She-Hulk Actress Tatiana Maslany’s Scream 7 Boycott Call Falls Flat as Film Eyes Record Opening

Despite calls for a Scream 7 boycott from She-Hulk: Attorney at Law actress Tatiana Maslany, the latest installment in the long-running horror franchise is off to a strong start at the box office.

Maslany urged fans on social media to skip the film amid the ongoing controversy surrounding the removal of Melissa Barrera from the project over activist social media posts concerning Palestine. However, early ticket sales suggest the online backlash has had little measurable impact on audience turnout.

According to Variety, Paramount and Spyglass’ Scream 7 is currently tracking toward roughly $60 million domestically, with the potential to climb higher depending on weekend momentum. If the estimate holds, the film will mark the biggest opening weekend in the franchise’s 30-year history.

Boycott Calls Follow Barrera Controversy

Maslany’s comments come in the wake of Barrera’s removal from the film in 2023 after social media posts related to the Israel-Hamas conflict. The situation led to significant changes behind the scenes.

A screenshot from the trailer for Scream 7 – YouTube, Paramount Pictures

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Barrera had been positioned as a central figure in the franchise’s recent revival era. Following her exit, co-star Jenna Ortega and director Christopher Landon also departed the project, prompting rewrites and a creative pivot.

Online activists called for audiences to avoid the film in the months that followed. So far, box office performance indicates the campaign has not significantly affected turnout.

Audience Interest Remains Strong

Early audience tracking helps explain the film’s resilience.

Per Screen Engine/Comscore PostTrak data reported by Variety:

• 56% of moviegoers attended because they are fans of the franchise
• 30% cited the cast as their primary draw
• Overall definite recommend stands at 61%

A screenshot from the trailer for Scream 7 – YouTube, Paramount Pictures

While that recommend score is solid for the horror genre, it does fall below the 74% earned by Scream VI, which starred Ortega and Barrera.

Still, the data suggests the absence of the duo has not materially hurt opening weekend demand.

Critics and Audiences Diverge

Critical reception to Scream 7 has been notably mixed.

• Rotten Tomatoes critics score: 34%
• Audience score: 78%

Rotten Tomatoes scores for Scream 7 – YouTube, Paramount Pictures

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The gap reflects a broader trend in franchise filmmaking, where professional critical response and general audience sentiment increasingly diverge. Whether that audience enthusiasm holds in subsequent weeks will be an important indicator of the film’s long-term performance.

Legacy Cast Helps Anchor the Franchise

One stabilizing factor may be the return of franchise veterans Neve Campbell and Courteney Cox, whose presence appears to have reassured longtime fans.

A screenshot from the trailer for Scream 7 – YouTube, Paramount Pictures

With more than half of surveyed viewers citing franchise loyalty as their primary reason for attending, Scream 7 demonstrates that brand strength remains a powerful driver at the box office.

A Test Case for Modern Hollywood Influence

The early performance of Scream 7 offers a revealing snapshot of where Hollywood’s cultural influence ecosystem currently stands. For years, studios, stars, and media figures operated under the assumption that coordinated online pressure and negative critical consensus could meaningfully shape audience behavior. Increasingly, however, theatrical results suggest the relationship is far more limited — particularly for long-running genre franchises with deeply embedded fan bases.

Celebrity activism still generates headlines and social media engagement, but its ability to materially affect box office outcomes appears inconsistent at best. In the case of Scream 7, the boycott push clearly amplified online conversation, yet early turnout indicates that many moviegoers either tuned out the surrounding discourse or prioritized franchise loyalty over industry controversy. That gap between digital noise and consumer action continues to widen.

(L-R): Tatiana Maslany as She-Hulk/Jennifer “Jen” Walters and Drew Matthews as Dennis Bukowski in Marvel Studios‘ She-Hulk: Attorney at Law, exclusively on Disney+. Photo courtesy of Marvel Studios. © 2022 MARVEL.

At the same time, the film’s critic-audience split adds another data point to the ongoing debate over the influence of professional access critics. While critical reviews remain part of the marketing ecosystem, the modern audience — armed with social media reactions, user scores, and franchise familiarity — appears increasingly willing to make independent viewing decisions. When a horror sequel can post a strong opening despite a sharply negative Tomatometer score, it suggests the traditional gatekeeping role of critics is evolving rather than disappearing.

If current trends hold, Scream 7 may ultimately be remembered less for the controversy surrounding it and more as another example of a shifting power dynamic in modern Hollywood — one where brand strength and fan investment continue to outweigh online campaigns and critical consensus.

How do you feel about this Scream 7 boycott? Sound off in the comments and let us know!

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