Should Scream 7 Be A Christmas Movie?

Scream 7 will now begin filming in December 2024 after significant delays to production, due to Kevin Williamson and Neve Campbell's busy schedules. This filming delay will most likely lead to a release date for the upcoming sequel towards the end of 2025. The original Scream movie was released in the US on December 20, 1996, and despite not being set at Christmas, it will forever be associated with the festive holiday season. There have been some rumors to suggest Scream 7 could be set during the Christmas holiday break. Seen as filming is taking place in December, followed by a possible release date around that time the following year, there's a real chance Scream 7 could be a Christmas movie.

If Scream 7 takes a big creative risk and is set at Christmas, it wouldn't be the first slasher movie to pick the festive season as a backdrop to all the murder and mayhem. The most famous festive slasher movie is, of course, Black Christmas, released in 1974, and remade twice in 2006 and 2019 respectively. 2023 saw the release of It's A Wonderful Knife, which was a unique spin on the classic Christmas movie, It's A Wonderful Life. The horror genre is all about following certain trends, and if the Christmas slasher movies continue to surface, Scream 7 could be one of a long list of scary movies opting for a snowy festive setting.

A Christmas Setting Could Add A Different Dimension To Scream 7 And Make It Stand Out From The Sequels

There's something about the sight of blood in the snow that excites moviegoers. Whether it's the brutal discovery of bright red blood in the snowy backdrop of Joel and Ethan Coen's classic, Fargo, or the horror of a bloody massacre in Black Christmas, Hollywood loves to portray violence in what should be the happiest of settings.

Scream 7 is set to focus on Sidney's family, with one rumor suggesting it might be set in the school break, which would most likely be the Christmas holidays, seen as filming will take place in December. It has led to speculation that Scream 7 could actually be set at Christmas. There has never been a Scream movie set at Christmas before, so this would be a different direction to go in, and that could set it apart from previous entries in the franchise.

Many fans like to rewatch the Scream movies at different times throughout the year, so if Scream 7 is set at Christmas, it could be unpopular with the audience, as it would feel weird watching a Christmas movie in spring, summer or Autumn. Apart from Scream 6, which was set on Halloween in October, the Scream movies haven't been totally clear about when they are each set, making them more accessible for viewing at any time of year.

The 1996 original feels like a summer movie, with the sun shining brightly in the fictional town of Woodsboro, but it could quite feasibly be set during any season with the sunny Californian weather being a mainstay throughout the year. However, the decision to release Scream during the Christmas break has gone down as one of the smartest ever made in Hollywood.

Scream Was A Massive Success When It Was Released Just Before Christmas in 1996 And This Could Prompt Scream 7 To Actually Opt To Be A Christmas Movie

Scream's release date on December 20, 1996, was met with an initially muted response from the audience. It came as no surprise to the Hollywood bigwigs, who thought it would be a flop, as Christmas is usually a time when families flock to the theater to check out the latest holiday-friendly movies. Turns out, some people were in the mood for something a bit darker, and Scream would transform from its DOA status to become a global box office hit thanks to word of mouth.

Scream grossed approximately $173 million worldwide, and was shown in theaters for many months, which is absolutely unheard of in current times, with the emergence of streaming often cutting into the length of a movie's cinematic run. Fans went crazy for Scream, and it became key to revitalizing the slasher sub-genre in the 90s.

Scream 7's filming delay could end up leading to it being an actual Christmas movie, and it would seem some fans are keen on the idea. In a discussion on Reddit about the possibility of Scream 7 being set at Christmas, Redditor r/Scream was psyched for the idea:

Obviously, the upcoming sequel will be without the Core 4, so they won't be invited around for Christmas, as the original plan for Scream 7 was shelved in favor of Sidney being back as the lead character. However, the idea of Sidney, Mark and Gale gathering to celebrate the festive season, when Ghostface turns up to wreak havoc, sounds like it would be a very fun direction for Scream 7 to go in. Redditor RealmJumper15 agreed with a Christmas set Scream movie being a good idea:

Nobody knows if Kevin Williamson's plans are to make Scream 7 a Christmas movie, but if he does intend to, some fans are bound to love it, and some will hate it.