With SCREAM 4 opening yesterday in a whopping 3,300 theaters the verdict is still out on what the film will gross on its initial weekend. Going head to head with 20th Century Fox’s family film RIO (which is in 3D) will no doubt be a tough opponent the "hard R" rated horror fest. The question fans will be itching to know is what is going to happen with SCREAM 5 and 6?If you rewind back to July 14, 2008 when SCREAM 4 was initially announced the Weinstein Company was billing it as a start of a "brand new trilogy". Screen writer Kevin Williamson has stated that he even penned a rough script for the 5th and 6th installments. This however took place before the studio brought writer Ethan Krueger in to rewrite much of Williamson's script which caused a huge uproar during the initial week of shooting the 4th installment as much of the cast saw their parts being changed and altered.
Fast forward to this, the opening weekend for the film. Without giving away any spoilers a 5th and 6th film in the series seems much harder to imagine but this is horror. Wes Craven has already stated that he would be interested in coming back for the next two films, completing the proposed "new trilogy".The question now becomes, does this all depend on the box office numbers? Well of course you're thinking. But again, do we need another two films in the series? And what exactly do they Weinsteins project as a "lucrative" opportunity to create the next two films? Remember, HALLOWEEN 3 was greenlit during the opening weekend of Rob Zombie's H2 with no movement at all taking place. Not to mention a sequel to the remakes of FRIDAY THE 13TH and A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET.What is the "magic" number that the studio needs to see here and do you the fans want to see the story continue? This of course is geared to those of you that have already saw the film. With a solid Thursday "midnight" showing and strong potive reviews from at the younger (18-24) crowd that turned out in strong numbers, time will tell. Is $20 million for the opening weekend enough? How about $30 or $40 million? At what point does the money start dictating more films in the series and does the series warrant two more films?
It will no doubt be interesting to see how things unfold. We will be here with you all weekend with non stop coverage and updates on how well the film is performing. Stay tuned and we would love to hear your thoughts as well.