Every ‘Scream’ Movie Ranked from Worst to Best

The original film starred Neve Campbell, Courteney Cox, and David Arquette, with an unforgettable cameo from Drew Barrymore, and the franchise has added such actors as Sarah Michelle Gellar, Jada Pinkett, Liev Schreiber, Parker Posey, Hayden Panettiere, Jack Quaid, Melissa Barrera, and Jenna Ortega over the years.

With six previous movies, the franchise has gone on to gross over $900 million at the box office. The latest installment, ‘Scream 7‘, once again stars Campbell and Cox, and opens in theaters on February 27th.

In honor of the new film, Moviefone is counting down every ‘Scream’ movie ever made from worst to best, including the latest.

Let’s begin!

Related Article: David Arquette Talks Crime Drama ‘Mob Cops’ and Returning for ‘Scream 7’

(L to R) Parker Posey and Courteney Cox Arquette in ‘Scream 3’. Photo: Dimension Films.

As bodies begin dropping around the Hollywood set of STAB 3, the third film based on the gruesome Woodsboro killings, Sidney (Neve Campbell) and other survivors are once again terrorized by another Ghostface killer.

“The most terrifying scream is always the last.”

Release Date: Feb 4, 2000

Run Time: 1 hr 56 min

Budget: $40,000,000

---

Hayden Panettiere in ‘Scream 4’. Photo: Dimension Films.

Ten years after the original Woodsboro murders, one of the survivors returns home to promote their new book about surviving trauma, only for a new Ghostface killer to emerge, targeting a new group of teens.

Release Date: Apr 15, 2011

Run Time: 1 hr 51 min

Budget: $40,000,000

---

Courteney Cox stars in Paramount Pictures and Spyglass Media Group’s ‘Scream 7.’

When a new Ghostface killer emerges in the quiet town where Sidney Prescott (Neve Campbell) has built a new life, her darkest fears are realized as her daughter becomes the next target. Determined to protect her family, Sidney must face the horrors of her past to put an end to the bloodshed once and for all.

Release Date: Feb 27, 2026

Run Time: 1 hr 54 min

Budget: $45,000,000

---

(L to R) Melissa Barrera (Sam Carpenter) and Jenna Ortega (Tara Carpenter) stars in Paramount Pictures and Spyglass Media Group’s ‘Scream VI.’

Following the latest Ghostface killings, the four survivors leave Woodsboro behind and start a fresh chapter. In ‘Scream VI’, Melissa Barrera (“Sam Carpenter”), Jasmin Savoy Brown (“Mindy Meeks-Martin”), Mason Gooding (“Chad Meeks-Martin”), Jenna Ortega (“Tara Carpenter”), Hayden Panettiere (“Kirby Reed”) and Courteney Cox (“Gale Weathers”) return to their roles in the franchise alongside Jack Champion, Henry Czerny, Liana Liberato, Dermot Mulroney, Devyn Nekoda, Tony Revolori, Josh Segarra, and Samara Weaving.

Release Date: Mar 10, 2023

Run Time: 2 hr 3 min

Budget: $33,000,000

---

Neve Campbell (“Sidney Prescott”) stars in Paramount Pictures and Spyglass Media Group’s “Scream.”

Twenty-five years after a streak of brutal murders shocked the quiet town of Woodsboro, a new killer has donned the Ghostface mask and begins targeting a group of teenagers to resurrect secrets from the town’s deadly past.

“It’s always someone you know.”

Release Date: Jan 14, 2022

Run Time: 1 hr 54 min

Budget: $24,000,000

---

2. ‘Scream 2’ (1997)

Sarah Michelle Gellar in ‘Scream 2’. Photo: Dimension Films.

Two years after the Woodsboro murders, Sidney Prescott (Neve Campbell) acclimates to college life while someone donning the Ghostface costume begins a new string of killings.

“Someone has taken their love of sequels one step too far.”

Release Date: Dec 12, 1997

Run Time: 2 hr

Budget: $24,000,000

---

Drew Barrymore in ‘Scream’. Photo: Dimension Films.

A year after the murder of her mother, a teenage girl (Neve Campbell) is terrorized by a masked killer who targets her and her friends by using scary movies as part of a deadly game.

“Someone has taken their love of scary movies one step too far. Solving this mystery is going to be murder.”

Release Date: Dec 20, 1996

Run Time: 1 hr 52 min

Budget: $14,000,000