The late ‘90s was a time rife with teen slashers and horror flicks. After theScreamfranchise first donned a Ghostface mask in 1996, the popularity of similar titles proved to be financially successful, thus launching a slew of fresh classics likeI Know What You Did Last Summer,The Haunting,The Faculty,Urban Legend,The Craft, and so many more. As an answer to this uptick in spooky-scary features, the Wayans brothers —Keenan Ivory Wayans,Marlon Wayans, andShawn Wayans— joined forces to give audiences the spoof film they didn’t know they needed with 2000’sScary Movie. Thanks to its massive popularity, the debut film spawned a franchise — essentially making the movies a parody of themselves. And now, with a sixth installment on the way, audiences are reliving where it all began, asFlixPatrolreveals thatScary Movieis climbing up Paramount+’s Top 10 list in more than 15 countries around the world.
Largely leaning into the firstScreamandI Know What You Did Last Summer,Scary Moviecenters around a group of teenagers who accidentally run over a man with their car and decide to dump his body in a lake. One year later, their secret comes back to haunt them after they’re stalked and killed by a masked maniac in a Ghostface costume. Although the two slasher flicks formed the foundation of the story, the feature didn’t stop there when it came to making fun of other popular movies and TV shows of the time. With favorites likeThe Sixth Sense,Buffy the Vampire Slayer,The Matrix,The Blair Witch Project, and evenThe Usual SuspectsandThe Shiningworked into the screenplay, no fan-favorite production was safe fromScary Movie.
Aside from the dumb jokes,Scary Movieworked as the kick-off to a long-running film series thanks to its stellar list of performers. In fact, many of the original cast members, like both Marlon and Shawn Wayans,Anna Faris,Regina HallandCarmen Electra,would return down the line in follow-up films. Additionally,Scary Moviealso included the likes ofJon Abrahams,Shannon Elizabeth,Cheri Oteri,Kurt Fuller,Dave Sheridan, andLochlyn Munro.
‘Scary Movie’s Massive Financial Success
While it may have critics divided over on the online ratings platform,Rotten Tomatoeswhere it currently holds a 51% approval rating,Scary Movieproved to be a staggering success at thebox office. When all was said and done, theDimension Filmsproject managed to completely eclipse its $19 million budget by raking in an impressive $278 million at the global box office. With its monetary gains in mind, it certainly isn’t a surprise that the franchise was quickly given the greenlight for a sequel.
Head over to Paramount+ now to streamScary Moviebefore the latest installment haunts cinemas next year.
Scary Movie
