It’s truly a tale of feast and famine at the box office this weekend. The good news is that comedy is finally making something of a comeback, with the Wayans brothers’ return to the Scary Movie franchise scoring a series-best $56 million opening, according to Deadline. That’s about $11 million more than I predicted earlier this week. While that’s terrific news for Paramount, Amazon MGM Studios — which chose this weekend to launch its own would-be franchise starter, Masters of the Universe — is facing a disappointing $30.1 million debut.
For a major tentpole release, that’s a rough result. Making matters worse, Masters of the Universe earned only a B CinemaScore, suggesting audiences aren’t exactly embracing it. The performance raises an important question: who was the target audience? Fans who grew up with He-Man are now largely in their forties and fifties, and many are less likely to rush out opening weekend unless a movie generates significant buzz. Meanwhile, younger moviegoers have little connection to the franchise and may not even recognize the property. It’s also worth remembering that the original 1987 Masters of the Universe film, despite becoming a cult favorite over the years, was a box office disappointment in its own time. Given this result, Amazon may be feeling some anxiety about its upcoming wave of nostalgia-driven projects, including Spaceballs 2 and Highlander.
Ironically, Masters of the Universe still received a better audience grade than Scary Movie, which landed a C+ CinemaScore. That suggests many viewers may agree with our critic Tyler Nichols’ assessment that, while nostalgic, the film simply isn’t very funny.
Elsewhere, Backrooms is experiencing the steep second-weekend drop many expected, falling 68% to just over $25 million. However, it’s still proving to be a massive hit for A24. In an interesting twist, it may actually be edged out by Obsession, which is holding remarkably well with an estimated $24.8 million weekend. Regardless, Obsession appears poised to surpass Backrooms domestically by the end of its run.
What are you seeing this weekend? Let us know in the comments below.
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