The spoof genre came back with a bang, as the sixth Scary Movie scored the franchise's biggest ever debut, showing that this franchise has not faded from public consciousness. Unfortunately, the weekend also had one of the year's biggest flops with Masters of the Universe, with the film struggling to attract new generations. There was also the Fathom release of The Amazing Digital Circus: The Last Act, which posted a strong debut in its 4-day launch.

The Top 10 earned a combined $174.3 million this weekend. That's up a massive 66.1% from last year, when Lilo & Stitch stayed at #1 for the third week and Ballerina flopped.

Debuting at #1, Paramount's Scary Movie opened with an incredible $54.3 million in 3,490 theaters. That's the biggest ever debut in the franchise unadjusted for inflation, overtaking Scary Movie 3 ($49.7 million). It's a huge opening for a comedy, especially in the post-COVID climate.

Scary Movie may not be a critics darling, but it's been an incredibly lucrative franchise. 3 of the prior films opened north of $40 million, and the franchise as a whole has crossed $1 billion worldwide. That raises the question: how did it manage to recover from the disaster of Scary Movie 5 back in 2013?

For starters, the fifth installment was a Scary Movie in name only. None of the original players were back, except for Simon Rex and Charlie Sheen, and they aren't playing their characters. There was no buzz around it, and the horrible reviews killed any chance it had of succeeding. The new Scary Movie played smartly by bringing back the original cast (the Wayans, Anna Faris, Regina Hall, etc.) in key roles. At the end of the day, the franchise is associated with them.

Notably, the film has outgrossed the entire lifetime role of another legacy comedy, The Naked Gun ($52.6 million). How's that? While the Scary Movie has a lot of dated jokes, it hasn't lost its popularity. It had attracted audiences over the past two decades, remaining fresh in their minds, and that's what led to the film opening this high. Paramount mounted an extensive marketing campaign, promising that this was the old Scary Movie everyone remembered and loved. Yes, it could lean a bit too hard on the "cancelling cancel culture" angle, but hey, it paid off. Unsurprisingly, the trailers were exactly what you feared it would be, as it's currently sitting at a very poor 25% on RT. But if you watched the trailer and walked in here, you knew what you were getting into.

According to Paramount, 58% of the audience was male. The franchise attracted an insane amount of Gen Z fans, and that was the audience here: a massive 75% of the audience was under 35. The film also played incredibly well with Latino and Black audiences, as they represented 40% and 28% of the audience, compared to Caucasians (24%). Given the popularity of the Wayans with both demographics, this shouldn't come as a surprise.

Audiences gave Scary Movie a very poor "C+" on CinemaScore, a very bad grade for a comedy. It's the second worst in the franchise, tying with the fourth installment and only better than the maligned fifth film ("C–"). Given how Scary Movie has been very front-loaded and with the poor reception, this will probably take a dive in the coming weeks. Nevertheless, it will still be enough to hit $100 million domestically, becoming the third installment in the franchise to hit that mark. Given the fate of so many R-rated comedies, that's an incredibly strong number and should guarantee a seventh installment.

This was the story of a franchise that managed to recover from rock bottom and got new fans. Now here comes the story of a franchise that did the exact opposite.

Amazon MGM's Masters of the Universe tanked with just $29.4 million in 3,677 theaters. There is no point comparing it to the 1987 original, given that was a low-investment Cannon release. But the debut was far weaker than Transformers ($70 million), another 80s toy property that saw a live-action debut. Another proper comparison could be Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves ($37.2 million), but even Masters debuted below it.

Amazon MGM spent $200 million in producing the film, and it also had a very extensive marketing campaign around the world. All that effort just to finish in second place and without even hitting $30 million. Even though Amazon maintains they operate differently from other studios, these numbers are very disappointing. There are so many factors that explain these low numbers.

He-Man is a very iconic character. If he wasn't, it wouldn't have earned $29 million. But there's a difference between knowing a character and actually caring about it. Masters of the Universe was a huge toy franchise in the 80s, and it also enjoyed a great popularity thanks to the cartoon. Unfortunately, it's not the 80s anymore. Some franchises can trascend the decade, but Masters isn't one of those. It has struggled thanks to the panned 1987 film and the inconsistent quality of the subsequent cartoons. People may know who He-Man and Skeletor are, but that doesn't mean they're interested in a film. A similar scenario came for Rocky & Bullwinkle, a 2000 film based on an IP that was relevant 40 years ago, but failed to attract kids and families because they just didn't care.

There's also something about the "been there, done that" feeling that plagued the film. Despite He-Man's iconic status, the film looks like something you've watched so many times (an ordinary man must accept his destiny in a fantasy land). It drew comparisons to other MCU titles, albeit that wasn't exactly a compliment. While it sold action, humor was very hit-and-miss, and being sandwiched between so many anticipated films didn't help in attracting audiences.

Travis Knight's involvement was set as a quality standard. While he has only directed two films (Kubo and Bumblebee), both were critically acclaimed and have maintained popularity with audiences. The expectation was that he could do the same to Masters. Unfortunately, it didn't earn the same enthusiastic response (67% on RT) to convince non-fans in giving it a chance.

According to Amazon MGM, 68% of the audience was male. Amazon said that they wanted to attract families, with domestic distribution head Kevin Wilson highlighting the strong response among kids and families. While it is true kids under 12 liked the film (they gave it a 96% recommend), what he doesn't mention is that that audience is not big. Only 4% of the audience was under 12, and 6% was under 18. A massive 57% of the audience was 35 and over, with 36% above 45. This means that the film only connected with old Millennials and Gen X, with practically no interest for younger demographics. That is not a sign of a family film performance.

Audiences gave it a lukewarm "B" on CinemaScore, which is very weak for an intended four-quadrant blockbuster. With little interest outside fans and heavy competition, Masters is unlikely to stay in the long run. Right now, it should finish with around $75 million domestically. A very bad figure for the property, albeit not as ugly as its overseas prospects (go to that section for a more detailed breakdown).

Following its huge start last week, A24's Backrooms proved to be front-loaded as it fell hard on its second weekend. It collapsed a rough 68%, earning $26.2 million. The drop was imminent, considering the mixed word of mouth. Regardless, the film passed Marty Supreme ($96 million) to become A24's highest-grossing film, as well as becoming its first title to cross the $100 million milestone. Through 10 days, it has earned an incredible $135.3 million domestically. The odds of hitting $200 million are zero, but given its ultra low $10 million budget, this is already a big hit.

While it had to inevitably stop increasing, Obsession is still destroying any common logic. On its fourth weekend, the film eased just 7% for $25.3 million. That's the best fourth weekend for a horror film, above Sinners ($22 million). While many said The Blair Witch Project ($24.3 million) held the record, it should be noted that that was its second week of wide release after playing in limited release for two weeks, so it's apples-to-oranges.

Obsession has earned an incredible $151.9 million. With Focus Features delaying the digital release, the film still has so much gas left in the tank. Next week, it'll pass Get Out ($176.1 million) to become Blumhouse's highest-grossing film domestically. $200 million domestically is imminent, now the question is how high it can go.

The Amazing Digital Circus: The Last Act cracked the fifth spot with a pretty good $12.3 million in 2,221 theaters. Adding in its Thursday numbers, it debuted with $20.2 million. This was set for limited showtimes, but after incredible pre-sale numbers, it managed to secure 2,221 theaters. Given the front-loaded nature of these projects, it will fall off a cliff quickly. But it's still a very great number.

After its heavy second weekend drop, The Mandalorian and Grogu fell all the way to sixth place. It bled another 59%, adding $9.9 million this weekend. The film has amassed a very weak $155.7 million, which is $20.9 million behind Solo through the same point. With more heavy hitters coming its way, it looks to finish with just $175 million domestically.

Michael eased 36%, adding $7.6 million this weekend. The film has earned $354.2 million, and it's about to hit digital release this week. Seriously, Lionsgate?

With very little appeal to families, The Breadwinner tumbled 54% on its second weekend, making just $3.4 million. Through 10 days, the film has earned a middling $13.8 million, and it will close with less than $20 million domestically.

Pressure dropped 47% on its second weekend, grossing $3 million. Through 10 days, it has earned $11.2 million, and it looks to finish with a little above $15 million.

Rounding out the Top 10 was The Devil Wears Prada 2. It dropped 53%, adding $2.7 million this weekend. The film's domestic total stands at $214.9 million, and it's set to end its run with a little below $220 million.

Dropping out of the Top 10 was The Sheep Detectives, which fell 51% and added $2.2 million. The film has earned $59.4 million, and it has a few millions left before it leaves theaters.

Lionsgate expanded John Carney's new film Power Ballad, starring Paul Rudd and Nick Jonas, into 1,265 theaters. But it could only make $1.2 million, a very low figure. Given the low buzz and marketing spend, this isn't a surprise.

OVERSEAS

Comedy doesn't travel overseas? Think again.

Scary Movie debuted with a very strong $50.5 million overseas, for a fantastic $104.8 million worldwide launch. The film performed strongly in Latin America, where the franchise and the Wayans are very popular. Its biggest markets were Mexico ($6.7M), Germany ($5.5M), the UK ($5.5M), Brazil ($5.1M), France ($3.2M), Australia ($2.7M), Italy ($2.2M), Peru ($2.1M), Argentina ($1.8M), Colombia ($1.8M), Panama ($1.6M), Spain ($1.4M), Poland ($1M), Chile ($848K), Switzerland ($798K), Ecuador ($736K), Netherlands ($615K), Czech ($562K), Belgium ($510K), and Bolivia ($488K).

Because it can't stop comparisons, how did it fare compared to Scream 7? This opened $8 million higher worldwide. Given its $30 million budget, the film pretty much broke even already. This should be an easy $200 million for the film. The Wayans said they'll do White Chicks 2 if this succeeds. Well, there you go.

Masters of the Universe also struggled outside America, as it earned just $24.6 million overseas, for a very soft $54 million worldwide launch. The best debut was in Brazil, with a very strong $4.5 million, even if it was overshadowed by Scary Movie. Other than that, it had modest debuts in the UK ($3.6M) and Mexico ($2.8M), and disappointed in Germany ($1.9M), Australia ($1.5M), China ($1.3M), Spain ($710K), India ($635K), and Italy ($525K).

With the high $200 million budget and extensive marketing campaign, these numbers are just very bad, especially considering it opened in nearly all its major markets. With the World Cup about to start, and a slate of popular IPs coming up, it's hard to see Masters making its way to $200 million worldwide.

Backrooms added $24.1 million overseas, taking its worldwide total to a wonderful $212.9 million, becoming A24's highest-grossing film. It opened in Spain with a pretty good $2 million, and has performed incredibly well in the UK ($10M), Mexico ($10M). There are still some markets left, which means Backrooms could make its way to $300 million worldwide.

Obsession added $17.7 million overseas (above last week's $13.8 million take), taking its worldwide total to $224.5 million. It surpassed London Has Fallen ($202 million) to become Focus Features' highest-grossing film worldwide. The best markets are the UK ($13.8M), Australia ($8.7M), France ($6.3M), Mexico ($5.3M), India ($4.4M), UAE ($3.5M), and Saudi Arabia ($3.3M). In nearly all markets, it saw little-to-no drops across the board. Given it still has a lot of major markets left, it's guaranteed to pass $300 million worldwide very soon, which means it will become Blumhouse's highest-grossing film. And hitting $400 million isn't a pipe dream. Basically, it will become one of the biggest horror titles of all time through every single measure.

The Mandalorian and Grogu added $16 million, reaching $293.4 million worldwide. It will hit $300 million worldwide in the next few days, but given its holds, it won't make it much farther than that.

Michael added $15.4 million overseas, taking its worldwide total to a dazzling $888 million worldwide total. With that, it has passed The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 2 ($868 million) to become Lionsgate's highest-grossing film worldwide. Next week, the film will cross the $900 million milestone, inching closer to Bohemian Rhapsody ($903 million). Only Japan is left, and that market will determine if it hits $1 billion.

After an excruciating two month wait, The Super Mario Galaxy Movie has finally crossed $1 billion worldwide, becoming the first film of the year to hit that milestone.

FILMS THAT ENDED THEIR RUN THIS WEEK

• Disney/Pixar's Hoppers has closed with $166 million domestically and $388 million worldwide. That's no Elemental numbers, but they're solid enough, even if it's not "huge hit" per se. It shows that Elio was a very extreme outlier and shouldn't be the expectation for Pixar going forward. They can still open originals and get them to these numbers. Yes, a sequel is next for Pixar, but we're still getting another original, Gatto, next year. Let's see how it performs.

THIS WEEKEND

Steven Spielberg is back in the sci-fi genre with Disclosure Day. It stars Emily Blunt, Josh O'Connor, Colin Firth, Eve Hewson, and Colman Domingo, and follows a massive government conspiracy involving alien disclosure. Universal, per Spielberg's instructions, has avoided spoiling the third act, choosing to emphasize visuals, Spielberg's name and the eerie atmosphere. That hasn't exactly paid off (the CGI deer became a point of discussion), but it's still given a big push as a summer blockbuster. If there's a disadvantage is that it will open when the 2026 FIFA World Cup begins, and that's going to impact everything around the world.

STREAMING DATA

Figures for the week of May 25 to May 31 on Netflix:

Ladies First topped the charts on its second week, although its 18.8 million views are still well below some of the recent hits. Through 10 days, it has made 30.7 million views.

Swapped added 10.5 million, amassing 107.2 million views.

Apex added another 6.1 million views for 118 million views in total.

In a very exciting update, War Machine cracked the Netflix Top 10 of All-Time, with 139 million views. It's now the tenth most watched film in the platform, dethroning Damsel. And now it sets its target in passing The Gray Man (139.3 million) for the ninth spot.

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