There were three new releases in theaters on Friday, and, sadly, even in this early summer of box office smashes, not all were winners. The champion this weekend was “Scary Movie” with $55 million in the U.S. and $105 million worldwide. The first installment in the series in 13 years, the Wayans Brothers production surpassed the franchise record of $45 million set in 2001. Whether it will have any legs in theaters remains to be seen.
READ MORE: “Masters Of The Universe” Review: He-Man Wants The Power Of Sincerity And The Shield Of Irony
The good news for Miramax, which financed it, is that the horror parody cost just a reported $30 million and is already profitable in theaters. It’s also another impressive opening for distributor Paramount Pictures’ relatively new marketing team after “Scream 7’s” $63.6 million in February. The not-so-good news is that reviews were substantially worse than expected (38 on Metacritic, 26% on Rotten Tomatoes) and it earned a horrifying C+ CinemaScore grade from moviegoers. That does not bode well for its long-term prospects, but barring a historic collapse, it’s a moneymaker.
Arriving in second place was Amazon MGM Studios’ “Masters of the Universe” with $29.3 million domestic and $54 million global. It took over 40 years for the first live-action adaptation of the seminal ’80s animated series “He-Man and the Masters of the Universe” to reach the big screen, and the critical and box office results pretty much demonstrate why. Trying to thread the line between nostalgia play, family film, and self-aware action comedy, the Travis Knight tentpole earned mixed reviews (52 on Metacritic, 67% on Rotten Tomatoes) and a not-great B CinemaScore (A is considered average). At a reported $200 million budget, Amazon is spinning this as a long-term play for Prime Video, with Kevin Wilson, Head of Theatrical Distribution, noting, “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.” Needless to say, barring some incredible holds in the weeks to come, this is not the franchise starter that Amazon hoped for.
Dropping to third was A24’s “Backrooms.” The Kane Parsons-directed Sci-Fi thriller pulled in another $25.9 million for $135 million and $212 million global. That was a big 68% drop from its opening frame, but not that surprising considering general audience reaction. That being said, “Backrooms” is now A24’s highest-grossing movie domestically and globally of all time, surpassing “Marty Supreme,” which hit $191 million worldwide earlier this year. At a reported cost of just under $10 million, it’s also a massive cash cow for the independent studio and its co-financiers.
Still proving the doubters wrong in fourth is Curry Barker’s “Obsession.” The Focus Features release took in another $25.6 million for $152.1 million domestic. That was down just 9% from last weekend. It also crossed the $200 million mark worldwide with $224 million to date. Produced for under just $1 million and acquired by Focus for $15 million at the 2025 Toronto International Film Festival, “Obsession” may turn out to be the most profitable film NBCUniversal releases this calendar year.
To clarify for those playing at home, that’s two horror-themed movies made for under $10 million each that have now crossed the $200 million mark worldwide.
Fathom Events released “The Amazing Digital Circus” movie on Thursday, and in four days it pulled in $19.4 million, with $11.58 million over the three-day weekend. A theatrical lease of two episodes of the popular YouTube franchise, “Digital Circus,” is the second biggest weekend in Fathom’s history after “The Blind” took in $15.7 million in 2023.
In a result that is genuinely concerning for the “Star Wars” franchise, “The Mandalorian and Grogu” dropped 59% in its third weekend with another $10 million for $155.8 million in the U.S. and $293.6 million worldwide. At this point, the Lucasfilm production won’t match the disappointing gross for “Solo: A Star Wars Story,” which took in $213 million domestic and $393.2 million worldwide in 2018. Considering its solid start, this is turning into a big miss for the franchise and somewhat surprising based on the favorable audience post-release polling. At just a $144 million production cost, the movie has already broken even for Disney theatrically, but is basically a wash overall.
In other news, Universal Pictures’ “Super Mario Galaxy Movie” became the first 2026 release to cross $1 billion worldwide. Lionsgate’s “Michael,” currently at $888 million with a big Japan opening next week, has a shot to join that club. The next expected $1 billion grosser is “Toy Story 5” opening on June 19.
New releases on Friday include Steven Spielberg’s “Disclosure Day,” Lionsgate’s “Furious” and Adam Shankman’s “Stop! That! Train!”
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