Scream 4

Scream 4
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Wes Craven
Written by	Kevin Williamson
Based on	Characters by Kevin Williamson
Produced by	Wes Craven Iya Labunka Kevin Williamson
Starring	David Arquette Neve Campbell Courteney Cox Emma Roberts Hayden Panettiere Anthony Anderson Alison Brie Adam Brody Rory Culkin Marielle Jaffe Erik Knudsen Mary McDonnell Marley Shelton Nico Tortorella
Cinematography	Peter Deming
Edited by	Peter McNulty
Music by	Marco Beltrami
Production companies	Corvus Corax Productions[1] Outerbanks Entertainment[1] The Weinstein Company[1]
Distributed by	Dimension Films[1]
Release dates	April 11, 2011 (2011-04-11) (TCL Chinese Theatre) April 15, 2011 (2011-04-15) (United States)
Running time	111 minutes[2]
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$40 million[2]
Box office	$97.2 million[2]

Scream 4 (stylized as SCRE4M) is a 2011 American slasher film directed by Wes Craven and written by Kevin Williamson. Produced by Outerbanks Entertainment and distributed by Dimension Films, it is a sequel to Scream 3 (2000) and the fourth installment in the Scream film series. The film stars David Arquette, Neve Campbell, Courteney Cox, Emma Roberts, Hayden Panettiere, Anthony Anderson, Alison Brie, Adam Brody, Rory Culkin, Marielle Jaffe, Erik Knudsen, Mary McDonnell, Marley Shelton, Nico Tortorella, and Roger L. Jackson. The film takes place on the fifteenth anniversary of the original Woodsboro murders from Scream (1996) and involves Sidney Prescott (Campbell) returning to the town after ten years, where Ghostface once again begins killing students from Woodsboro High. Like its predecessors, Scream 4 combines the violence of the slasher genre with elements of black comedy and "whodunit" mystery to satirize the clichés of film remakes. The film also provides commentary on the extensive usage of social media and the obsession with internet fame.

The series was originally intended to be a trilogy, concluding with Scream 3. However, in June 2008, The Weinstein Company announced a fourth film was in development, with Craven confirmed to direct in March 2010. In September 2009, Arquette, Campbell, and Cox were announced to be returning, after which the casting process lasted between April and September 2010. Principal photography began in June 2010 and ended in September that same year, taking place in and around Ann Arbor, Michigan. Scenes set in and around Woodsboro High School were actually filmed at Woodworth Middle School in Dearborn, Michigan. During production, Ehren Kruger, who previously wrote the screenplay for Scream 3, was hired for script rewrites. Reshoots were filmed in early 2011, following test screenings.

Scream 4 premiered at the TCL Chinese Theatre in Los Angeles on April 11, 2011, and was released in the United States on April 15, 2011, by Dimension Films. The film received mixed reviews from critics at the time of its release, earning praise for its performances, direction, and humor but criticism for the lack of scares and reliance on clichéd formulas. However, many considered it to be an improvement over its predecessor, and it has enjoyed several positive reappraisals since, particularly for its prescient examination of the impact of social media.^[3][4][5] It grossed $97 million worldwide on a budget of $40 million, becoming the lowest-grossing film in the Scream franchise.

Scream 4 was the final film to be directed by Craven before his death in 2015. It was followed by the anthology television series Scream (2015–2019), which was developed for MTV without the involvement of the main cast or crew of the films, although Jackson returned to voice Ghostface in the third season. A fifth film that is a direct sequel, simply titled Scream, was released on January 14, 2022, by Paramount Pictures.