The latest Scary Movie sequel achieved a surprising $105.5 million worldwide debut, defying the recent trend of low-budget horror hits driven by Gen Z audiences. Meanwhile, Masters of the Universe failed to meet expectations, and horror films like Obsession and Backrooms continued strong performances despite steep drops.
The summer box office is booming, but not because of the usual suspects. After three weeks of indie horror dominance in North American theaters, the horror parody "Scary Movie" topped ticket sales with $55 million over the weekend, according to studio estimates released Sunday, easily outperforming "Masters of the Universe".
A new order has emerged in multiplexes recently, where Gen Z audiences have flocked to see the horror hits "Obsession" and "Backrooms", both made by YouTubers turned filmmakers. Those films even eclipsed The Walt Disney Co.'s "Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu". This weekend, comedy was the unexpected champion. Although the genre has been all but written off for theaters, the sixth "Scary Movie" achieved the franchise's best worldwide debut with $105.5 million.
The Wayans brothers' comedy even surpassed its main satirical target, the "Scream" franchise. Earlier this year, "Scream 7" debuted with $97 million globally. Both franchises are distributed by Paramount Pictures, though Miramax produced the new "Scary Movie". Co-written by Marlon, Shawn, Keenan, and Craig Wayans, the sequel marks the Wayans' return to the franchise after leaving over creative differences following 2001's "Scary Movie 2".
"This is an extraordinary opening for a comedy sequel this far along in the series", said David A. Gross, who runs the film consultancy FranchiseRe. "It's a huge rebound after the last entry bombed in 2013 when Anna Faris and Regina Hall were left out. The weekend's haul triples the genre's average". Reviews weren't good (26% on Rotten Tomatoes) and audience scores (a "B" on CinemaScore) were mediocre.
But that didn't stop the $30 million-budgeted "Scary Movie" from dominating its much higher-budgeted competition.
"Masters of the Universe", a sword-and-sorcery adventure based on the 1980s animated series and Mattel toys, failed to revive the dormant franchise. Amazon MGM's release, the second "Masters of the Universe" film after a 1987 movie of the same title, opened with $29.3 million domestically. Starring Nicholas Galitzine as He-Man, "Masters of the Universe" added $25 million from overseas.
But for a film that cost nearly $200 million to produce, a much higher opening was needed for profitability to seem likely. It's Mattel Studios' first release since 2023's blockbuster "Barbie". But after that movie's extraordinary $1.45 billion success, "Masters of the Universe" will likely be a disappointment for the toy company. A24's "Backrooms", last weekend's top opener, fell sharply in its second weekend, dropping 68% to $25.9 million.
But the $10 million film, based on the YouTube series by 20-year-old Kane Parson, remains a record-breaking phenomenon. It's now A24's highest-grossing film worldwide at $212 million, surpassing "Marty Supreme". In a near tie for third place, Focus Features' "Obsession" earned $25.6 million in its fourth weekend. That represented a 7% drop from the previous weekend for the horror sensation from 26-year-old filmmaker Curry Barker.
Not counting inflation, no horror film has ever had a better fourth weekend.
"Obsession", about a man who desires his platonic love to reciprocate, was made for under $1 million. It has now grossed $152.1 million domestically and $224.8 million worldwide, a Focus record. In its third weekend, "The Mandalorian and Grogu" dropped to sixth place with $10 million. It was even outperformed by Fathom Entertainment's "The Amazing Digital Circus: The Last Act", a combination of the final two episodes of the animated series.
That took in $12.7 million. Lionsgate's Michael Jackson biopic, "Michael", became the studio's highest-grossing film ever at $898 million globally. That puts it ahead, not counting inflation, of both the studio's top-grossing "Twilight" and "Hunger Games" franchises. And 2026 scored its first billion-dollar movie: Universal's "The Super Mario Galaxy Movie" surpassed $1 billion worldwide.
The weekend overall rose a notable 63% compared to the same weekend last year, according to Comscore. Year-to-date ticket sales are up more than 13%
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