For the first time since the pandemic began, box office revenues are entering June after May, when they exceeded $1 billion in the US. While none of the three films opening wide this weekend is expected to replicate the success of "Behind the Scenes," their combined release could provide a similar box office boost.
The three films in question are Paramount/Miramax's Scary Movie, the sixth installment and revival of the 2000s parody horror series from Damon and Marlon Wayans, Amazon MGM's big-budget Masters of the Universe, and a late-stage independent project with YouTube roots, Fathom/Glitch's The Amazing Digital Circus: The Last Act.
Of the three, Scary Movie is projected to take the top spot unless A24/Chernina's Behind the Scenes delivers a remarkably strong second weekend after its $81 million debut. That's not out of the question, as Behind the Scenes just opened to $7.7 million on Monday, the highest ever for an R-rated horror film.
But Scary Movie will do just fine whether it lands first or second, as independent forecasts are predicting over $50 million in its opening weekend, while Paramount is keeping its estimates at $40 million.
«Masters of the Universe, based on the animated series and franchise last released in 1987, is expected to gross $35-40 million in its opening weekend, according to preliminary estimates, despite a reported production budget of $170 million. The Amazing Digital Circus, added to the summer schedule just two months ago, is projecting a more modest $11-12 million for the weekend.
«Scary Movie 6 (Paramount Pictures)
How are you, Waynes?
Paramount couldn't have dreamed of a better pop culture setting for Scary Movie. At a time when two horror films—one original, the other based on a completely new kind of internet franchise—dominate the box office and the public consciousness, the series returns, satirizing the most popular horror films of the '90s and 2000s, like Scream, The Ring, and Saw.
This time, the Wayans brothers, who helmed the first two films in the series before the Naked Gun duo of David Zucker and Pat Proft took over the next three installments, are directing. The Wayans brothers and Paramount have relied on a marketing campaign that emphasizes the new film's irreverent, politically incorrect humor. Posters feature QR codes leading to digital advertising resources and contain the warning: "Do not scan if you are easily offended.".
The obvious core audience for Scary Movie is millennials who fondly remember the original series they watched in middle or high school, but Paramount hopes younger viewers will also be drawn to parodies of modern horror hits like The Sinners, Smile, and Frightening. Paramount also paved the way for the franchise's return by reviving one of the original film's most memorable targets, Scream, allowing the Wayans brothers to tap into the nostalgia of the famous scene where Ghostface recreates the Bud Light "Wazzup?" commercial.
With no other popular adult comedies on the horizon, Scary Movie will remain a unique offering in theaters for several more weeks. At the time of writing, the review embargo has not yet been lifted, but critics' opinions are irrelevant here, as the Scary Movie franchise has always received lukewarm reviews at best, even with its highest-grossing films proving to be the biggest successes.
It all depends on whether the audience laughs at what the Wayans have cooked up.
Kristen Wiig, Idris Elba, Nicholas Galitzine, Camila Mendes and Tom Wilton in Masters of the Universe (Amazon MGM Studios).
Does He-Man still have any powers left?
On the contrary, the "Behind the Scenes"/"Whiplash" phenomenon couldn't have come at a worse time for the Masters of the Universe franchise. With "The Mandalorian" and "Grogu," a film from a franchise that had far more cultural significance in the 21st century than the world of Adam, Skeletor, and Eternia, both rapidly collapsing at the box office, there's much talk in Hollywood about how under-30s are clearly choosing two films with fresh takes on horror over a sci-fi franchise entry.
It's precisely this under-30 audience that Masters of the Universe needs to succeed with such a huge budget. Directed by Travis Knight and starring Nicholas Galitzine, Bumblebee is a pure escapist fantasy with a self-deprecating, Marvel-inspired humor, following Adam Glenn as he leaves his dreary life on Earth to reclaim his place as the Prince of Eternia and the mighty protector He-Man.
Knight's film has received generally positive reviews, with a Rotten Tomatoes score of 75% at the time of writing. But will that be enough? The Mandalorian and Grogu both received positive audience ratings, including an A- on CinemaScore and an 88% on Rotten Tomatoes, but general audiences still largely said "no, thank you," posting the worst second-weekend ratings drop of any film released over Memorial Day weekend.
«"Masters of the Universe" could very well end up being a big-budget version of another Amazon MGM film this year: "Crime 101," the well-reviewed heist film clearly inspired by Michael Mann's "Heat" that attracted nostalgic Gen X men but never quite parlayed that hype into attracting a wider audience, particularly those under 30.
Perhaps some teenagers, succumbing to their parents' nostalgia, will adopt their fathers' love of He-Man. Amazon MGM is undoubtedly hoping that, with The Mandalorian's popularity rapidly fading and the prevalence of R-rated films in theaters, including Scary Movie, Masters of the Universe will resonate with families, helping to expand the film's audience. But given that Behind the Scenes drew 44% under-21 viewers in its opening weekend, how many members of Generations Z and A will want to see their parents' stories, characters, and worlds in theaters when they have their own stories, characters, and worlds to explore?
Goodbye, Circus!
Over the past three years, the independent animated psychological drama series The Amazing Digital Circus has built a devoted following, similar to Kane Parsons' Backrooms series. Its success has become a calling card for the production company Glitch, which is trying to create a new way for animators to share their stories with a world outside the mainstream Hollywood system.
Now, Glitch is set to try its hand at theatrical release. Partnering with Fathom in the US and independent distributors elsewhere, such as Europe's Piece of Magic Entertainment, the ninth and final episode of "The Amazing Digital Circus" will premiere in theaters two weeks before its YouTube release on June 19. It's a path that Fathom blazed with series like the independent Christian gospel adaptation "Chosen," and one that Hollywood has followed with projects like the finale of "Stranger Things" on Netflix and Crunchyroll's anime film releases based on popular TV series like "Demon Slayer: Castle of Infinity.".
As TheWrap first reported back in April, "Digital Circus" grossed $5 million in pre-sales in its first 72 hours, and, like Markiplier's "Iron Lung," hundreds of theaters have reached out to Fathom to add the film to their distribution. As of Tuesday, "Digital Circus" has grossed $9 million in pre-sales and is opening in the United States on approximately 2,200 screens.
To be clear, "The Amazing Digital Circus" won't generate the same level of interest from Generations Z and A as "Behind the Scenes." It's the final episode of an online miniseries, which will be available for free on YouTube in two weeks. This means that, due to the limited storyline, interest in the film will be concentrated almost exclusively among existing fans, and theatrical ticket sales will undoubtedly be minimal.
But the similarity with "Behind the Scenes" and "Iron Lung" is that this film is part of a larger experiment in bringing independent web projects to theaters in hopes of attracting fans interested in experiencing these franchises in a theater full of fellow fans, rather than at home on their computers. If this works for Glitch, we may see future episodes of the next wave of animated series, like "Gameoverse," receive a similar theatrical pre-release.
The article "'Scary Movie,' He-Man, and 'Digital Circus': Box Office Expenses Are About to Get Very Big" first appeared on TheWrap.