Scary Movie still has bite. The revived spoof franchise opened at No. 1 over the weekend with an estimated $55 million in domestic ticket sales. The debut gave Paramount and Miramax a strong return for the R-rated comedy series.
Masters of the Universe also opened over the weekend and took second place with $29.3 million domestically. A24’s Backrooms followed with $25.9 million. Focus Features’ horror thriller Obsession landed close behind with $25.6 million.
Scary Movie Returns With Familiar Faces
Directed by Michael Tiddes, Scary Movie brings back franchise stars Anna Faris and Regina Hall.
The film marks the return of the spoof series that parodies horror tropes, pop culture, and current events. It is the sixth installment in the franchise. It is also the first Scary Movie in more than two decades to feature the series’ originators, the Wayans brothers.
The film was made in association with original studio Miramax.
Scary Movie also performed strongly overseas. It earned $50.5 million from more than 50 territories. That brings its global opening to $105.5 million.
The audience was nearly split by gender, with 55 percent male and 45 percent female ticket buyers. The film leaned younger, with 62 percent of the audience under age 30.
Masters of the Universe Opens in Second Place
Masters of the Universe opened in second place with $29.3 million at the domestic box office. Internationally, it earned $25 million from more than 80 territories. That brings its global opening weekend to $54 million.
Amazon and Mattel Films’ Masters stars Nicholas Galitzine as Prince Adam, also known as He-Man. The character began as a toy before becoming a beloved 1980s animated icon.
The story follows Adam after he becomes separated from his home world. He finds his way back to Eternia and must save it from Skeletor, played by Jared Leto.
The film also features several classic Masters characters. Camila Mendes plays Teela. Idris Elba plays Duncan, also known as Man-at-Arms. Alison Brie plays Evil-Lyn.
Travis Knight directed the film.
Nostalgia Drives the He-Man Audience
Masters opened on 3,677 screens. The audience skewed heavily male, with 66 percent male ticket buyers and 34 percent female.
The film also drew older fans who grew up with the original He-Man and the Masters of the Universe animated series. That show ran from 1983 to 1985 and continued for years in syndication.
The largest age group for the weekend was 45- to 54-year-olds. They made up 29 percent of the audience.
Masters currently has a Metacritic score of 54 and a B CinemaScore.
Amazon MGM Studios head of domestic theatrical distribution Kevin Wilson pointed to the film’s future after its opening weekend.
“Travis Knight and the entire cast and filmmaking team have delivered something truly special, and this opening is exactly the kind of critical first moment that validates our holistic distribution strategy, building awareness and engagement that will carry well beyond the theatrical window,” Wilson said.
Backrooms and Obsession Keep Horror Hot
Both Backrooms and Obsession continued their strong runs at the box office.
Backrooms, made for $10 million, is based on director Kane Parsons’ viral YouTube short film series. In only its second weekend, the film became A24’s highest-grossing release. It passed Marty Supreme, which starred Timothée Chalamet.
Backrooms dropped 70 percent at the domestic box office, but it still continues to impress. Globally, the film now sits at $212 million.
Obsession also held strong. The horror thriller follows a man who wishes his crush would return his affections, with disastrous results.
Curry Barker’s film dropped only 7 percent from the previous weekend. That brings its domestic total to $152 million.
Obsession is expected to pass $200 million at the global box office by the end of the weekend. It is already Focus Features’ highest-grossing title of all time.
The film has also set a rare box office mark. It is the first film outside of Christmas since 1982’s E.T.: The Extraterrestrial to have second and third weekends bigger than its first.
The Amazing Digital Circus Lands in Fifth
Fathom Entertainment’s The Amazing Digital Circus: The Last Act took fifth place.
The theatrical release of the cult Australian adult webseries earned $19.5 million from 2,200 locations.
Holdovers Continue to Add to Their Totals
Outside the horror-heavy lineup, several major holdovers continued to draw audiences.
The Mandalorian and Grogu earned $10 million at the domestic box office. The Star Wars entry has now reached $155.8 million domestically and $293.6 million globally.
Michael landed in seventh place with an estimated $7.7 million for the weekend. The Michael Jackson biopic has now reached $354 million domestically in its seventh weekend.
The film is expected to become Lionsgate’s highest-grossing title of all time.
