Paramount-Miramax’s Scary Movie is on track for a $52.7M+ opening weekend, powered by first-Friday and previews momentum and a huge online reach that’s keeping the nostalgia-fueled spoof comedy trending. Amazon MGM Studios’ Masters of the Universe follows with
By Friday afternoon, it was less a movie release than a return of a shared memory—one that showed up in ticket math. Paramount-Miramax’s Scary Movie is aiming for a franchise record opening, with a projected $52.7M+ based on first Friday estimates and $23.5M in previews across 3,490 theaters.
For the Wayans Brothers, the moment lands with extra weight. The franchise architects have been away from their own IP since 2001’s Scary Movie 2, a gap they were saddled with after the then-Dimension administration failed to negotiate a proper return of the comedic fratellos.
The numbers aren’t just moving in theaters. A social media analytics company. RelishMix. found an online reach across TikTok. YouTube. Instagram. Facebook. and X of 653M for the sixth film in the comedy series—2.7x above horror franchise norms. RelishMix tied the surge to an aggressive push on a new TikTok page in the last three weeks. aggressive activity on Facebook and X. strong performance on YouTube. and “throttling well on Instagram.”.
RelishMix also put names to the attention: Marlon Wayans has 23.3M fans, Regina Hall has 6.7M, Anna Faris has 5.3M, Anthony Anderson has 4.4M, Lochlyn Munro has 814K, and Cheri Oteri has 413K.
The conversation, RelishMix says, runs positive. Nostalgia is “doing a full victory lap in a Ghostface mask. ” and viewers are hyped for Cindy. Brenda. the Wayans energy. horror cameos. and the return of dumb. rude. reference-heavy spoof comedy. People keep comparing the movie to Scream. Terrifier. M3GAN. Smile. The Substance. Longlegs. Sinners. Weapons. and even Hot Shots—suggesting the trailer is selling the film as a parody buffet. The chatter is loud. chaotic. and weirdly affectionate. with reactions including: “The fact I can actually list all the horror movies they’re parodying is already a great sign. ” and “Was 15 when first Scary Movie came out. First time I smoked weed before we went. Yeah, miss those times. 41 now, looking for nostalgia break with this one.”.
The wider weekend picture also looks strong. The overall weekend is expected to land well north of $140M+ based on the top five movies. That would be the 23rd weekend of the year—higher than 2025’s $112.8M and 2024’s 3-day take of $104.3M. The best result this weekend saw post-Covid was in 2022. when Universal’s Jurassic World: Dominion led all titles to a near $215M Friday through Sunday.
The comedy isn’t traveling alone. Amazon MGM Studios’ Masters of the Universe is projected second with $31.1M+ after a Friday/previews take of $12.1M at 3. 677 sites. The movie’s performance is being buoyed by the hope that good reviews and audience scores on Rotten Tomatoes bring families out. even after what the report describes as an “near-18-year journey” for this Mattel and Escape Artists take on the 1980s toys and animated TV series.
A24’s Backrooms sits in the mix as well. It’s seeing $8.5M today at 3,565 locations, with a second weekend around $26.5M, down 67%. The drop matches a “divided B- CinemaScore” from mass moviegoers. Still, Backrooms remains A24’s highest-grossing movie stateside, with its cume rising through Sunday to $135.6M.
Fourth is Focus Features’ Obsession, with an estimated fourth Friday of $7.5M and a 3-day total of $24.8M, down 9%. The report frames it as close to Michael’s 26.4M fourth frame. It also notes that across all fourth weekends. that’s the best for a horror movie ahead of The Blair Witch Project’s $24.3M. The weekend’s run is expected to lift Focus’ highest-grossing movie ever at the domestic box office to $151.3M by the end of Sunday. with global rising to $196M+.
Down the list, rivals had been arguing about Fathom Entertainment’s The Amazing Digital Circus: The Last Act. They claimed hourly ticket sales were dropping and that the Friday-Sunday take would fall short. The big-screen version of the viral YouTube animated sensation is seeing $4.5M today. down 42% from the movie’s first-day Thursday. heading toward a 3-day of $13M and a 4-day of $20.8M. If those numbers hold. it would be a record opening for Fathom Entertainment. beating last year’s The Chosen: Last Supper Part 1. which opened to $12M.
An update after an exclusive shifts the emphasis: Paramount-Miramax’s Scary Movie is expected to win the weekend. but The Amazing Digital Circus led Thursday with a reported $7.8M at 2. 235 theaters in its first regular day of release. The belief is that the film’s weekend will be extremely front-loaded. Other numbers being seen include $8M+ for the Glitch Productions animated finale to the cult series that also had a run on Netflix.
Backrooms had $5.1M on Thursday, behind Amazing Digital Circus with $5.1M and down 14% from Wednesday.
More quick snapshots shaped the day: Scary Movie posted $7.7M in previews. while Masters of the Universe wound up at $4.4M. close to where estimates were being spotted earlier. Rotten Tomatoes updated for Scary Movie shows it at 30% Rotten for critics and 69% audience. while He-Man and friends are at 70% certified fresh with critics and 88% with audiences. Both films are sharing PLFs, with Masters of the Universe conquering some of Mandalorian and Grogu’s Imax auditoriums.
As a benchmark. the week’s top five were listed as follows: Backrooms (A24) in 3. 442 theaters with $108.8M for the week and $108.8M/Wk 1; Obsession (Focus) in 2. 781 theaters with $48.1M (Even) and total $126.5M/Wk 3; Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu (Dis) in 4. 300 theaters with $33.4M (-70%) and total $145.7M/Wk 2; Michael (LG) in 3. 118 theaters with $18.3M (-46%) and total $346.5M/Wk 6; and The Breadwinner (Sony) in 3. 252 theaters with $10.4M/Wk 1.
The broader awards-and-franchise conversation also continues around other titles. including a note that the Graham King-produced. Antoine Fuqua-directed movie isn’t crossing $900M WW just yet this weekend. It is still expected to surpass Lionsgate’s Hunger Games: Catching Fire ($865M). which is described as the highest-grossing movie in that franchise.
Earlier in the week, the preview story was already painting the same picture of momentum. Paramount-Miramax’s reboot Scary Movie had an estimated $7.5M in previews beginning at 2 p.m. Thursday. Amazon MGM Studios’ $170M production of Mattel and Escape Artists’ Masters of the Universe was eyeing around $4M. beginning its showtimes at 2 p.m. as well.
The Wayans Brothers’ and Rick Alvarez’s Scary Movie preview number is described as “up there in the echelon” of Paramount/Spyglass’ Scream 7. which posted $7.8M previews and a $63.6M record opening for the franchise. as well as higher than 2020’s Bad Boys for Life ($62.5M) and 2024’s Bad Boys: Ride or Die ($5.875M previews. $56.5M opening). The report also frames Scary Movie as an R-rated comedy. with a $30M Michael Tiddes-directed ensemble led by Anna Faris. Regina Hall. and Marlon and Shawn Wayans—originally expected to do $40M-$45M stateside. Critics are described as not getting the movie at 29% on Rotten Tomatoes, while audiences are “so far” laughing more at 68%.
Masters of the Universe’s preview cash is described as just under 2021’s Ghostbusters: Afterlife ($4.5M. $44M opening) and Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire ($4.7M. $45M). Those are also described as PG-13 family pics based on 1980s franchises. The report notes that the audience for the feature starring Nicholas Galitzine. Camila Mendes. Idris Elba. Jared Leto. and Alison Brie is expected to come out on Saturday. It also cites early scores as “not so bad” for the revamped IP: 71% certified fresh with critics and 89% with audience. That is set against Disney’s Tron: Ares. described as being powered down by critics at 52% Rotten. but better with audiences at 83%.
The report adds that The Amazing Digital Circus is shaping up to do around $6.8M in its first full day at the box office today ahead of A24’s Backrooms, which could upset Masters of the Universe for No. 2 this weekend with a $32M-$37M second frame.
For now. the weekend’s loudest signal is coming from one place: a comedy brand built on quick references and older scares. returning at precisely the moment audiences seem ready to treat it like a reunion. If Scary Movie’s projections hold. it won’t just win the weekend—it will set the tone for what nostalgia looks like when it’s amplified by screens as much as seats.
Scary Movie 6 Paramount-Miramax Wayans Brothers franchise opening record box office Masters of the Universe Backrooms Obsession The Amazing Digital Circus: The Last Act RelishMix Rotten Tomatoes