“Scary Movie 6” is on pace to set a franchise record after a stellar opening day.
Paramount and Miramax’s “Scary Movie 6,” the first in the parody series helmed by the Wayans brothers since 2001’s “Scary Movie 2,” grossed $24.7 million domestic on Friday from 3,490 cinemas. By Sunday, the irreverent horror-comedy is expected to make $56 million, which is more than enough to earn the title of best opening in “Scary Movie” history. That record currently belongs to “Scary Movie 4,” which debuted to $49.7 million in 2006. The movie carries a $30 million price tag.
“Scary Movie 6” reunites Marlon Wayans, Shawn Wayans and Damon Wayans Jr. on screen, while Craig Waynes and Keenen Ivory Wayans co-wrote the script with Rick Alvarez. Anna Faris and Regina Hall also reprise their roles as Cindy Campbell and Brenda Meeks. Other cast members include Kenan Thompson, Dave Sheridan, Lochlyn Munro, Carmen Electra, Kim Wayans, Cheri Oteri, Chris Elliott and Heidi Gardner. Michael Tiddes directs the raunchy, slapstick horror-parody, which is expected to send up popular titles like “Scream,” “Get Out,” “Long Legs,” “Sinners,” “M3GAN,” “Weapons” and more.
This weekend’s other major newcomer was Amazon MGM’s “Masters of the Universe,” which took second place on Friday with $11.7 million from 3,677 North American screens. The sci-fi adventure is targeting $30 million by Sunday, which is a slow start considering the $200 million production budget.
“Bumblebee” director Travis Knight helms “Masters of the Universe,” which is based on the iconic ‘80s action figure and corresponding cartoon series. The film follows Prince Adam as he travels from Earth back to his home planet of Eternia to do battle with the evil undead sorcerer Skeletor. Nicholas Galitzine stars as the titular blond-haired warrior. Idris Elba, Camila Mendes, Alison Brie and Jared Leto round out the cast as Man-at-Arms, Teela, Evil-Lyn and Skeletor.
“Backrooms” landed at No. 3 with $7.9 million domestic on its second Friday in North American theaters. After shattering expectations with an $81.5 million opening weekend, the liminal horror-thriller from 20-year-old Kane Parsons is expected to add another $25 million by Sunday. That represents a hefty 69% drop from its debut, but it hardly matters because A24 only spent about $10 million on “Backrooms,” meaning it’s already one of the most profitable films of the year.
Fourth place went to Focus Features’ “Obsession,” which earned $7.4 domestic million domestic on its fourth Friday in theaters. After opening to $17 million against a budget of less than $1 million, the horror thriller has grossed more than $116 million in North America. By Sunday, “Obession” should make another $24 million, eroding just 9% from last weekend’s total. That will push its domestic earnings to $151 million.
Finally, fifth place went to “The Amazing Digital Circus: The Last Act.” The popular web series debuted a feature-length version of its final two episodes in 2,221 theaters on Wednesday. It collected an estimated $4.6 million domestic on Friday and is expected to pull in about $14.1 million through the weekend. The surreal, animated dark comedy follows a group of humans who are imprisoned in a cartoon virtual reality as zany characters. Cooper Goodwin, better known by the online handle Gooseworx, serves as director, writer and composer. The voice cast includes Lizzie Freeman, Michael Kovach, Amanda Hufford and Marissa Lenti.
