The original Scream trilogy has a departure date on Netflix. According to Collider, the streamer announced this week that August 23 is the last day viewers can watch the first three films in the franchise. After that date, Scream (1996), Scream 2, and Scream 3 will be gone from the platform.
The newer entries in the series are not going anywhere. Scream (2022) and Scream 6 (2023) will remain on Netflix after the older films are removed.
The departures come during what has shaped up to be a banner year for horror at the box office. One film that has dominated the conversation is Obsession, directed by Curry Barker. Made for $750,000, it grossed over $475 million worldwide, making it one of the most profitable movies ever made. It is now streaming on Peacock and is expected to factor into next year's Oscar race.
The other major horror release of 2026 is Backrooms, produced by A24 and directed by Kane Parsons. That film has earned nearly $400 million at the global box office and is set to arrive on HBO Max soon.
Earlier in the year, a third horror title also performed well. Scream 7, the latest sequel in the franchise that began in the 1990s, opened in late February and grossed over $200 million at the box office against a $45 million budget. That film is currently streaming on Paramount Plus.
The original trilogy's removal from Netflix draws a clear line between the legacy installments and the more recent rebooted continuations. Fans wanting to revisit the Wes Craven originals before August 23 still have a two-week window to do so.
