When it came time to boycott “Scream 7,” the movie’s dissidents were not afraid to play dirty. No one wants to go into a new “Scream” film already knowing who the killer is. The entire dramatic crux of the series depends on the viewer not being able to guess which member of the cast has donned the Ghostface mask and has been slashing their way through their friend group. Fans’ curiosity drives the dramatic tension. Without the whodunit suspense, a “Scream” film is little more than a handful of co-eds running toward a dead end instead of out the front door, and in the case of the newer films, thin nostalgia bait that sees its value plummeting to zero the moment a spoiler leaks. And that’s precisely why the franchise’s disappointed fans and their frustrated allies spent the months ahead of the seventh installment’s February 27 release spreading and spoiling all of the film’s climactic reveals.
Crucial “Scream 7” narrative details began circulating as far back as late 2025. By January, entire plot summaries were floating around social media, while the movie-logging platform Letterboxd was review-bombed with leaks and poor ratings. Boycotters were not afraid to go low. To them, it was an eye for an eye — well-earned justice after the film’s production company, Spyglass Media, fired the franchise’s new final girl, Melissa Barrera, after Barrera posted on social media in support of Palestine in late 2023. And as public sentiment has continued to shift toward Barrera’s view over the last two-and-a-half years, support for the boycott intensified, backed by the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement, Film Workers for Palestine and more. Almost overnight, “Scream 7” became a politicized film. And as is the case with most politicized issues these days, the boycott was met with its own stalwart opposition, dead set on supporting the film not just despite the boycott, but because of it. While there’s no doubt the boycott irreversibly shifted public perception of the franchise in its rebooted state, “Scream 7” managed a record-breaking opening weekend gross of $63.6 million, the franchise’s largest before inflation is adjusted. Like it or not, “Scream 7” was proof that all films — even the goriest, silliest slashers — have the potential to be political.
