'Scream 6' Sets New Franchise Box Office Record Without Neve Campbell

Neve Campbell skipped out on the latest 'Scream' movie due to money negotiations -- but the studio's decision to move on seems to have paid off regardless ... big time, in fact.

'Scream 6,' which just hit theaters Friday, smashed through an opening weekend box office record that the films before it had set ... raking in about $44.5 million domestically through Sunday, which blows out the previous benchmark set by 'Scream 2' years ago -- $32 mil.

Last year's "Scream V" came close to touching that, with about $30 mil through 3 days of a 4-day holiday weekend ... but this new figure is by and far the best any of these movies have ever done. Paramount's gotta be happy -- it only cost $35M to make this latest slasher.

Interestingly ... they achieved this without Neve, which was a gamble. Fact is, she's been the face of the 'Scream' franchise since the start ... and her decision to exit last year was controversial. She claimed Paramount wouldn't pay her what she thought she was worth.

At the time, Neve was quoted as saying ... "As a woman I have had to work extremely hard in my career to establish my value, especially when it comes to 'Scream.' I felt the offer that was presented to me did not equate to the value I have brought to the franchise. It’s been a very difficult decision to move on. To all my 'Scream' fans, I love you." Yeah ... scathing.

And yet ... her former costar, Courteney Cox, did take the money and sign on again -- reprising her role as Gale Weathers, and referencing NC's character, Sidney, in passing.

David Arquette -- another longtime fan fave, who was killed off in the last movie -- has actually been somewhat promoting "Scream VI" on IG -- but Neve hasn't uttered a peep about it ... focusing instead on other projects she's working on, including more horror stuff.

Funny enough, legacy characters (like Neve's) are actually alluded to in the new installment (yes, we've seen it). Ghostface, at one point, talks about how nobody cares about long-standing heroes from decades past ... and that the "rules" of re-quels have totally changed.

It would appear that sentiment held true in offscreen in real life as well, especially with a solid new young cast that everyone likes -- Jenna Ortega, Melissa Barrera, etc. Oh, and Ghostface himself ... he's kinda the one who gets asses in seats ... or so it seems, anyway.