Paramount Studio has brought a new “Scary Movie” to theaters, and its opening weekend success shows why Hollywood insists, sometimes annoyingly, on franchises instead of original feature films, Variety reports.
“Scary Movie 6,” which hit theaters 13 years after the horror-spoofing comedy franchise's previous title, dominated the North American box office with $55 million in its first three days of release.
The sixth film even set a box office record for the franchise, but such comparisons are sometimes imperfect, and that applies here as well. The previous record was held by “Scary Movie 4,” which grossed $49.8 million in its opening weekend, but that hit theaters in 2006. Since then, inflation has driven ticket prices up significantly in both North American theaters and the rest of the world.
What is certain is that the new “Scary Movie” earned another $50 million in the rest of the world, for a global total of $105.5 million. Given that it was produced for only 30 million, it is already a major financial success for the company Paramount Global and its portfolio studio Miramax, which produced all the “Scary Movie” films.
The new movie “Scary Movie” brought back Anna Faris and Regina Hall
“It's an exceptional debut for a comedy sequel so late in its run,” David A. Gross, editor of the box office newsletter FranchiseRe, told Variety.
“It's also a huge comeback after the last film in the series, released in 2013, flopped following the exclusion of Anna Faris and Regina Hall,” he pointed out.
Faris and Hall, whose characters Cindy and Brenda haven't appeared in the franchise since 2006's “Scary Movie 4,” return for the new feature. Regina Hall returns to the franchise after her acclaimed performance in the political thriller One Battle After Another, the big winner at this year's Academy Awards.
But “Scary Movie 6” shows self-irony, satirizing the very idea of sequels, re-releases, “remakes”, “prequels”, “spin-offs” and “origin stories” – that is, precisely the kind of films that Hollywood has increasingly relied on in recent years.
And the writers of “Scary Movie 6” had no shortage of horror movies to parody, considering that the last chapter of the series appeared more than a decade ago. Among the targets of the new production are “Get Out”, “Weapons”, “M3GAN”, “Longlegs” and “Scream”.
Less spectacular debut at the box office for the new movie from Amazon studio MGM
The new “Scary Movie” handily beat out the other major feature released last Friday, Amazon MGM's sci-fi adventure “Sword and Planet.” “Masters of the Universe” debuted in second place at the North American box office with a modest $29.3 million. It grossed just $25 million at the international box office for a global debut of $54 million.
It's a disappointing start for a production that cost nearly $200 million, not including the marketing budget. The film will have to show considerable endurance in theaters to justify its costs, given that theater owners keep about 50% of the proceeds from ticket sales.
The feature film is based on Mattel's He-Man action figure, and is the second film released in theaters in partnership with the toy company, following “Barbie.” The comparison between the two's grosses isn't one to help “Masters of the Universe,” considering that “Barbie” was the highest-grossing film of 2023.
Of course, Amazon studio MGM will say, as always, that its new title will justify its price once it goes streaming on Amazon Prime Video.
“Masters of the Universe” follows the story of Prince Adam, who learns to accept his true identity as the almighty He-Man after power in the world of Eternia is brutally taken over by the evil Skeletor.
Horror film “Backrooms,” the previous box office leader, has now slipped to third place after ticket sales fell 70 percent in its second weekend run.
As the film debuted beyond expectations, even a steep drop translated into a still-excellent $25.9 million in the domestic Hollywood market.
With $135 million in North America and $212.6 million globally to date, “Backrooms” is the biggest hit in studio A24's history, surpassing last year's “Marty Supreme” ($191 million).
A24 has made a name for itself in recent years by producing or distributing titles such as “The Whale,” the film that earned Brendan Fraser his first career Academy Award in 2023; “Civil War”, the feature film that enjoyed a success beyond expectations in cinemas in 2024; “A Different Man”, the title that brought Sebastian Stan his first career Golden Globe last year; “Queer”, the acclaimed film with Daniel Craig in a new role after he gave up that of James Bond; “The Brutalist,” the film for which Adrien Brody won his second career Oscar, also last year.
