The Scary Movie franchise has returned after 13 years, but early reviews suggest the beloved horror satire series may have been better left in the past. The sixth instalment, simply titled Scary Movie, holds a brutal 32 percent score on Rotten Tomatoes, with critics panning the film ahead of its June 5 premiere.
The reboot reunites the original Core Four cast of Marlon Wayans, Shawn Wayans, Anna Faris and Regina Hall. It spoofs recent horror hits such as Ma (2019), M3GAN (2022), and 2025 blockbusters Weapons and Sinners. Despite these references, viewers have expressed disappointment over a predictable plot and outdated jokes.
At the time of writing, the film sits at 37 on Metacritic (generally unfavourable) and has an average score of 3.0 on Letterboxd. One Rotten Tomatoes user wrote: “Scary Movie 2026’s joke success rate is unfortunately on the low side, feeling like maybe 3 or 4 out of every 10 jokes hit the mark.” Another called it “a dreadful reboot that stumbles through tired, miserable ideas for comedy.”
The poor reviews come after Marlon Wayans warned the sequel could “offend people,” telling Entertainment Weekly: “We just want to make everybody laugh, and we don’t care if you’re sensitive. Even sensitive people need to laugh at themselves.” Scary Movie is in cinemas Friday with a runtime of 95 minutes.
