'Scream,' 'Spider-Man' set to make more bank in weekend movies
Two new films pursue a wide release this weekend - but with relatively low profiles, they'll be hard pressed to top the Spider or the Scream.

Scream (VIAC, VIACA) and Spider-Man: No Way Home
(NYSE:SONY) are likely to hold their spots atop the box office for another weekend, in some order or another.

That's good news for Paramount and Sony respectively; while the films are showing some relative COVID-era strength, the jury's still out on whether the box office at large can return to pre-pandemic glories.

Spider-Man is the "pro" case there. Last weekend, despite omicron-variant cases surging, it became the fourth-biggest domestic theatrical grosser ever, though it may come to rest there with the No. 3 film, Avatar, about $58 million ahead.
The worldwide list may still present more milestones to achieve, though: Spider-Man needs just under $38 million more to pass up The Lion King and Jurassic World to become No. 6 on that list.
As for the "box office will never be the same" case, Scream is the bona fide hit of the moment, bur after drawing $30 million in its debut weekend, the chances are iffy that it can match the first two films in the franchise series. The original Scream in 1996 finished with $103 million domestically and another $70 million internationally, while its sequel Scream 2 a year later did similar numbers ($101.4 million domestic, $172.4 million worldwide).
Taking their shot this weekend in wide release: Biblically based romance Redeeming Love
(NASDAQ:CMCSA) and fairy-tale book adaptation The King's Daughter (Gravitas Ventures). (The next high-profile wide releases come in two weeks, with Moonfall (LGF.A, LGF.B) and Jackass Forever (VIAC, VIACA)).