NEW YORK – The summer box office is experiencing an unexpected surge, and it’s not just from the blockbuster hits we typically see. Instead, this season, indie horror films have been dominating ticket sales, and the latest entry, a slasher spoof titled Scary Movie, has taken the lead with a stunning $55 million in ticket sales over the weekend, easily surpassing its competition, including the much-anticipated Masters of the Universe.
Recently, we’ve witnessed a shift in moviegoer preferences, particularly among Gen Z, who have been flocking to indie horror hits like Obsession and Backrooms. These films, created by YouTubers turned filmmakers, have even outperformed major franchises, including Disney’s beloved Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu.
This weekend, the underdog comedy genre made a notable comeback. Despite being largely overlooked in theaters in recent years, the sixth installment of Scary Movie achieved a franchise-best launch, raking in $105.5 million globally. Remarkably, it even outperformed its main satirical target, the Scream franchise, which saw Scream 7 debut with $97 million earlier this year.
Both Scary Movie and Scream are distributed by Paramount Pictures, but the new Scary Movie was produced by Miramax. Co-written by the Wayans brothers—Marlon, Shawn, Keenan, and Craig—this sequel marks their return to the franchise after stepping away due to creative differences following Scary Movie 2 in 2001.
David A. Gross, a movie consultant, commented on the impressive opening: “This is an outstanding opening for a comedy sequel this far into the series. It’s a huge bounceback after the last episode crashed in 2013 when Anna Faris and Regina Hall were excluded. The weekend figure is triple the average for the genre.”
Despite receiving poor reviews, with only 26% approval on Rotten Tomatoes and a “B” CinemaScore from audiences, Scary Movie triumphed over its higher-budget competition.
On the other hand, Masters of the Universe, based on the 1980s animated series, struggled to make an impact. The film opened to $29.3 million domestically, far below expectations for a project with a nearly $200 million budget.
Though it earned an additional $25 million overseas, it’s clear that the franchise revival is far from successful. As the first release from Mattel Studios since the blockbuster Barbie, the performance of Masters of the Universe is likely to be viewed as a disappointment.
Meanwhile, A24’s Backrooms, which topped the box office last weekend, saw a significant drop of 68% in its second week, bringing in $25.9 million. Despite this decline, the film remains a record-breaking success, becoming A24’s highest-grossing film ever at $212 million worldwide, surpassing Marty Supreme.
In a close race for fourth place, Focus Features’ Obsession earned $25.6 million in its fourth weekend, marking a mere 7% drop from the previous week. Notably, it has achieved a record-breaking performance for a horror film during its fourth weekend, grossing $152.1 million domestically and $224.8 million worldwide.
In its third weekend, The Mandalorian and Grogu fell to sixth place with $10 million, even being outperformed by Fathom Entertainment’s The Amazing Digital Circus: The Last Act, which collected $12.7 million.
Several other films reached significant milestones this weekend. Lionsgate’s biopic Michael became the studio’s highest-grossing film ever, with $898 million globally, surpassing both the Twilight and Hunger Games franchises, not accounting for inflation.
Additionally, 2026 welcomed its first billion-dollar movie, with The Super Mario Galaxy Movie crossing the $1 billion mark worldwide for Universal.
Overall, ticket sales saw a remarkable increase, up 63% from the same weekend last year, according to Comscore. Year-to-date ticket sales have risen by over 13%. Looking ahead, Steven Spielberg’s highly anticipated film Disclosure Day is set to debut next weekend.
Top 10 Movies by Domestic Box Office:
With final domestic figures being released Monday, this list includes estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Comscore:
1. Scary Movie, $55 million.
