Scary Movie outpaced He-Man and took the franchise to a billion dollars. The sixth installment of Scary Movie opened with a record — $55 million over the weekend. The film wasn’t shown to critics, but that didn’t stop the franchise from surpassing the billion-dollar mark. He-Man was left in the shadows.
This past weekend, the latest installment of Scary Movie unexpectedly dominated the U.S. box office, earning $55 million in its first days of release. This is the best opening for the series and a key milestone for the franchise, which has now officially surpassed the one billion dollar mark in global earnings. Against this backdrop, the attempt to bring He-Man back to screens received less attention: the audience that grew up on toys and cartoons about the hero did not deliver the expected results for the film.
The return of the Wayans brothers to the roots of the parody series after 25 years sparked public interest, despite Paramount once again declining to hold advance screenings for the press. The studio has used this tactic before, for example with the film Passenger, and it appears to be working: audiences are flocking to theaters without relying on critics’ reviews. The result — record-breaking box office with a $30 million budget.
Nonetheless, critical response remained reserved: the new Scary Movie received a rating of only 24%. For comparison, the first film had 51%, and subsequent entries in the series rarely went above 37%. The lowest score was for the fifth installment — 4%, putting it on par with the worst releases of recent years. Nevertheless, the franchise’s financial success is indisputable: all six films have been profitable, and total box office revenue now exceeds one billion dollars.
The story of Scary Movie began in 2000, when the debut film grossed $42.3 million in its opening weekend and over $157 million in the US. After the Wayans brothers left, the series was continued by David Zucker, known for Airplane! and The Naked Gun. His films also achieved strong results, and an attempt to refresh the format in 2013 with director Malcolm D. Lee brought the franchise modest but steady box office returns. All these projects were previously overseen by the Weinstein brothers.
Significantly, the strategy of skipping press screenings is becoming increasingly common among major studios. A similar approach was discussed regarding the premiere of M. Night Shyamalan's thriller, as detailed in the article about the unusual premiere of the film La trampa. This allows companies to minimize the impact of negative reviews on opening box office results, focusing instead on brand recognition and audience interest.
For reference: the Scary Movie franchise is among the most successful parody series in film history. Despite low critic ratings, each installment was profitable, and the combined budget of all parts was significantly lower than their total box office. Such projects rarely receive high ratings but maintain steady viewer interest, as is confirmed by the current results.
