh Segarra to Star in Next Installment of “Scream”

Posted on June 16, 2022 by Tom Castaneda

Josh Segarra is screaming with excitement.

The 36-year-old Puerto Rican actor and Arrow alum will star in the next installment of Paramount and Spyglass Media’s Scream.

Segarra is among a list of new cast additions that includes Jack Champion, Liana Liberato and Devyn Nekoda.

Melissa Barrera, Jasmin Savoy Brown, Mason Gooding and Jenna Ortega will reprise their roles after making their first appearance in the most recent sequel, with Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett returning to direct.

Hayden Panettiere is returning to reprise her role from a previous installment and Dermot Mulroney is also on board.

The new outing is due to shoot this summer and follows the bloody success of the fifth installment, released in January, which grossed more than $81 million domestically and $140 million worldwide.

Plot details are being kept under wraps outside of it following the four survivors of the Ghostface killings as they leave Woodsboro behind and start a fresh chapter.

The film will be released on March 31, 2023.

James Vanderbilt and Guy Busick are penning the script. Vanderbilt will also produce along with his Project X Entertainment partners Paul Neinstein and William Sherak.

Original Scream scribe Kevin Williamson and the third member of Radio Silence, Chad Villella, are executive producing alongside Spyglass’ Gary Barber and Peter Oillataguerre, Ron Lynch, Cathy Konrad and Marianne Maddalena.

Segarra is best known for his role on Arrow and can be seen next in Marvel’s She-Hulk: Attorney At Law.

Melissa Barrera Officially Confirmed for Return to “Scream” Reboot Sequel

Posted on May 14, 2022 by Tom Castaneda

There are more screams in Melissa Barrera’s future.

Spyglass Media and Paramount have officially confirmed that the 31-year-old Mexican actress and singer will be returning for the Scream sequel, with directors Radio Silence (Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett) returning and James Vanderbilt and Guy Busick co-writing the screenplay.

In addition to Barrera, the new generation of actors also coming back include Jenna Ortega, Jasmin Savoy Brown and Mason Gooding.

Cameras will begin rolling early this summer for a theatrical release around the world on March 31, 2023.

In the next installment, the four survivors of the Ghostface killings leave Woodsboro behind and start a fresh chapter.

Scream architect Kevin Williamson and the third member of Radio Silence, Chad Villella, are executive producing alongside Spyglass’ Gary Barber and Peter Oillataguerre, Ron Lynch, Cathy Konrad and Marianne Maddalena.

After celebrating the franchise’s 25th Anniversary, the latest Scream earned a “Certified Fresh” score from Rotten Tomatoes and went on to gross more than $140 million at the global box office; part of Paramount’s proof that there’s appetite among moviegoers for lower budget as we come out of this pandemic.

Also starring in the movie were Kyle Gallner, Mikey Madison, Dylan Minnette, Jack Quaid, Marley Shelton, Sonia Ammar with original franchise members Courteney Cox, David Arquette and Neve Campbell.

The film is available now on digital, 4K Ultra HD and Blu-ray and is currently streaming on Paramount +.

Through five movies the Scream series counts over $744M at the worldwide box office.

Jenna Ortega & Melissa Barrera’s “Scream” Debuts at the Top of the Box Office Charts

Posted on January 17, 2022 by Tom Castaneda

Jenna Ortega & Melissa Barrera have plenty of reason to scream…

Scream, starring the 19-year-old Mexican American & Puerto Rican actress and the 31-year-old Mexican actress, has dethroned Spider-Man: No Way Home over the four-day Martin Luther King Jr. weekend, becoming the first film to unseat the superhero phenomenon since it debuted on December 17.

The slasher revival grossed $34 million from 3,664 locations to top the box office. The impressive haul means that Paramount and Spyglass Media, the companies behind the reboot, will have one very profitable movie on their hands. Scream cost a mere $25 million to produce.

Scream has brought back a moribund franchise to life, introducing younger audiences to a series of films that had been left for dead after the box office disappointment of 2011’s Scream 4.

The key to its appeal was that Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett, the directing duo behind Ready or Not, paid homage to the films that came before Scream while updating the series with a savage twist on toxic fandom that resonated with younger crowds.

The filmmakers brought back series veterans Neve Campbell, Courteney Cox and David Arquette and paired them with newcomers like Barrera, Ortega, Jack Quaid and Dylan Minnette. And the DNA remained largely the same — once again, a serial killer in a Ghostface mask comes up with grisly and creative ways to dispatch the townspeople of Woodsboro, California, an idyllic community with a great school system and a shockingly low life expectancy.

STXfilms Acquires Worldwide Rights to Melissa Barrera-Starrer “Bed Rest”

Posted on October 25, 2021 by Tom Castaneda

Melissa Barrera’s latest project is going global…

STXfilms has acquired the worldwide rights to Bed Rest, a supernatural thriller to star the 31-year-old Mexican actress/singer and In The Heights star.

Writer-director Lori Evans Taylor will make her directorial debut on the project.

After years of struggling to start a family, Julie Rivers (Barrera) is pregnant again and moving into a new home with her husband as they embrace a fresh start. Upon being ordered to mandatory bed rest, Julie begins to slowly unravel as she suffers through the monotony and anxiety of her new constraints. Soon, terrifying ghostly experiences in the home begin to close in on Julie, stirring up her past demons and causing others to question her mental stability. Trapped and forced to face her past and the supernatural, Julie fights to protect herself and her unborn baby.

Bed Rest is being produced by William Sherak, James Vanderbilt, and Paul Neinstein through their Project X banner, along with Evans Taylor and Barrera. Cameras roll next month in Winnipeg.

STXfilms will release Bed Rest directly in the US, UK and Ireland, and in the rest of the world through its network of foreign distribution partners.

“Bed Rest is a chilling supernatural cinematic thriller,” said Adam Fogelson, chairman, STXfilms Motion Picture Group. “Lori Evans Taylor’s script was on the Black List for a reason: her compelling writing comes from a personal point of view we haven’t often seen on the big screen, and that will elevate the material. We’re also big believers in Melissa Barrera’s talent as an actress to bring this character to life. Horror has been a consistently successful genre for us at STX, and as a studio with a strong track record supporting female filmmakers, we are proud to be releasing Lori’s directorial debut. We’re also thrilled to be in business with William, James, Paul and the Team at Project X on a movie that will keep audiences riveted.”

Project X partners Sherak, Vanderbilt and Neinstein added, “We have known Lori both personally and professionally for years and have always been huge fans of her writing. This screenplay was so unnerving and deeply felt, we knew she was the right director to bring this to the screen. We had just worked with Melissa on Scream, where we saw her incredible talent first hand. We’re thrilled to have put them together, and that our longtime friends at STX will be our partners on this project. Their success with low and mid budget films and their commitment to female and diverse talent, both in front of and behind the camera, make them the ideal home for this film.”

In addition to In the Heights, and the upcoming Scream from Spyglass Media and Paramount, Barrera starred in the musical Carmen, and the Netflix series Breathe. She previously starred in the Starz series Vida and the independent film All The World Is Sleeping, which recently premiered at the New York Latino Film Festival. She was recently announced as Clinique’s new Global Ambassador.

Melissa Barrera to Star in “Scream 5”

Posted on August 17, 2020 by Tom Castaneda

Melissa Barrera is ready to Scream…

The 30-year-old Mexican actress, who recently ended her three-season run on Starz’s Vida, has landed akey role in Scream 5.

Barrera is the first new cast member to be announced for the anticipated Spyglass Media and Paramount Pictures relaunch.

Friends alum and legacy cast member Courteney Cox will be reprising her role in the franchise as dogged reporter Gale Weathers alongside David Arquette, who is coming back as Dewey Riley. Neve Campbell, who portrayed Sidney Prescott in the slasher film, told press in May that she was in talks to join the movie.

Cameras are due to roll in Wilmington, North Carolina, this fall and the project is due to wrap by year’s end. Additional casting is underway on the ensemble horror.

Scream 5 is being directed by Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett from a screenplay by James Vanderbilt and Guy Busick.

Creator Kevin Williamson and Chad Villella are executive producing.

The Scream franchise, through four films dating back to 1996, has grossed more than $600M at the global box office. The late Wes Craven directed all four movies. Williamson wrote the original film as well as Scream 2 and Scream 4.

Barrera, who was named to Variety’s 10 Latinxs to Watch list earlier this year, will next appear in Warner Bros.’ film adaptation of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Tony Award-winning Broadway musical hit In The Heights. That film is due for release next year.

This fall she’ll star as the title character in the film Carmen, the modern-day reimagining of the classic opera. The movie will mark the feature debut of Black Swan choreographer Benjamin Millepied and will feature music from composer Nicholas Britell and Grammy winner Julieta Venegas.

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