Scary Movie Ranking: Where Does Scary Movie 2026 Stack Up Against the Series?

Few genres are harder to build a franchise in than comedy. However, Scary Movie returns to theaters this weekend, with more clout than ever before. While the last movie landed with a bit of a thud, the return of the Wayans Brothers to the series has sparked new interest. Of course, we rewatched everything in the run-up to the new film, and we couldn’t help but do a Scary Movie ranking to celebrate its return to theaters.

6 Scary Movie 5

Directed by Malcom D. Lee

Sometimes, it is clear from the jump that a movie does not have it. That’s the case with Scary Movie 5, a movie so bad that almost none of its jokes are even memorable. While the era it was released in had few cross-cultural hits, there is a funny parody to be made from the Paranormal Activity and Insidious movies. Unfortunately, this is not it. Perhaps we all should have known just how bad it would be when multiple franchise stars returned as completely different characters. Ashley Tisdale does her best, but she’s no replacement for Anna Faris.

5 Scary Movie 4

Directed by David Zucker

There’s really one major sin that drops Scary Movie 4 below the rest of the franchise. Losing Simon Rex might not have killed this movie, but replacing him with Craig Bierko doing a bad Tom Cruise impression is disastrous. Over-indexing on War of the Worlds has not aged well, especially since its longest legacy seems tied to the Cruise meltdown. While moments from The Grudge gags and Saw jokes still play well, Scary Movie 4 has few memorable moments outside of these spoofs. It feels like David Zucker had lost his fastball by the time Scary Movie 4 hit production.

4 Scary Movie (2026)

Directed by Michael Tiddes

There’s a lot to like in the new Scary Movie, but it does have to rely on humor from within the franchise to get many of its biggest laughs. The Wayans’ return to the franchise is felt, with the movie questioning plot holes and fourth-wall-breaking moments effectively. It is, in many ways, about their absence from the franchise as a whole, making it somewhat confrontational at times. At the same time, it does not always land its commentary on the legacy sequel trend, in part because it engages in the same nostalgia baiting on occasion.

3 Scary Movie (2000)

Directed by Kennen Ivory Wayans

When the first Scary Movie landed in theaters, it was seen as a possible revival of the spoof movie. However, it’s surprising how well it holds up over twenty-five years after the first one hit theaters. With jokes hitting the now canonized Scream and I Know What You Did Last Summer, there’s a surprisingly strong spine to the movie. There are undeniably jokes that do not play well today, but on the whole, the humor does a good job of critiquing the teen horror movie and the personalities that rose to prominence in the era.

2 Scary Movie 3 (2003)

Directed by David Zucker

On its face, Scary Movie 3 has many of the issues that would eventually sink the larger “movie” franchise. Many of the best entries in the series are focused on horror films, and Scary Movie 3 starts the unfortunate divergence that would lead to Date Movie, Superhero Movie, and Disaster Movie. That said, the level of performance from new cast members becomes a saving grace for Scary Movie 3.

Zucker uses his preexisting relationships to loop in Leslie Nielsen and Charlie Sheen, both of whom are perfect fits for their characters. Nielsen, in particular, is unbelievably funny. Playing on his career gags and his oddity, he is the MVP of the movie. Simon Rex becomes a low-key MVP of this movie, in part because he’s willing to be a punching bag. Anthony Anderson and Kevin Hart play parodies of characters from other movies, but they’re effective in transitioning the franchise.

1 Scary Movie 2 (2001)

Directed by Kennen Ivory Wayans

The funniest of the series gets a lot of mileage out of classic horror features. While its primary storyline involves a parody of The Haunting, it plays with dozens of moments from iconic haunted house movies. With an intro that makes use of celebrity cameos and The Exorcist, the ball gets rolling fast. The real MVPs here are Anna Faris stepping into leading lady status. Most of the humor comes at her expense, but you can actually feel Faris leveling up from the previous film. Regina Hall embraces the excentricity of Brenda, while both Shawn and Marlon Wayans get to be funnier than ever in this movie.

Another huge benefit that allows Scary Movie 2 to stand out is the inclusion of alt-comedy legends doing great character work. While Tim Curry has certainly been better, David Cross and Chris Elliott add an incredible competition to out-weird each other. While Chris Masterson did not get the boost he hoped for in Scary Movie 2, it’s mostly because the rest of the cast is firing on all cylinders. Even a parody of a Nike commercial plays, proving the Wayans could pull off any comedy they wanted at this moment.

Scary Movie is now in theaters. Paramount Pictures distributes.