Twenty-six years ago, Keenen Ivory Wayans and his brothers Shawn and Marlon walked into theaters with a raunchy, irreverent parody of the slasher genre and accidentally built one of comedy’s most enduring franchises. Now, Scary Movie has crossed $1 billion at the global box office.
The milestone comes on the back of the sixth installment, a full-circle reunion that brought the Wayans family back to the franchise they created for the first time in more than two decades. When the original Scary Movie opened in July 2000, it was a sharp, R-rated skewering of Scream and I Know What You Did Last Summer that nobody saw coming at that scale. The film grossed $278 million worldwide, introduced audiences to Cindy Campbell and Brenda Meeks, and launched a pop culture institution. Keenen Ivory Wayans directed from a script by Shawn and Marlon, and the chemistry between the family and their cast, which included Anna Faris and Regina Hall, proved impossible to replicate when the brothers stepped away after the sequel.
Scary Movie 2 followed in 2001, pivoting to supernatural horror parody and grossing $141.2 million worldwide. It would be the last installment to carry the Wayans’ direct involvement for nearly a quarter century. David Zucker took over the director’s chair for Scary Movie 3 in 2003, which pivoted to PG-13 and grossed $220.6 million, and Scary Movie 4 in 2006, which added $178.2 million. By the time Scary Movie 5 arrived in 2013 under director Malcolm D. Lee, without Faris or Hall, the franchise had run out of steam, grossing just $78.3 million and marking its lowest-performing entry.
Then Miramax boss Jonathan Glickman and producer Marc Weinstock had an idea: bring the Wayans back. The 2026 reboot, financed entirely by Miramax and distributed by Paramount, reunited Keenen Ivory Wayans, Marlon Wayans and Shawn Wayans as writers and producers for the first time since 2001, with Faris and Regina Hall also returning. Michael Tiddes directed, with Cheri Oteri and Dave Sheridan also back in the fold.
The result was the franchise’s biggest opening weekend ever. The film debuted to $105.5 million worldwide and has since grossed $100.5 million domestically and $108 million internationally in three weeks for a current global total of $208.5 million. Made for just $30 million before prints and advertising, it is the first pure R-rated comedy to cross $100 million domestically since Girls Trip in 2017.
Here is how the franchise’s global totals break down across all six films:
Scary Movie (2000) — $278 million
Scary Movie 2 (2001) — $141.2 million
Scary Movie 3 (2003) — $220.6 million
Scary Movie 4 (2006) — $178.2 million
Scary Movie 5 (2013) — $78.3 million
Scary Movie (2026) — $208.5 million and counting
Total: $1.1 billion
Scary Movie joins The Devil Wears Prada as the second franchise to cross $1 billion at the worldwide box office this summer.