The return of the Scary Movie franchise is poised for big things at the box office this weekend, and if the film’s Thursday previews are any indication, it could end up matching the success of another legacy favorite that debuted earlier this year. Opening wide today, June 5, the sixth entry in the long-running horror parody series features the return of the Wayans family, who haven’t been involved in the franchise since Scary Movie 2 in 2001.
Starring Anna Faris, Regina Hall, Shawn Wayans, and Marlon Wayans, Scary Movie reunites Cindy Campbell, Brenda Meeks, Ray Wilkins, and Shorty Meeks 26 years after the group survived a Ghostface-style killer. Once again a target, the parody lampoons modern horror movies, legacy sequels, reboots, elevated horror, and Hollywood’s obsession with reviving old franchises in a wild ride that’s been a huge hit so far at the box office.
‘Scary Movie’ Has Already Reached ‘Scream 7’ Levels at the Box Office
Projected to make anywhere from $45-$55 million domestically its opening weekend, Scary Movie posted $7.7 million from Thursday previews, putting it right up there with Scream 7, which opened wide earlier this year on Feb. 27. The horror sequel that finally brought Neve Campbell back into the fold made $7.8 million from its Thursday night previews, which was a franchise record. Ultimately, it went on to earn $214 million worldwide, also a record for the slasher series.
With numbers like that, it’s pretty much a guarantee that Scary Movie will blow past the benchmark set by Scary Movie 3 in 2003, which had the best opening weekend for the franchise yet at $48.1 million. The question now becomes: will it be able to match the success of the original movie, which is the highest-grossing in the series with a worldwide total of $278 million.
Time will tell, but either way, it’s clear that Scary Movie will have the last laugh this weekend over the debuting Masters of the Universe, which posted a dismal $4.4 million in Thursday previews. Considering the sword and sorcery movie has a budget close to $200 million, it’s now on track to be a colossal failure for both Sony and Amazon.
‘Scary Movie’ Has Found Success Despite Poor Reviews
While the success of Scary Movie might not come as a surprise to longtime fans of the franchise, critics haven’t been kind to the movie, which also isn’t a shock. The highest rating the series ever received on Rotten Tomatoes was 52%, earned by the original film in 2000.
The latest entry has scored just 28% thus far on the Tomatometer, which isn’t great, but certainly not as bad as the worst in the series, which is Scary Movie 5 at only 4%. Of course, Scary Movie‘s Popcornmeter score sits way higher at 69%, signifying that audiences have appreciated the Wayans family reunion.
Be sure to check out Scary Movie, which is now in theaters across the nation courtesy of Paramount Pictures.
- Release Date
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June 5, 2026
- Runtime
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95 Minutes
- Director
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Michael Tiddes
- Writers
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Craig Wayans, Keenen Ivory Wayans, Marlon Wayans, Rick Alvarez, Shawn Wayans
- Producers
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Craig Wayans, Keenen Ivory Wayans, Marlon Wayans, Rick Alvarez, Shawn Wayans
Cast
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Marlon Wayans
Shorty Meeks
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