Keeping a Franchise Alive: Scream VI Releases to Smashing Success

Scream VI picks up where Scream left off. Half-sisters Sam and Tara Carpenter now both live in New York. Tara is adapting and has moved on after the brutal killings, but Sam is struggling. Especially after getting called in for questioning after it looks like Ghostface has struck again—in the city. What unfolds is a bloody rampage through the streets of the Big Apple that pays homage to the original movies while amping up the gore and violence in all the right spots.

And don’t just take our word for it. The movie brought in over $160 million worldwide, earned rave reviews from critics, and currently sits at a 77% critic rating and a whopping 91% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes. It was also the first Scream movie to be released in 3D.

That kind of success is incredible, as generally speaking movies tend to lose their spark the longer a franchise goes on. So, how did they do it?

To match the slogan, “New York. New Rules”, Paramount launched a marketing campaign that had people calling 911. No really.

Ghostface took to the streets. The actual streets, and made appearances in creepy, silent horror movie fashion across the country from Sonoma to New York City. There was no warning when or where Ghostface would appear, but Paramount did call local police departments ahead of time to let them know they might get some calls. 

The residents of Sonoma were slightly panicked at the masked, knife-wielding menace roaming their streets, and soon after photos of the silently screaming killer popped up in Flagstaff, New Orleans, St. Louis, and Cripple Creek, Colorado to name a few locations. Ghostface even appeared at the top of the Empire State Building. Many of these sightings were strategically designed to appear on live cameras and in the case of Sonoma, near locations where the initial Scream movies were filmed.

While a few wandering murderers certainly get buzz, it doesn’t necessarily get people into theaters. But the Scream team had a lot more up their floating sleeves.

Nothing goes better with screaming than snacks. And the Scream related food promos were out of this world.

First, Utopia Bagels in New York partnered with the franchise and offered blood red bagels, ghost pepper cheese, ghostflakes, and scream cheese in five pop up locations around New York to celebrate the release of the movie to the streaming platform Paramount+. Each location gave away free bagels to the first 50 customers, and fans lined up.

Nothing goes better with screaming than snacks. And the Scream related food promos were out of this world.

First, Utopia Bagels in New York partnered with the franchise and offered blood red bagels, ghost pepper cheese, ghostflakes, and scream cheese in five pop up locations around New York to celebrate the release of the movie to the streaming platform Paramount+. Each location gave away free bagels to the first 50 customers, and fans lined up.

The Scream VI team also partnered with B.J Novack and chef Tim Hollingsworth’s pop-up restaurant Chain in Los Angeles. They created a “Stabby Meal”, complete with word games printed on the outside of the cardboard boax. Inside, guests dined on Bone Marrow Chainburger, Throwback Fries, Woodsboro Orchards Apple Pie, and one of four character pins as the prize. They also offered a variety of themes drinks.

But the best part of this dine-in experience were all the Scream details. Bob’s Big Boy gleefully holding a burger with a bloody knife sticking out. Grimace but dressed as Casey Becker. And Ghostface himself stalked through the crowd. The place allegedly sold out in twelve seconds.

In Santa Monica, fans got the opportunity to walk through an exclusive Scream VI experience. Complete with a recreated New York bodega filled with Scream Easter eggs like Gail Weather novels and killer snacks, the immersive walk-through mimics a ride through the subway, a stroll down blood-red alleys, and a trophy room featured in the trailer. Enshrined in glass cases, the memorabilia holds everything from bloody clothes, murder weapons, sketches of the killings, shrines to victims, and more.

The social media team worked overtime to make sure that no matter what feed you were scrolling, content was available. Cast members created a bunch of videos detailing how to survive a scary movie, rules for riding the subway, and guess that scream. They also had a fun game of what’s in the body bag.

Even Paris got in on the fun when the Grévin Museum replaced a wax sculpture with an actor and delighted in scaring visitors. All of this meant that no matter where you were in the world, Scream VI was generating a lot of screams.

But all the marketing in the world can’t prop up a bad movie. We mentioned the rave reviews, but part of what made Scream VI such a success was how the writers and filmmakers stayed true to the original films. And part of that was weaving in plenty of hidden Easter eggs for fans to find.

Everything from strategically placed iconic horror movies playing in one of the first victim’s apartments to putting a widely recognized wedding dress into a scene. Hint: it was worn by an actress in another movie by the same directors. The duo also made cameo appearances. They even made sure to give a tongue-in-cheek nod to Wes Craven in ‘Abe’s Snake Bodega’. If you know, you know.

Scream VI is available to stream on Paramount+, and can be purchases through Amazon Prime, iTunes, Google Play, and YouTube.