Scary Movie tops box office as horror and comedy surge

The summer box office kept shifting toward cheaper horror and comedy as “Scary Movie” opened to $55 million and easily outdrew “Masters of the Universe,” which finished the weekend at $29.3 million. After three weeks of indie horror dominance, the slasher spoof gave theaters a clear sign that audiences are rewarding sharper, lower-cost bets over expensive franchise plays.

The result also marked a comeback for broad comedy on the big screen. “Scary Movie” opened in 3,490 theaters and was fully financed by Miramax at a reported production cost of $30 million, a relatively modest spend for a nationwide launch. Its opening came as Gen Z ticket buyers continued to push horror titles such as “Obsession” and “Backrooms,” both made by YouTubers-turned-filmmakers, further strengthening a summer run built on audience appetite rather than spectacle alone.

The weekend added to a strong stretch for the domestic market. Year to date, the 2026 box office reached $3.966 billion, up 13.3% from the same period a year earlier, and the domestic market logged its first billion-dollar May since 2019. The broader weekend total came in at nearly $183.2 million, the second-best post-COVID weekend 23 total, reinforcing that moviegoing still has momentum when studios offer films with clear, accessible appeal.

For studios, the contrast with “Masters of the Universe” was stark. Amazon MGM Studios put roughly $170 million into the film before prints and advertising, a scale of risk that now looks harder to justify when a $30 million movie can lead the box office by a wide margin. The numbers suggest that the old assumption that spectacle automatically wins the summer is weakening, especially when audiences see horror and comedy as fresher theatrical options.

“Scary Movie” also revived a franchise with a proven history. The original film, released July 7, 2000, opened in 2,912 theaters and went on to gross $157,019,771 domestically and $277.2 million worldwide on a $19 million budget. Two decades later, the formula looks familiar: a leaner cost base, a wide release, and an audience still willing to turn out for a sharp genre spoof.

Paul Dergarabedian of Rentrak said the strong May box office created momentum for “a June to remember” at movie theaters. For Hollywood, the message was even louder: the summer economy now rewards agility, not just scale.