This weekend’s box office has a bit of everything: a spoof revival, a sword-wielding action hero, and a record-shattering YouTube phenom.
Paramount’s Scary Movie revival arrives as the presumptive front-runner with projections landing in the $45 million–$55 million range — enough to potentially crack the franchise record held by Scary Movie 3‘s $49.7 million debut back in 2003. The Wayans Brothers are back in the fold for the first time since Scary Movie 2, with Marlon and Shawn Wayans co-writing and co-starring alongside returning fan favorites Anna Faris and Regina Hall. The spoof targets a wealth of recent horror — Get Out, Longlegs, Sinners, Backrooms and more — and is tracking strongly with Black and Latino audiences as well as the under-35 crowd. At a lean $30 million budget, this one’s already looking like a win.
Hot on its heels is Amazon MGM’s Masters of the Universe, the long-in-development He-Man reboot starring Nicholas Galitzine, Idris Elba, Camila Mendes, Alison Brie and a heavily disguised Jared Leto as Skeletor. The Travis Knight-directed adventure is projecting $30 million–$35 million domestically and arrives with a solid 73% “certified fresh” score on Rotten Tomatoes. With a reported budget of up to $200 million, word-of-mouth will determine whether this becomes a franchise springboard or a cautionary tale.
Battling He-Man for second or third is Backrooms, A24’s record-shattering debut from last weekend. The Kane Parsons–directed phenomenon opened to $81 million — the studio’s biggest ever — and is projecting a $30 million–$35 million sophomore frame despite new competition. A “B–” CinemaScore suggests some front-loading, but the buzzy nature of the film could give it some legs. Either way, the film — made for under $10 million — has already cemented itself as a massive box-office success.
Meanwhile, Obsession keeps defying gravity. Curry Barker’s micro-budget horror hit has now earned $116 million domestically and $161 million globally through three weekends — a jaw-dropping run for a film that reportedly cost under $1 million. With no sign of slowing down, it could once again outpace expectations.
Rounding out the top five should be The Amazing Digital Circus: The Last Act, Fathom Entertainment’s theatrical bow of the wildly popular Australian adult animated series. Projections sit at $10 million–$15 million from around 2,200 theaters, driven almost entirely by the show’s devoted young fanbase — the same demographic that logged a reported 25 billion YouTube views for the franchise. It’s expected to edge out Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu for fifth place, continuing the YouTube-to-cinema pipeline that is fast becoming Hollywood’s most closely watched trend.
Elsewhere, Lionsgate’s Power Ballad (Paul Rudd, Nick Jonas) expands wide this weekend, while Magnolia’s romantic crime thriller Carolina Caroline opens in limited release.
New releases
Scary Movie
Director: Michael Tiddes
Distributor: Paramount Pictures
Two friends find themselves caught up in mayhem involving killers, monsters and supernatural creatures once again. The spoof comedy has a running time of one hour, 36 minutes, and is rated R. Scary Movie is certified “rotten” with a 32% score per the aggregated critic reviews at Rotten Tomatoes; “generally unfavorable” reviews compiled by Metacritic resulted in an overall score of 37%.
Masters of the Universe
Director: Travis Knight
Distributor: Amazon MGM Studios
A young man on Earth discovers a fabulous secret legacy as the prince of an alien planet, and must recover a magic sword and return home to protect his kingdom. The fantasy adventure has a running time of two hours, 20 minutes, and is rated PG-13. Masters of the Universe is certified “fresh” with a 73% score per the aggregated critic reviews at Rotten Tomatoes; “mixed” reviews compiled by Metacritic resulted in an overall score of 54%.
The Amazing Digital Circus: The Last Act
Director: Gooseworx
Distributor: Fathom Entertainment
Feature length version of the final two episodes (episode 8 and 9) of The Amazing Digital Circus, showing the conclusion of the cast of characters trapped in a digital realm under the mercy of an unstable ringmaster. The has a running time of one hour, 40 minutes, and is rated PG-13. As of this writing, The Amazing Digital Circus had no official score on Rotten Tomatoes or Metacritic.
Power Ballad
Director: John Carney
Distributor: Lionsgate
Rick, a washed-up wedding singer, and Danny, a fading boy band star, bond over music and a late-night jam session. When Danny turns Rick’s song into a hit, Rick sets out to reclaim the recognition he believes he deserves. The musical comedy has a running time of one hour, 38 minutes, and is rated R. Power Ballad is certified “fresh” with a 88% score per the aggregated critic reviews at Rotten Tomatoes; “generally favorable” reviews compiled by Metacritic resulted in an overall score of 66%.
Carolina Caroline
Director: Adam Rehmeier
Distributor: Magnolia Pictures
A young woman joins a charming con man on the run, leaving a trail of crime and passion as they hustle through the Southeast in search of her estranged mother. The romantic thriller has a running time of one hour, 45 minutes, and is rated R. Carolina Caroline is certified “fresh” with a 97% score per the aggregated critic reviews at Rotten Tomatoes; “generally favorable” reviews compiled by Metacritic resulted in an overall score of 77%.
Here are Gold Derby’s predicted box-office rankings for the top five over the June 5-7 weekend:
1. Scary Movie — $50 million
2. Masters of the Universe — $36 million
3. Backrooms — $35 million
4. Obsession — $21 million
5. The Amazing Digital Circus: The Last Act — $12 million
2026 box-office hits: Every movie that made more than $100 million
