Kevin Bacon’s 1990 creature feature Tremors has climbed back onto one of streaming’s most-watched lists, sitting at number six on Paramount+’s US top movies as of July 5, 2026. The film has been on the Paramount+ chart for two days, per FlixPatrol, and slid five positions from the number one spot after Top Gun: Maverick and Scream 7 took over the top of the list. The renewed visibility lands at a notable moment for the franchise, with the original creators having just won back the rights to the original script and openly discussing a return to Perfection, Nevada.
Tremors has been a steady cult favorite since its original $11 million-budgeted theatrical run in January 1990, where it pulled in $16.7 million at the box office for Universal Pictures. Co-creators S. S. Wilson and Brent Maddock, director Ron Underwood, and producer Nancy Roberts released a joint statement in 2025 outlining their plans for the next chapter. That statement opens the door to Bacon’s return as Val McKee, and stops short of confirming him. The film is currently available on Paramount+, the same platform hosting the chatter that has come back around the same week it climbed the chart.
A Two-Day Climb, Then a Five-Spot Drop
Tremors entered the Paramount+ US top 10 on July 4, 2026, and reached the number one position before sliding down the list by the time FlixPatrol captured the chart a day later. On the Paramount+ US top 10 movies for July 5, the film sat at number six with a 5-position drop, the only film on the chart to lose that much ground. Top Gun: Maverick rose two places to number one with a 686-day chart run, and Scream 7 held at number two with 37 days on the list.
The CBR report on Tremors’ Paramount+ chart return and sequel plans flagged the climb as one of the bigger single-day moves in the recent Paramount+ top 10, with most other titles shifting by one or two slots. Extract climbed one spot to number three, the original Top Gun rose six places to number four, and Roofman held at number five. New entries on the day included The Contractor at number eight and Shooter at number ten, the only two catalog titles re-entering the list. The chart showed only one other film dropping more than two spots, Primate, which slid one place to number nine.
Tremors’ two-day run on the chart is short relative to the longer-tenured films around it. Primate has been on the Paramount+ US movie chart for 101 days, Top Gun: Maverick has logged 686 days, and Roofman has held for 184 days. Good Boys entered at number seven with one day logged, and the fully new entries to the chart on July 5 were The Contractor at number eight and Shooter at number ten.
- Number six on Paramount+ US top movies, July 5, 2026 (FlixPatrol)
- 5-position drop in two days on the chart
- 88% Certified Fresh critics score, 76% audience score (Rotten Tomatoes)
- 7 films in the franchise, including 6 direct-to-video sequels
- $16.7 million box office against a budget of around $11 million
The Cult That Built Itself in Perfection, Nevada
Tremors arrived in theaters on January 19, 1990, with a premise that has aged into something harder to ignore: a sleepy desert town besieged by carnivorous underground worms capable of swallowing people, vehicles, and buildings whole. Directed by Ron Underwood from a screenplay by S. S. Wilson and Brent Maddock, the film dropped audiences into the fictional Perfection, Nevada, a town so small the locals have time to argue about leaving it. Local handymen Val McKee and Earl Bassett, played by Kevin Bacon and Fred Ward, are the closest thing the town has to action heroes when the killing starts. The premise was old-fashioned for its era, but the execution caught on.
The wider ensemble became part of the cult appeal. Finn Carter played seismologist Rhonda LeBeck, Reba McEntire played gun store owner Heather Gummer, and Michael Gross played survivalist Burt Gummer, a character so popular he would carry the franchise long after Bacon stepped away. The CBR report singled out all three as unlikely pop culture icons, characters whose names still circulate on horror message boards and fan edits decades later. McEntire’s Heather Gummer in particular became a touchstone for the film, a country music star playing against type as a hard-rock, shotgun-wielding desert wife. None of those actors returned for the 2020 sequel.
Released with a budget of around $11 million against a worldwide gross of $16.7 million, the film was only a minor success in theaters, per the CBR report. That phrasing has followed the movie for decades, and it is the line that defines its commercial history. Where the film did land was on home video and cable, where a generation of VHS viewers turned it into a sleepover staple and one of the more quoted creature features of the era.
On Rotten Tomatoes, the 1990 film holds an 88% Certified Fresh critics score, with the consensus calling it an affectionate throwback to 1950s creature features that reinvigorates its genre. The audience score sits at 76%, per the CBR report. The film is currently available for streaming on Paramount+, the same platform that is now hosting the sequel-related chatter that has come back around the same week it climbed the chart. Six direct-to-video sequels and one television series came out of that audience. None of the sequels or the 2003 series are on the current Paramount+ US top 10.
Box Office Was the Punchline
Tremors opened against a 1990 slate that did not need a small creature feature to break out, and it did not. The film grossed $16.7 million against a budget of around $11 million, putting it in a comfortable but unspectacular place at the box office for Universal Pictures, a result the CBR report called only a minor success. That phrase has followed the movie for decades. By the standard the film would set for itself over the long tail, the 1990 theatrical run was a starting line.
Critical reception ran ahead of the commercial one. The film holds an 88% Certified Fresh score from critics on Rotten Tomatoes and a 76% audience score, per the CBR report. The critics score has held remarkably steady over time, and the consensus has not been revised downward in the years since.
That spread usually signals a film finding its audience long after opening weekend, and it is exactly what happened here. VHS and cable did the heavy lifting in the early going, and the cult following built steadily on home video in the years after the original release. Six direct-to-video sequels and a short-lived television series came out of that audience. None of those later titles are on the current Paramount+ US top 10 in the July 5, 2026 snapshot, per FlixPatrol.
Six Sequels and a Franchise Reborn
The franchise expanded faster than the original 1990 release suggested it would. Between 1996 and 2020, six feature-length sequels followed, plus a single-season television series that ran on Syfy in 2003. The CBR report counted six feature sequels, with the most recent, Tremors: Shrieker Island, released in 2020. The seven films in order: the original 1990 release, Tremors 2: Aftershocks in 1996, Tremors 3: Back to Perfection in 2001, Tremors 4: The Legend Begins in 2004, Tremors 5: Bloodlines in 2015, Tremors: A Cold Day in Hell in 2018, and Tremors: Shrieker Island in 2020.
| Year | Title |
|---|---|
| 1990 | Tremors |
| 1996 | Tremors 2: Aftershocks |
| 2001 | Tremors 3: Back to Perfection |
| 2004 | Tremors 4: The Legend Begins |
| 2015 | Tremors 5: Bloodlines |
| 2018 | Tremors: A Cold Day in Hell |
| 2020 | Tremors: Shrieker Island |
The 2003 Syfy series was set shortly after Tremors 3: Back to Perfection and centered on Perfection’s ongoing battle with underground worm creatures called Graboids, including a massive albino Graboid named El Blanco. The series ran for 13 episodes before its cancellation, according to Wikipedia’s franchise entry, and has lived on as a streaming curiosity in the years since. A second television series was ordered for Syfy in 2018 with a pilot shot, but the project was cancelled before airing. The series introduced El Blanco, a creature that became one of the franchise’s recurring antagonists.
The three most recent sequels were produced without Stampede Entertainment’s involvement. Wikipedia notes that the original creators declined to participate in Tremors 5: Bloodlines due to a lack of creative control over the project, and the late sequels were produced by Universal’s direct-to-video arm, Universal 1440 Entertainment. Michael Gross appeared in all seven films as Burt Gummer, carrying the character from the original to the 2020 sequel.
The split between Stampede and Universal set the stage for the 2025 rights reclamation. Stampede had produced the first three sequels between 1996 and 2004 before stepping back. The original Tremors remains the only entry in the franchise to crack the Paramount+ US top 10 in the July 5, 2026 snapshot, per FlixPatrol. None of the six sequels or the 2003 series are on the current chart.
The Creators Reclaim the Script Rights
In April 2025, Stampede Entertainment, the production company founded by Tremors’ original creators, announced that it had won back the rights to the original 1990 script. The Hollywood Reporter covered the announcement, which came via a blog post signed by S. S. Wilson, Brent Maddock, director Ron Underwood, and producer Nancy Roberts. The reclaim was made possible by a U.S. copyright provision that lets creators claw back rights after a set period, typically 35 years. Wilson, Maddock, and Underwood co-founded Stampede, and the company produced the first three Tremors sequels through 2004’s Tremors 4: The Legend Begins. The next three sequels came from Universal’s direct-to-video arm, Universal 1440 Entertainment.
We are discussing a return-to-Perfection sequel, and one or two more outlandish ideas featuring graboids in new settings. Whatever we decide to pitch to Hollywood, it will not be a remake [of] the first movie with a new cast. Nor will it be a version of our original script for Tremors 5.
The statement, from Wilson, Maddock, Underwood, and Roberts via their 2025 blog post, framed the next film as a return to the original setting rather than a continuation of the direct-to-video sequels that Universal produced without them. The blog post added that the team was considering ideas that feature the return of Kevin Bacon as Val, but no promises. The team was also considering one or two more outlandish ideas featuring Graboids in new settings.
That wording stops short of confirming Bacon and stops short of denying him. The creators reclaiming the original script rights was confirmed in a 2025 blog post signed by the original creative team. Universal had previously approached Bacon for a direct-to-video sequel, an approach the actor declined. Bacon has publicly expressed interest in a sequel, but he has not signed on to a new film.
What’s Already on the Slate
The slate the blog post opened up is narrow in some places and broad in others. The team is committed to a return-to-Perfection sequel with Bacon if he chooses to come back. They have also floated one or two more outlandish ideas featuring Graboids in new settings, language that leaves room for spinoffs without committing to them.
Bacon’s involvement remains open. The Hollywood Reporter noted that the actor has expressed interest in starring in a sequel and said that Universal approached him, with the catch that they would be direct-to-video. Bacon declined those earlier overtures, and the blog post’s wording leaves the question of his return unresolved. The actor has not publicly committed to a new entry, and the blog post stopped short of confirming one. Stampede has not announced a production start, a release window, or a writer’s room.
Outside the film slate, Stampede has reached a deal with author Christian Francis for a Tremors novel, the first book the company has announced tied to the franchise. The blog post also clarified what the team does not control: it has no rights to the first movie and no ability to license anything from it, including t-shirts with a Graboid on them or the original Tremors title logo. The original script, which the post notes was titled Beneath Perfection, sits at the center of what Stampede can do. Universal still owns the 1990 film itself and any merchandise tied to it.
The Paramount+ chart spike will outlast any single weekend, but the sequel news has its own clock. Stampede is pitching ideas to Hollywood, and a deal would need to land before any cast conversations get serious. The team has signaled it is not reading outside submissions and will write the next film itself.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where can I stream Tremors in 2026?
Tremors sits at number six on Paramount+’s US top 10 movies as of the July 5, 2026 FlixPatrol snapshot, with two days on the chart so far. The original 1990 film is the only Tremors title in the current top 10.
Is a new Tremors movie with Kevin Bacon confirmed?
Not confirmed. The original creators released a statement in 2025 saying they were considering ideas featuring the return of Kevin Bacon as Val, but no promises were made. Bacon has publicly expressed interest in a sequel, but he has not signed on to a new film.
Who created the original Tremors?
Tremors was directed by Ron Underwood and written by S. S. Wilson and Brent Maddock. The 1990 film was produced by Gale Anne Hurd and distributed by Universal Pictures. Wilson, Maddock, Underwood, and producer Nancy Roberts co-founded Stampede Entertainment, the company that has reclaimed the rights to the original script.
How many Tremors movies and TV shows are there?
There are seven Tremors films to date: the original 1990 film and six direct-to-video sequels running through Tremors: Shrieker Island in 2020. There is also one short-lived Tremors television series that aired on Syfy in 2003.
How did Tremors do at the original box office?
Tremors grossed $16.7 million against a budget of around $11 million, a result CBR described as only a minor success. Critical reception ran ahead of the commercial one, with the film holding an 88% Certified Fresh critics score and a 76% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes.
