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In an interview with Entertainment Weekly Craven revealed that Scream 4 would “look at horror after ten years of a lot of sequels rather than original films coming up year after year.” He also added that, “we feel it’s time for something new and different, and that’s what this film is going to be.”

With a production budget of $40 million, shooting began in June 2010, during which time actors were still being cast. In July it was reported that while Williamson was working on TV series The Vampire Diaries, Ehren Kruger had stepped in to do a script polish. It’s not been revealed what changes he made, only that some people were unhappy with them. Hayden Panetierre, who plays new character Kirby, was not pleased that her character had been “dumbed down significantly.” During the shoot ,Craven would also tease fans with images, uploading one of a blood stained couch, while another showed him holding a drill, which some assumed would be featured as a murder weapon. It seemed to be his way of screwing with people’s perceptions.

In January 2011, just a couple of months before it was scheduled to open, the film was said to be undergoing reshoots following test screenings. From talking to Entertainment Weekly, Craven cleared up the matter saying how they were merely adding to two scenes. “The two scenes were really good,” said Craven. “But we saw how they could be spectacular, so we thought, let’s just go for it.”

Scream 4 opened on April 15, 2011. As the fourth film in a successful franchise, opening weekend estimates were high, with many expecting it to open to over $30 million. With a weekend take of $18.6 million, it charted at #2 behind the other new entry, Rio. After that it went into freefall, suffering weekend drops of over 60% for the next five weeks. Scream 4 spent just two weeks inside the US top ten. Its domestic gross was just $38.1 million, less than half of what Scream 3 earned over a decade earlier. As another comparison, FilmDistrict’s original PG-13 horror film Insidious opened just two weeks earlier and ended up earning $54 million at the US box office. Scream 4’s gross overseas was $58.9 million. While the previous three films had all managed to earn over $160 million worldwide, Scream 4 failed to even cross the $100 million mark, finishing with a worldwide total of $97 million. Compared to its predecessors, this was incredibly disappointing.

The film opens with teenage girls discussing films with zombies, little Asian ghost girls and Saw IV. Not only is the opening a slice of Kevin Williamson genius, but it was most probably true to life, as on the weekend Scream 4 opened there were most likely numerous teenagers having a similar conversation, discussing whether or not they should watch the film. “These sequels don’t know when to stop, they just keep recycling the same shit,” said Paquin’s character, possibly echoing what they were saying. It was something some critics had already noted. Reviews were mixed, with some of the negative ones remarking on how the film was essentially the same formula they’d seen over a decade ago. Some of the positive ones said that it was still clever and funny.

The Scream name itself should have been enough to bring in the older generation that grew up with the franchise. In an effort to attract the under 25’s, the film included a younger cast, such as Rory Culkin, Erik Knudsen, Hayden Panettiere and Emma Roberts. It seemed to work, for The Weinstein Company’s research showed that 54% of the audience that came out for the film over the opening weekend were under 25. The R-rating probably put a stop to many young teenagers, some of whom might not have viewed the previous films. Or they simply snuck into an R-rated film after purchasing their tickets for a G-rated one, which would certainly explain Rio’s triumphant win over Scream 4. I did come across one report suggesting that this is actually what happened, for during one person’s screening of Scream 4 on opening night their theater was full of teenagers.

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